Cambridge and Ely

I have just spent a very enjoyable few days in Cambridge visiting my friend Nathalie, who works for the Cambridge University Press. I'd only been to Cambridge once before, when I was tiny, to visit my dad's old college (Downing). It's such a beautiful place, and we did lots of touristy things, including punting on the Cam (it all felt very Brideshead, albeit in Cambridge), meandered around the town, visited the Fitzwilliam museum (having watched Desperate Romantics the night before- a new guilty pleasure- it was exciting to see Millais's The Bridesmaid in person) and avoided getting hit by cyclists. I think King's, Clare and St John's are the most beautiful of the colleges, but I probably feel the strongest affinity with Newnham (not that I ever went down the Oxbridge route). In the evening, we saw two new one-act plays at the ADC Theatre, one of which was a Victorian murder mystery and the other was about gender. I can't say I was enamoured by either, but that's experimental theatre for you. We also visited the nearby town of Ely, which is really idyllic, with a stunning cathedral (which looks amazingly well preserved), Oliver Cromwell's house (surprisingly interesting- I say surprisingly as I'm kind of allergic to the C17 after having to take a not particularly enjoyable course in it), a fabulous bookshop called Topping & Co (it sells Persephones- always an indication of class) and lots of charity shops! We each got a very decent second hand book haul over the three days. I was very excited to find a box full of green-spined Virago Modern Classics in the back of an antiques shop in Ely for £1 each. Anyway, enjoy the photos.


Cromwell's house


Ely Cathedral


King's College- I have to say that I find it far more beautiful than Trinity.


Me in front of Corpus Christi- another stunning building.


The oldest building in Cambridge.




The Bridge of Sighs (lovely name)


I think St John's might be the most impressive visually...

 ... while Clare is the prettiest.


View from Castle Mound- it's not terribly high, but I still had bit of a Julie Andrews moment!


Books! Now, to find room for all of them...