How to get from London to Cambridge on your own. Cambridge - the visiting card of England Get from London to Cambridge

It didn’t work out for me somehow before - to take, and even wave to England - I don’t have any real estate there, no children studying, I’m neither an oligarch, nor a deputy, nor a diplomat, nor some kind of spy ... But I always wanted to, like, probably to anyone who once read Conan Doyle and Dickens, Daniel Defoe and Swift, Walter Scott and Kipling ... Ivanhoe, Robin Hood, Admiral Nelson, Churchill, Princess Diana ... Heroes are fictional and genuine, history is ancient and modern - all this is like something has already been fixed in the mind for a long time and firmly, but, firstly, who said that everything? And secondly, who said what is right? Therefore, a steady desire to visit the islanders gradually grew into an obsessive one, which we, having found a wonderful and relatively inexpensive tour, immediately put into practice. Moreover, I am sure that for those who have never been to the UK, acquaintance with the country should begin with such tours.

GREAT BRITAIN.

JOURNEY. May 2018

I'm flying away, I'm flying away

I'm in foggy Albion.

And, of course, I know for sure

He misses me without me.

Yes, it's a little weird

But yesterday I dreamed

that I was once

On this far side.

Nelson, Cromwell, Richard III...

At least you argue to the point of hoarseness, -

But I'll tell you guys

Even very difficult.

And it is expected that

Like once at the table

Reindeer roast

Ate with the king.

Bones were thrown on the floor to the dogs

We drank hot grog with him,

He promised to visit

Richard the Third... But he couldn't.

Fell in battle, the press wrote.

Later William our Shakespeare

Wrote a play about the Third

And glorified all over the world.

Castles on the right, castles on the left

Ancient ages.

masha stewart queen

Still with the head.

But sister Lizaveta

She was a Protestant.

And dreamed of living with the world

Catholic. And she lived.

After two centuries, the meeting -

Lord Protector, Oliver.

Cromwell! In general, good evening!

Protestant and Lucifer!

Revolutions, uprisings...

Only personal power for

He head off with all diligence

separated from the king.

And the Irish got it -

Cut through one.

In general, it became somehow sad.

I left him.

Again two centuries past.

Among the courtiers a slight groan -

Walks imperturbably

Nelson with Lady Hamilton.

He was by no means single-minded.

This glorious admiral.

As soon as he saw me.

He invited me to Trafalgar.

After drinking Roma, goodbye

Shake your hand for a long time.

I didn't keep my promise.

It is a pity, but Nelson did not save.

Yes, it will hardly be forgotten.

Everything I saw there.

I was told this.

About overseas.

About Newton's discovery.

Well, good luck with the apple!

About Wellington's victory

Somewhere near Waterloo.

So far before my eyes

Robin Hood, Sherwood Forest,

Highland, mountains under the snow,

Nessie, Loch Ness.

Have you read? Really, cool?

And it's beautiful! My God!

I will come here again

True, with the course, damn it, sucks,

In general ... it's time for me to go home!

I started writing this poem even before my trip and it began like this: “Soon, soon I will fly to foggy Albion ...”, but since I continued and finished writing already there, I still had to change something.

So, by British Airways we fly to London Heathrow. Here they fly to Moscow, transport for the most part Russians and not a word in Russian! Well, at least “Hey guys! Food, such as the best offers European airline You won't expect Aeroflot from us, but we'll still give you something to chew on. Our flight attendants are also not up to yours, but we can offer you a drink as much as you want! And further, as in a joke: “For your comfort and safety, the captain raises his first toast!” So what is hard to learn? Four hours and we are at Heathrow. The largest European airport - 1300 sorties per day. It is unlikely that you have not read "Airport" by Arthur Hailey, but if suddenly ... - I strongly recommend it. Two questions on control - why? And for how long? Photos, fingers ... and with things on the way out. The whole program starts tomorrow, but for now, meeting with the guide, bus to the hotel near the airport, dinner (a gift from the travel company) and good night!

