Thomson in London: Cambridge

Cambridge is set on the River Cam and is less than an hour from London by train. The University of Cambridge, founded in 1209, is spread throughout the city of about one hundred thousand people. I spent the day yesterday visiting a friend from Cornell there; she is an alum of Corpus Christi College, one of the 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge, and was in town for a few days before heading back to New York. What follows are pictures from my excellent guided tour of town...

The colleges are all closed off from the town's streets. This picture and the next portray representative college entrances.

Inside each the colleges the buildings surround a series of courtyards. In the following few pictures you'll see some students passing by but you'll never see one walking on the grass. No one is allowed to touch the grass until they are a Fellow (a tenured faculty member). Punishment for infractions is said to involve physical labor of the brass/silver polishing variety.

This is the Mathematical Bridge over the River Cam. Rumor has it that the bridge was designed by Sir Issac Newton and that it was constructed without the need for nuts and bolts. The story goes that at some point in time past, students and faculty disassembled the bridge and were unable to assemble it again without the assistance of said nuts and bolts. Apparently the story is a complete fabrication and the bridge was built with nuts and bolts after Newton was dead, but it's a fun story nonetheless.

This is the Bridge of Sighs over the River Cam. Despite it's ornate and solid construction, it is barely wide enough for two people to walk side-by-side.

Rowing is quite popular at both Cambridge and Oxford, and each college has its own boathouse on the River Cam.

My friend and I climbed the steps to Great Saint Mary's, The University Church to get some views of town from above. This picture is of Senate House, where graduation ceremonies occur and the central administration is located.