Cambridge, as soon as we hear the name, we are reminded of the University and Cambridge Press books. Having studied Science, Dinesh & myself had already a little knowledge about the achievements that were accomplished at this place by the major leaders in science. According to Wikipedia, there are about 120 Nobel prizes affiliated to University of Cambridge. We wanted to see this city for ourselves and be inspired.
The day started with an early morning flight to London Stansted Airport. From there, a ‘National Express’ bus coach took us to Cambridge in less than an hour. As soon as we checked in to our hotel, we moved towards the university for a guided tour, which was booked through Footprint Tours.
We rushed ourselves to the tour, as we finished our breakfast. The tour started at the entrance of ‘Fudge Kitchen’ on King’s Parade.
Then, we crossed the famous ‘Mathematical Bridge’ across River Cam that connects two parts of Queens’ college. The parabolic arch design is constructed out of only straight wooden timbers which is considered to be a sophisticated engineering design and hence the name.
Then, we moved towards the Senate House, where Graduation ceremonies are held. Also used by night climbers of the city to practice climbing.
Then we moved towards Trinity College, which was once a workplace for eminent scientists such as Sir Issac Newton, Srinivasa Ramnujan, Stephen Hawking etc.,. He also showed us Newton’s work room and an apple tree which was grown from the sapling off the tree in Sir Issac Newton’s farm, as a remembrance of his discovery of Gravity.
We also had an opportunity to go inside Wren library of Trinity college, which holds world famous originals of Principia Mathematica hand corrected by Newton, Ramanujan’s work and notes and articles written by Eddington.
As we walked down, we came across Cavendish laboratory where electron was discovered by Thomson and halls where Maxwell & Rayleigh worked. We made a stop at Cambridge University Press Book Store, before we made a pause for the day.
- Cambridge University Press Book Store
We took a relaxing walk along these roads in the evening again, when the tourist crowd was less. The famous ‘Corpus Clock’ looked more elegant with lights. It is a huge mechanical clock with a grasshopper that is portrayed as eating time or in other words it showcases the clock’s escapement. This clock is said to be accurate only once in five minutes. The rest of the time pendulum may speed up or slow down, according to it’s creator Taylor, this erratic motion indicates the irregularities in life. The clock also holds pride by being inaugurated by Stephen Hawking.
It was a great day to walk down the paths where world famous scientists once lived. We ended our day with a relaxed walk on King’s Parade and a warm dinner in the city.
Veena Dinesh
The Humble Enthusiast 
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