Breakfasts in British hotels (in any case, in those that we had to visit): First type (everywhere except London): fried bacon, sausages, fried eggs, scrambled eggs, hot beans, fried triangular potato cakes (delicious!), muesli, milk, fruits (tangerines, grapefruit, oranges), pastries, butter, all sorts of jams, juices, tea / coffee.

The second type: muesli, bread, butter, fruits (if you have time), all sorts of jams, tea / coffee.

Now guess which breakfasts were called English and which were continental? I don't think it takes three times.

Cambridge

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Cambridge sounds good, damn it! And it means just a bridge over the river Kem. Almost 2000 years ago, a city founded by the Romans arose here. Not even a city, but a military garrison - a convenient place. However, in written sources, Cambridge is mentioned only in 730. The scheme for the development of new territories around the world was approximately the same. The conquerors were followed by merchants and monks of influential orders, whose activities were also partly commercial in nature, for the Pope of Rome paid for everyone who converted to the Christian faith. Churches and monasteries appeared in Cambridge long before the founding of the university here, which brought the city world fame. It is unlikely that any other university can compete with Cambridge in terms of the number of graduates - Nobel laureates.

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Church of the Holy Sepulcher

The oldest church in Cambridge is the Round Church or the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. It was founded in 1130 by the brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher, and is called so apparently because of the similarity with the rotunda in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. This church is made of stone, genuine and active. She is 17 years older than Moscow, or rather 17 years older than the first mention of Moscow in the annals.

At the entrance to the city at the T-junction there is another interesting church - the medieval Anglican Church of St. Botolph, built in 1320. Since Saint Botolph is the patron saint of travelers, such churches were built precisely at the entrance to cities. This is the first thing people see when entering the city. The tower has a sundial.

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As a university center, Cambridge began to develop from 1209. It is somewhat younger than Oxford and actually appeared thanks to Oxford scholars who, due to disagreement with a court decision on a dubious crime that led to the execution of two of their colleagues, left Oxford and founded a new university in Cambridge. The influence of the church on science in those days was immeasurable, so the recognition of the University of Cambridge was recorded by a decree of Pope Gregory IX only 24 years after its foundation. Actually, there is no single university in Oxford or Cambridge. There are 31 colleges in Cambridge, the oldest of which is Peterhouse - 1284. All colleges are completely independent from each other. Among them there are more famous, more prestigious ones.

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The most famous is the King's College (1441). The royal government has always shown great interest in university education. Therefore, it was the kings and queens who were the founders of many colleges and showed interest in the development of infrastructure. For example, Henry VI personally laid the foundation stone for the famous King's College Chapel. The construction of the chapel continued under Richard III (even during the War of the Scarlet and White Roses), and under Henry VII. And it was opened only under Henry VIII.

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In our understanding, a chapel is something so small, and in the pronunciation of “chapel” it is even more familiar. The Royal College Chapel is 88 meters long and 29 meters high and is considered a masterpiece of the Perpendicular Gothic style, and its stained glass windows are made by Flemish masters and are considered one of the best works of the 15th century. They say that these stained-glass windows were removed during the Second World War for security purposes, but I have not found confirmation of this anywhere. You can’t trust a guide one hundred percent: a good one will always add something for zest, for interest, a bad one will lie from ignorance. A good guide loves a trained tourist, a bad one, let's say, tries to avoid him. In general, Cambridge was almost unaffected by German bombing. The historical buildings of the city remained in their original form.

Unfortunately, there was no way to enter the territory of the King's College, because on this day there was a big holiday in Cambridge - the presentation of diplomas on graduation from the university.

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Senate building

Groups of graduates dressed in academic gowns with hoods of different colors, corresponding to the degrees earned by students, flocked to the Senate building, which is also used for all sorts of solemn ceremonies from different colleges.

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For example, the hood of a doctor of philosophy is red, a master of philosophy is blue, and so on. The graduation ceremony is held in Latin. The ceremony must be preceded by a rehearsal so that each graduate knows what and how he should do. Presentation takes place by college, and inside - by degree. Four people are called, each of which touches the finger of the steward, who confirms that this graduate has really completed the appropriate course, passed everything that is required and is worthy of conferring such and such a degree. After that, they all take turns kneeling before the vice-chancellor of the university, who takes the hands of the graduate in his hands and says something in Latin, like: “By the power given to me, I award you such and such a degree in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit ”, after which the graduate rises from his knees and, bowing, goes out into the street along the arrows, where he is awarded his diploma.

