Since 2008 K has been travelling over to Cambridge a couple of times a year to do work for the Cambridge Exam Board. Sometimes I go with her. When she was working full time it was so that I could help with the driving, as she often went over straight from work. Over the years I have come to know central Cambridge fairly well. The latest trip was this week starting on Tuesday 13th November. I had no plans in particular for what to do whilst we were there - K would be working - which left me to amuse myself during the daytime.
We were staying at the Holiday Inn Express in Whittlesford - which has the advantage of being right next to the railway line. One direction lies Cambridge - ten minutes. The other direction - London - about an hour (there are other places as well of course!).
We arrived on Tuesday afternoon, and ate in the local pub - The Red Lion - which is right next to the Holiday Inn Express, and is an old coaching inn dating from the 13th century. You can stay there as well - which we have done in the past.
On Wednesday I went into Cambridge - it was a lovely day, and the light was good - so I took a few photos:
I had lunch at one of my usual haunts - the Bath House.
Which is next to the more famous 'The Eagle' both opposite the oldest building in Cambridge - St. Bene't's Church
After a good wander around town to see what had changed, and quite some time spent in the Grand Arcade and Lewis' Electrical Department, I walked back to the train station, and got back to the hotel about four o'clock - ten minutes before K returned.
We sat and chatted for a while, watched some TV, before setting out to The Rose at Stapleford for the evening meal. I had a home made fish pie, K had a lamb shank. The food was good, and we returned to the hotel to watch a film before bed.
Thursday brought a murky morning, and we discussed my going into London. I'm not a great fan of London - though it's better in the winter when there's not so many tourists. K said that she was completing her tasks at work with even greater speed than usual, and anticipated finishing early. We were up at seven, and breakfasted by seven thirty.
K left for work, and I sat and watched the latest Brexit fiasco unravel on TV until about nine, then decided to go into Cambridge again to visit the Fitzwilliam Museum. I caught the train, and was drinking coffee in the Museum Cafe by ten fifteen.
If you are in Cambridge, and have some time - go to this museum! It's permanent exhibitions are varied and interesting, and it always has some visiting and special exhibitions also. Well worth visiting.
I went for a late lunch at The Mill - a pub I had not tried before. It was good - they had a selection of real ales, home cooked food and jazz playing on vinyl. I probably stayed too long.
The weather was still murky, so I took a fairly fast walk back up to the station again, picking up a Metro newspaper to read, as I had to wait twenty minutes before the train left. It's surprising how much the area around the station has changed since I first started visiting Cambridge. It's all high rise and consumer led now.
I arrived back at the hotel to find that K was already there, having finished in super fast time, and she announced that we could leave the following day. Surprise! We had a glass of wine to celebrate, and later ate at the John Barleycorn in Duxford, which is a coaching house dating originally from 1660. Here is some information from their website:
'The John Barleycorn was originally built in 1660 as a coaching house. Between 1844 and 1852 it was licensed under the sign of the Coach and Horses. At first it was known as a public house, though later a beer house. The existing name, The John Barleycorn, came into being between 1858 and 1861. During the Second World War it became a favourite watering hole for the brave young airmen of Douglas Bader’s Duxford Wing.'
The Imperial War Museum, Duxford is just up the road from this pub. It is sited on the airfield from which the planes which fought in the 'Battle of Britain' during the second world war took off. Again - if you are visiting Cambridge, you could easily spend half, or even a full day there. Free car parking. Junction 10 off of the M11 clearly signposted.
We both had some really good food and drink, then returned to the hotel to watch an episode of 'Firefly', that I had brought with me (as you do), before bed.
Next morning we breakfasted and set off for home at nine forty. The traffic was good, and we were home by one o'clock - must be some kind of record.....
No comments:
Post a Comment