A late arrival and a long journey here (via Chester and Stratford-Upon-Avon) meant the first night consisted of a (very nice) meal before retiring. We decided that early the next morning we'd do the one thing that you can't come to Cambridge without doing: Punting.
So at 10am the following day we found ourselves manning what turned out to be the only punt on the river - which given my (lack) of punting skills was probably for the best. Of course, everyone else might have been staying away due to the fact that the water was freezing, but we punted on regardless. It took just over an hour to punt from Darwin College, past Queens and St. Catherine's, Kings, Clare, Trinity Hall, Trinity, St John's to Magdalene before turning around. It's lovely how peaceful the river is at that time in the morning and it's a great way to see the colleges from positions that you wouldn't otherwise get to see. Fortunately no-one fell in, and nor did we lose the pole. By the time we were done the wind and water had conspired to make my hands numb and blue, and, intriguingly, my fingers were about twice their usual size.
Luckily, Selwyn is only about a five minute walk from the river, so a quick trip back allowed me to warm up and for Gran to have a look around the college.
It's exceptionally easy to take your surroundings for granted, so it's always nice to show someone around who hasn't seen them before to really appreciate them. With the flowers beginning to bloom the gardens looked beautiful, and with most people having gone home for Easter, the college itself was peaceful and still.
After a spot of lunch we headed for a walk around a few of the in town colleges. This is where the little blue student card comes in very useful. Not all of the colleges charge non-members for entry, but invariably the ones that people want to visit, do. I'm sure there's a business opportunity in renting out my Uni card to visitors for a day. We walked through Kings, popped into Corpus Christi before heading to Trinity and walking through St. Johns to Magdalene, finally having a look at Sidney Sussex. Magdalene's gardens were especially pretty alongside the river.
By the time we'd done all that, the sun was going down and that was the end of another day. Unfortunately we only had the morning of the next day before we had to set off home, but it was enough time to climb the spire of Greater St. Mary's church in the centre of town - something that I've never done, and indeed, didn't even know you could do. A bit like punting, it was interesting to see a bit of Cambridge from a vertically-different perspective, even if the market did look like something from the Magic Roundabout from up-high.
As with too-many things, it was a shame that we couldn't have stayed for longer. It was lovely that Gran got to see Cambridge before I leave, but beyond that, I felt like I got to see it a bit too. I don't take the time to visit the College's or to stop and look at the view and I'm always too busy trying to get somewhere or do something else instead. It's a bit like 'the grass is always greener' and the place you live never seems that remarkable. But I know that in three months when I leave for good I'll immediately regret not making more of my time here, so before that time comes I've resolved to take the time to properly visit each College and to walk down all of those streets that until now I've just walked past. After all, treading off the beaten path can often be the most rewarding way to really see a place.