Queens Margaret of Anjou and Elizabeth Woodville opened Kings College in 1448. And in 1546, one of the most famous kings, practically the founder of Protestantism in England, Henry VIII, whom we will remember more than once (six wives, cut off two heads, sent the Pope to hell ...) opened Trinity College (Holy Trinity College).

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On the facade above the main entrance of Trinity College is a sculpture of Henry VIII with symbols of power in his hands.

There is such a story that when the king's scepter was being restored, students inserted a chair leg into the king's empty hand. Whether that was the case or not, I don't know. But it sounds nice.

Trinity College is the jewel in the necklace of the other thirty. Almost thirty of its graduates have become Nobel laureates! What university can still boast of such an achievement? The most famous graduate of this college is Isaac Newton, who stayed after graduating from college to teach here and made his famous discoveries here.

Newton - the scientist was excellent,

That's just a pity - he was non-Russian.

But he is inspired by science,

How I loved the red girl.

He used to eat pancakes with jam,

Forgetting to say, "Thank you, mother"

He hurried to the garden for inspiration,

And to discover the laws.

Two or three usually before lunch.

And if it suddenly goes easy,

To spite an arrogant neighbor

This will pop into your head!

And not knowing, not knowing

I sat down in the garden under the apple tree,

Such a good kind zaya,

And then suddenly the wind picked up.

Huge fruit - tight, immature

How he'll be punched in the head!

Isak, quite stunned,

Sat slumped. In hand

The pen was trembling. From excitement

He suddenly moved his hand...

So about universal gravitation

Newton discovered the law.

All, as one, guidebooks, guides and traveler reports claim that this apple tree is a direct descendant of the very famous Newtonian apple tree. Here I wrote about it. People need to believe.

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Newtonian apple tree

In addition to Newton, Trinity College was graduated by the great philosopher and thinker of the 15th century Francis Bacon, the great English romantic poet Lord Byron, the satirist (Vanity Fair) William Thackeray, the author of Lolita Vladimir Nabokov, the British philosopher and mathematician John Russell , the famous physicist Lord Rutherford, Prince of Wales Charles, King Edward VII, King George VI, as well as ... Soviet intelligence agents, members of the famous Cambridge Five Blunt, Burgess and Kim Philby.

Almost opposite the Fitzwilliam Museum, I found free entry to another famous college - College of Christ. He stood out from the King's College, on the land of which there was "God's house". This house of God belonged to King's College Church. In 1446, the college received the first royal license to teach, and in 1448, having moved to its current location, the second license was renamed the College of Christ. The mother of King Henry VII, Lady Margaret Beaufort, took a great part in its reconstruction.

There were no lifetime portraits of Margaret Beaufort, so this image is rather arbitrary.

She gave birth to her only son when she was either 12 or 14 years old. At that time, the war of the White and Scarlet Roses broke out and her husband Edmund Tudor (the elder brother of King Henry VI), who supported the Lancasters, was captured by the Yorks and died there from the plague. Her next husband also supported the Lancasters at first, but was forgiven by the new king Edward IV, went over to the side of the Yorks and in the next battle, practicing forgiveness, leaves Margaret a widow for the second time. After the death of Edward, the same Richard III became king, who is prescribed (largely thanks to Shakespeare) so many horrors, including execution in the Tower. In 1485, Richard III dies at the Battle of Bosworth with the troops of the pretender to the throne, Henry Tudor, the son of Lady Margaret. Henry Tudor becomes King Henry VII, who comes to Cambridge and allocates a lot of money for the King's College Chapel, unfinished under his rival Richard.

Lady Margaret Beaufort outlived her son by two months, when her eighteen-year-old grandson was king, and King's College Chapel was finally completed. It was Henry VIII, the founder of Trinity College.

