Cambridge and Grantchester Walk

Hooray. My first walk of the year with the group, and what a good turnout we had for it!

This was the invite from Joyce...

"Our next walk is Friday 10th January. Meet at Newmarket Road, Park n Ride in Cambridge in the far back car park near the huge bicycle archway. We will walk the tarmac paths/cycle route to Grantchester Meadows and return on the Guided BusWay back to our cars. It's about 13-14 miles in total. We will have a lunch stop in Grantchester at the Orchard Tearooms or pub (your choice). It should be easy walking with plenty of riverside views, meadows and pavement! We will meet at 10am. If you would like a shorter route then we can collect you on the way back from the Grafton Centre."

This was our route...

Well almost. I forgot to restart my tracker after our coffee stop until we got to the river, but we just walked down Kings Parade past the colleges and along Mill Lane rather than flying over them.

Here are a few of my photos.

The giant bicycle at the start.

We met Sue along the way and took a little detour to avoid some muddy bits on Ditton Meadows, but eventually got onto Stourbridge Common and down to the river.

Only in Cambridge...

The river was quite high and Joyce pointed out that houses along the river side had flood defences.

We passed the college boathouses but didn't see many rowers on the river.  But full term doesn't start until next Tuesday, so there aren't many undergraduates about.

We reached Jesus lock....

...and followed the river to Magdalene bridge.

We followed St. Johns Street past St. Johns and Trinity Colleges to the Michaelhouse Centre.

Here we met up with Katharine, so we were 16 for coffee. Miranda and I went upstairs to photograph the rest of us.

Just outside was the entrance to St. Michael's Court, where I had rooms in my 3rd year as an undergraduate at Gonville and Caius College in 1978-79. OMG! That's 40 years ago!

Here is the view of my college from Kings Parade with the Great Gate. I don't say "old college" as I am still a member. "One a Caian, always a Caian", so I'm entitled to stay at the college and use the facilities, although I've never tested that.

Outside the Senate House was a group of tourists, with the leader holding a flag on a pole. I did suggest to Joyce she should have one too, but we managed without and didn't lose anybody.

The clock on the corner of Corpus Christi college, known as the Grasshopper Clock, is interesting. The "Chronophage" insect  moves its mouth, appearing to "eat up" the seconds as they pass, and occasionally it "blinks" in seeming satisfaction. The creature's constant motion produces an eerie grinding sound that suits its task. The hour is tolled by the sound of a chain clanking into a small wooden coffin hidden in the back of the clock. The clock is entirely accurate only once every five minutes.The rest of the time, the pendulum may seem to catch or stop, and the lights may lag or, then, race to get ahead. According to its creator,  John C. Taylor this erratic motion reflects life's "irregularity". Taylor deliberately designed it to be "terrifying": "Basically I view time as not on your side. He'll eat up every minute of your life, and as soon as one has gone he's salivating for the next."

We carried on to Trumpington Street and then followed Mill Lane back to the river.

We were pleased to find the path along the river and through Grantchester Meadows mud-free and did enjoy the sunshine.

We stopped for our lunch break in Grantchester. I was among those who chose the Red Lion.

I couldn't resist this reflection in a car window...

Can you see how I cheated with the photo?

Pn our way back now, we passed Grantchester Mill pond.

We passed through Trumpington on our way to intercept the Gutded Busway. Looking past Addenbrookes, we could see towards the Gog Magog hills, where we were walked at the beginning of November (see here).

We were on the southern section of the guided busway It uses part of the former Varsity Line to Oxford, links Cambridge railway station, Addenbrooke's Hospital and the park and ride site at Trumpington, via housing on the Clay Farm site. The busway is designed for buses travelling at 55 miles per hour, slowing to 30 miles per hour where it crosses public highways. Bus drivers are asked to drive as they would do on a normal road.Guidance is achieved using the guidewheel-on-concrete-kerb method, with the busway constructed from pre-cast concrete sections that are 15 metres (49 ft) long and 2.6 metres (8.5 ft) wide.

Our route took as pass where I work, the Cambridge Assessment Triangle Building.

We headed up Hills Rd and onto Jesus Green, where we stopped at Reality Checkpoint, said to be the oldest remaining electrical lamppost in the city. It was restored in 2017 as part of the project to rebuild the University Arms hotel.

I'd never seen this feature before...



It is the work of Dinky Doors. Read an interview with the resident here.

Eventually we were back retracing our steps along the river.

As we passed this postbox, Sue showed me another Dinky Doors creation, the Emailerator.

Very cute.

We also passed these statues on a balcony.

Back on our detour to cross the railway, we again passed the 12th Century  Leper Chapel. I'd been over that railway bridge so many times on the Park&Ride bus or on my folding bike and I'd never noticed it!

Soon we were back at the giant bicycle at the Park & Ride.

What a lovely walk and what great weather for it. It was lovely to catch up with people. Thanks Joyce for organising and leading us. I'm looking forward to plenty more walks with the group this year.

P.S. On our way back to back to Bury St. Edmunds we were treated to the sight of the full moon rising in front of us. I never realised at the time, but it was a Wolf moon tonight, a penumbral lunar eclipse. Here is my photo of it...

You can just about see the shadow... I think.

You can see more details of our route here on MapMyWalk and more of my photos here on Flickr.