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This applies to Cambridge, because the trace in the history of England of this king is very noticeable, deep and ambiguous!

However, let's walk through the grounds of Christ's College. To the right of the entrance I saw a memorial to college graduates who died in the First World War.

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Christ College Courtyard

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Chapel

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Monument to Pitt

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There is another college in Cambridge, considered one of the oldest and most prestigious, which Lady Margaret Beaufort made efforts to create. This is St. John's College or St. John's College. John, which Lady Margaret in 1511 transformed into a college of liberal arts and theology, rebuilding the old hospital of St. John the Evangelist, which had existed for more than three hundred (!) years. In terms of the number of researchers, graduate students and students, this is the second largest college at the University of Cambridge.

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The main gate (1516), bears the arms of the college's founder, Lady Margaret Beaufort.

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Above the coat of arms is a statue of St. John the Evangelist.

At the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, the college prospered, new buildings were built, and the territory spread to the other side of the Kem River, where a new courtyard was built, which is connected to the old college buildings by the Neo-Gothic Bridge of Sighs built in the Neo-Gothic style (of course, the influence of Venice!). Before exams, students go to this bridge and take a deep breath - I don’t know if it helps to pass the exam, but it’s a tradition! Traditions are respected here.

There is another famous bridge across the Kem River, which, according to the legend of the guides, was designed by Newton himself. This is the math bridge. Allegedly, it was previously made, which is called without a single nail. Allegedly, the students dismantled it (curiosity), but they could not reassemble it without the appropriate fasteners. So now he is on the bolts.

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math bridge

Have you thought, in general, for the sake of what, in fact, it is necessary to do something without something, although it is easier and more reliable with something? There is a well-known anecdote about Kizhi that in fact the construction team tearfully asked for these same nails, but while the petition went through the authorities, the requested amount inexorably decreased and finally reset to zero. I don’t know such a joke about the Mathematical Bridge. Moreover, it turned out that Newton had nothing to do with this bridge, because he died long before it was built.

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At the end of the university topic, some interesting figures regarding education in Cambridge. Cambridge, along with Oxford and Imperial College London, are in the top ten best universities peace! British education is one of the most expensive in the world. Foreigners in Oxford - 14%, in Cambridge - 16%. At the same time, education for foreigners is much more expensive than for the British.

Previously, for students from EU countries, education was cheaper than for other foreigners. Whether that has changed now after the UK left the EU - I do not know.

On average, theoretical courses cost about £12,000 a year, courses involving laboratory practice £18,000 a year, and medical specialties training up to £25,000 a year. In the undergraduate (3 years) prices are lower, in the master's - higher, but the training is one year. Some who have received a bachelor's degree from some second-rate and inexpensive university are trying to get into a master's program already in Cambridge. There are a lot of conditions, but someone succeeds! And someone even manages to find a scholarship for themselves and make their lives much easier.

As for the national composition of foreign students in British universities, according to The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), the first five places are occupied by immigrants from China (together with Hong Kong - almost 23% of the total number of foreigners), India (5.3%) , Nigeria (4.1%), USA (3.8%) and Malaysia (3.5%). To the natural question of whether there are students from Russia there, I will answer - of course, there are. And a lot! There are more and more rich people in Russia (as well as poor people, but we are not talking about them!) every year, and among them there are also sane people who understand that investing in the education of their children is not such a bad investment!

Literally opposite the statue of Henry VIII on King's Parade Street in the corner window showcase is another attraction of Cambridge - the Chronophage or "Time Eater".

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In general, “chronophage” is, according to Wikipedia, “one of the terms of time management, denoting any distracting objects that interfere and distract from the main activity (work and other planned activities).” Sometimes chronophages are called people who have nothing to do and in order to kill time, they "devour" it from others - empty calls, talk about nothing ... I called such people "stuffy", but here it turns out there is a special term - chronophages! But chronophages are not necessarily people! These are computer games, and, in my opinion, the main chronophage is TV with its idiotic talk shows, false answers to questions and statements of politicians and stupid endless series.

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cambridge chronophage are clocks turned inside out, works John Taylor- a graduate of Corpus Christi College, on the wall of which they are installed. A terrifying-looking monster grasshopper bites into one of the sixty slots of the golden dial, on which, however, there are no numbers, and turns it every second. In his speech at the opening, Taylor said: "... now you see how seconds are eaten, how this mechanism, getting out, turned into a Chronophage - a formidable beast, the driving force of the clock, literally devouring time." And he added, "I wanted to show that time is being destroyed - a minute has passed, and you can never get it back." By the way, the famous physicist, the founder of quantum cosmology, was present at the opening of the clock on September 20, 2008 Stephen Hawking, recently departed here in Cambridge and buried in Westminster Abbey next to Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin. It is clear that only the most outstanding scientists receive such an honor. The last burial in the abbey is the burial of the ashes of the Nobel Prize winner in physics, the discoverer of the electron, Joseph John Thomson, and it was 78 years ago!

Among the interesting museums in Cambridge is the Zoological Museum, at the entrance of which there is a large skeleton of a whale. Charles Darwin himself began to collect the collection of this museum.

There is also the Cambridge Museum of Technology, the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology, the Museum of Ancient Archeology, the Fitzwilliam Museum, the Kettle Yard Gallery and others.

The history of the city of Cambridge and its inhabitants is dedicated to the exposition of the Folklore Museum, which is located in a building of the 15th century, where the White Horse Inn used to be.

Gift shop. Apparently, for Russian tourists.

In conclusion, it is worth saying that Cambridge is only 60 kilometers from London. The message is good. Therefore, if you, for example, flew in for a week to wander around London without any tourist groups, spend a day on a trip to Cambridge - by golly, you won’t regret it!

In Part 2, the story of the estate of the powerful Dukes of Devonshire - "Chatsworth House":

In Part 3 - the medieval city of York

The city of Cambridge did not fit into our weekly program in London, but after completely blowing me away, I was tormented by the question: is Cambridge really that good?

Unable to stand it, on the penultimate day of our trip, I nevertheless went to find out which is better: Cambridge or Oxford.

How to get from London to Cambridge

Cambridge is located 100 km northeast of London.

By bus, the one-way trip will take two and a half hours, so I immediately dismissed this option. Buses depart from Victoria bus station - from it we just went to Oxford (I described how to get to Victoria coach station.

The best way to get to Cambridge is by train.

Trains to Cambridge run from two stations: London King's Cross and London Liverpool Street. They run frequently, several trains an hour.

The screenshot shows that the travel time is from 45 minutes to an hour with a little. Trains from London Liverpool Street Station are less frequent, but the ticket is slightly cheaper.

Since our hotel was within walking distance of Kings Cross, I went there.

London King's Cross station

The best way to travel from London to Cambridge is by train at 9-44, which takes 45 minutes to Cambridge. Back - the train at 18-45, also fast.

Why not leave earlier, say, at 8 am?

The fact is that in England the price of a ticket depends on the time of departure and return - it is more expensive to travel during peak hours, and the difference is noticeable. Rush hour ends at 9:30 in the morning and at 18:30 in the evening. My London-Cambridge Off-Peak Day Return ticket cost 24.60. If I had taken a ticket for 9 am, I would have paid 36 pounds.

Another way to save money is to buy tickets in advance. I recommend at least a couple of weeks before the trip to monitor the site nationalrail.co.uk - there are very good propositions and even at peak times.

There are two types of vending machines at the station: for buying a ticket and for printing reserved tickets, and there are even more of the latter. To print booked tickets, you need to enter the reservation code in the machine and insert the card that was used to pay for the ticket. The machine also has a website where you can book and buy a ticket https://www.virgintrainseastcoast.com/

If you have not booked tickets in advance, then just buy them. At the same time, if you don’t really like the ticket price, try playing with the departure time - sometimes even minutes matter.

Ticket machine

Choose "Buy tickets"

The machine will print as many as 4 tickets for you, two with a QR code and two without them. All of them are needed for something.

I took everything that crawled out of the machine, and then went to the turnstile and watched the audience for a while, honestly trying to figure out where to stick or apply something. Someone applied, someone inserted into the slot.

In general, in the end, I went up to the employee, handed out my entire set of tickets with a fan, and he showed the right one. On the way back, I did the same thing - I turned to the employee.

By the way, you can buy a ticket at the station not in the machine, but at the box office, from a living person. In any case, arrive at the station in advance so that there is time to calmly deal with the machine, and in which case contact the cashier.

After buying tickets, you just have to wait until your train and platform number appear on the scoreboard. If you have an Off Peak ticket, this does not mean that you must go through the turnstile only after 9-30. When I got on my train at 9:30, it turned out that it was more than half full (mostly Chinese), who arrived well in advance. Tickets without seats, the first train after 9-30 is popular, in our car all the seats were occupied, and a few people even stood.

The train quickly passed London and rushed off without stopping, at such a speed that sometimes even the ears were pawned. In 45 minutes we were already in Cambridge.

There is a sign at the station historical center City center 17 min.

Indeed, guided by the signs and checking the maps.me map, I cheerfully reached the center in a quarter of an hour.

There will be a separate story about Cambridge itself.

In the evening I returned from Cambridge to London, also to King's Cross Station.

The station is remarkable, with a purple futuristic mushroom roof.

By the way, at King's Cross Station there is an entrance to the same Platform 9¾, from which Harry Potter went to Hogwarts. The entrance is marked by a luggage cart halfway into the wall.

I arrived at platform 8, so I immediately stumbled upon this new London landmark, which turned out to be very popular.

Near it there is a line (in the evening it was about half an hour) of those who want to be photographed, and even a service worker is assigned - a girl who gives each new person being photographed a magic wand, ties a scarf and holds the end of the scarf so that it seems in the photo that the scarf is fluttering.

Looking back at a day spent in Cambridge, one can say that I myself visited a fabulous educational institution. So, that's right, I confirm: from King's Cross Station, trains leave for magical land. Named Cambridge.

Stories about Cambridge

City of Cambridge. University and its colleges

In addition to the hotel, in London and Cambridge, you can rent accommodation from private owners (house, part of the house, apartment, room) through Airbnb. Registering with my invitation link in the Airbnb system, you get a $30 discount on your first booking (assuming the booking is >$75).

Was incredible. I have always been attracted by the atmosphere of famous universities, but to visit such an old one is a gift of fate. Awe and admiration are such places, just imagine what discoveries were made within these walls, when professors shared knowledge, and knowledge-hungry minds absorbed information. How I wish I could study here! :)

By bus

Considering how expensive transport is in the UK, I usually chose buses. Even having booked a hotel in the center, you still had to travel a lot around the city, buses helped out here too.

You can go to Cambridge from the London Westminster and London Victoria Coach Station bus stations. Definitely London Victoria Coach Station - the best choice to start the journey. This is a huge bus station, where there are scoreboards and signs. Maybe it's easy to get lost here, but getting on the right bus won't make it there.

The bus station is here, I wonder what appearance the building reminds me of a research institute, not a bus station. :)

The direction to Cambridge, like many others, is served by the carrier National Express. Their buses immediately catch the eye, but not at the bus station, where they stand in orderly rows, waiting for departure to all parts of the kingdom.

You can check the schedule on the company's website:

The trip took me no more than two hours, and if not for the London traffic jams, we would have arrived much faster. Of course, in this bus trains lose. The bus arrives in the center of Cambridge, the stop is called Cambridge (City Centre), located on Parkside near Parker's Piece.

Buying tickets

Tickets can be purchased before departure at the bus station ticket office or on the National Express website.

Fare

Bus tickets start at 3 pounds (3.5 euros), which is incredibly cheap for the UK, although the journey is relatively long.

By train

Trains in the UK are very clean and comfortable, I have never traveled in first class, as the second meets the expectations of everyone who is used to traveling in a reserved seat or in trains. Well, or not used to, but had the opportunity to ride. ;) It is impossible to get used to some things.

Trains depart from London Kings Cross and London Liverpool Street, and these are completely different flights. The journey takes 1 hour from Kings Cross station and 1.5 hours from Liverpool Street.

Kings Cross station is located here:

And Liverpool Street is here:

There are two railway stations in Cambridge: Cambridge and Cambridge North. The center and all the fun is near the first stop.

The schedule can always be viewed on the website. railway:

You can get to Cambridge at any time of the day, only at night - with transfers.

Buying tickets

Here, do not be lazy and look at the website of the railway, buying tickets at the box office, you will pay extra for the service, and this is a few pounds.

Fare

Tickets cost from 7 pounds (8 euros). It is convenient that the lowest price for the current day can be seen on the railway website. The cheapest Advance tickets are tied to a specific flight (as we have on passenger trains), with an Anytime ticket, you can travel once on any train (like our train).

I noticed that one day the most cheap ticket costs 7 pounds (8 euros) and the other costs 11 pounds (12.5 euros). If you see that the prices are high, I advise you to click on the Cheapest Fare Finder, the cheapest tickets for the current day will be displayed here with reference to a specific time.

By car

That year, I finally got a license, but I rarely drive and did not dare to apply my knowledge when driving on the left. Although the cost of car rental in London is affordable, the price starts from 40 euros (35 pounds) per day. Gasoline on the island is also not the most expensive in Europe - 1.3 euros (1.15 pounds). Even the roads are free, except for one in the suburbs of Birmingham.

In general, everything contributes to renting a car and going on a trip, by the way, this can be done right now on the site. The distance to Cambridge is 100 km, but with traffic, expect a two-hour trip.

Conclusion

Let me summarize. You can get to Cambridge by car, train or bus. Buses are the cheapest, trains are more expensive but go faster. The car is generally out of competition, simply because it is convenient, although the bus is still cheaper even if there are four of us. I do not mention air travel, although this is also possible. But not advisable.

Cambridge, with all the charm of antiquity, is undoubtedly one of the most famous cities in the UK. If not for the devastating riots at the university, the history of Cambridge, perhaps, could have been different. In 1209, students arrived here, fleeing bloodshed. The very first Peterhouse College was founded in 1284, followed by Clare, Pembroke, Gonville and Corpus Christi.

The city changed significantly during the Tudor era, when new colleges were built. As in Oxford, there was animosity between students and citizens because the universities provided special rights.
Most of the colleges were started as schools for the study of theology, but in the middle of the 18th century, under the influence of Sir Isaac Newton, there was a turn towards mathematics. In the 19th century, the study of classical and natural sciences, engineering was introduced. Today, students are offered more than 40 subjects.
City status was granted in 1951, as the reputation of Cambridge in the scientific world has become very significant - the discoveries made in this city have changed the world in which we live. Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Ernest Resenford worked here.

Itinerary for walking around Cambridge with a tour of the most interesting colleges

Start your city tour with market square. The town hall that exists here was built on the site of the medieval one that stood here in 1937.
Here, a market is open for six days a week, where you can buy almost everything: from fruits to an old ball gown, handicrafts and applied arts are sold. Independent retailers are located nearby in small streets and alleyways.

Then walk down St Mary Passage to visit great st mary church(Great St. Mary's). It is considered the main university and city church. This is a late Gothic building, it has a selection of 12 bells. Visitors are allowed to enter the tower (123 steps), which offers a beautiful view of the city.
Opposite Great St Mary, on St Mary Street, there are bookshops owned by Cambridge University Press.
And if you look to the right of the west door of Great St Mary's, you'll notice a circle carved into the stone. It was made in 1732, marks the center of the city and is the reference point for all distances from and to Cambridge.

Continue up St. Mary's Street to Rose Crescent.
Here on Trinity street (St. Trinity Street) there are several top colleges:
— Gonville and Keys College. Established in 1348. It has three types of gates that mark the stages of life of students: at the entrance - the Gate of humility, the Gate of wisdom leads into the hall, and for students who have received degrees, the Gate of honor is open to enter.
— Trinity College Trinity College is the largest of the colleges in Cambridge. It was founded by Henry VIII a few weeks before his death. 31 students of Trinity College became Nobel laureates (including Isaac Newton and Vladimir Nabokov).
— Saint John College. His students in 1829 laid the foundation for the traditional Oxford-Cambridge rowing competition. Admire the magnificent gate with mythical animals that support the coat of arms of the founder of the college, Lady Margaret Beaufort.

After seeing the colleges on Trinity Street, walk along Trinity lane over the Garrett Hostel bridge to Backs(The Backs) - "back areas" of colleges. Look to the right - a bridge is thrown over the river, which seems extremely fragile - this is " math bridge» (Mathematical Bridge). This is a copy of the bridge, created in the 18th century - they say it is calculated with such accuracy that it will remain in place even if all the nuts and bolts are removed from it.

Walk along the Backs to Silver Street and Mil Pool. Then go up Queens Lane and King Lane - lanes of the Queens (meaning the wife of Henry VI and the wife of Edward IV, who sponsored the creation of Queens College) and the King.

On the way to King's Parade you can visit several colleges: Clare college, founded in 1326; Hall of the Holy Trinity, considered a college of lawyers; Queens College, which has a unique moon clock and wonderful Tudor courtyards.

From here you can walk further along Trumpington street to the Fitzwilliam Museum(Fitzwilliam Museum - a collection of paintings, books, textiles, coins and other antiques) and Botanical garden(founded by Charles Darwin's teacher, Professor J.S. Henslow).
But in this case, the route will turn out to be very long - decide whether you need such a long walk around Cambridge.

If you need a shorter route, then from Trumpington Street turn left up the narrow Botolph lane and go to Downing Street and Free School Lane, where university museums.
Although university museums are used for education, many of them are open to the public (but not every day - it is better to find out the schedule in advance), admission is free. Here it is Museum of Archeology and Anthropology, near - Sadwick Museum earth sciences (an interesting exhibit is a reconstruction of the world's largest spider), across the road - Museum of Zoology with the skeleton of a huge whale placed above the entrance.

A narrow path will take you from Free School Lane to Benet street. Look around it, and then Peas Hill and St. Edward Passage before you exit again on King's Parade and cross the road to King's College and its famous chapel.

King's College- the most famous college in Cambridge, it was founded as St. Nicholas College in 1441, but completed hundreds of years later.
Its King's College Chapel, which predates the main building by almost 200 years, is world famous for its annual Christmas Eve radio broadcast from there since 1928, with the Nine Lesson and Carol Festival. People have been queuing since 5:30 am on Christmas Eve to get in.
Well, then go back along St. Mary Passage to Market Hill - market square from where the route started.

Of the interesting colleges that were not included in this Cambridge itinerary, we can mention:
— Magdalen College(locals say "Madlin"). Set apart from the others, the Magdalen is considered somewhat exclusive. Candlelight dinners are served in the hall, and students still wear a tailcoat with a white bow tie to the May Ball.
— Peterhouse College. This is the oldest college, it was founded in 1284, but only the hall has survived from the original building. First college to have electricity.
— Corpus Christi College. The only one in Cambridge, which was founded by the townspeople.

Additional Information

Get to Cambridge You can take the train from King's Cross Station (about an hour away, there is a non-stop Express). In Cambridge, the train station is located a mile from the center (20 minutes walk or bus number 3).

But it is more convenient to immediately purchase a ticket for tour bus with an open roof, which is in Cambridge. Tickets can be bought directly on the bus. So you can perfectly explore all the surroundings, and walk around the center on foot. More details - official site. You can download the route map sightseeing bus by Cambridge. The bus has a good audio guide in Russian.

On the right is another cambridge map(click to enlarge). To download this map (or a map with a route) to your computer, right-click on the enlarged image and select "save image".

In Cambridge, in good summer weather, you can ride on a flatboat along the river Kem. She can be hired at Mill Lane (next to the Silver Street Bridge), Magdalene Bridge, and Garret Hostel Lane Bridge (behind Trinity College). Price - about 12 pounds per hour, with a rower - several times more expensive. The boat can accommodate up to 6 people.

Be careful - in May - early June, many colleges are closed to tourists: students take exams.

In preparing the article, the route of the Pitkin Guide to Cambridge was partially used.