Hello!
Well, today you join me in the historic
city of Cambridge
home to one of the oldest
and most famous universities
in the world.
One thing many people ask
when they first come to Cambridge is
"where is the university?"
Well actually it's all around.
The university is split into 31 different colleges
and they're separated all round Cambridge.
The first college we come to, Peterhouse,
is actually the oldest
founded in 1284.
It's also the one with the fewest
number of undergraduates,
totalling fewer than 300.
Just opposite we find Pembroke
founded in the 14th century.
Cambridge has been a place
of great scientific discovery.
This plaque here
commemorates when J.J. Thompson
discovered the electron here
at the Cavendish Labs.
At Queens' College we find
the Mathematical Bridge
said to be held together entirely
by mathematical principles.
This isn't quite the case
and there are nuts and bolts.
The present bridge
dates from a rebuild in about 1905.
And here we come to the famous King's College
founded in 1441.
The famous chapel was started 5 years later
and took 98 years to complete.
Every year
there's a carol service from King's
on Christmas Eve.
Next door to King's we have
the Senate House
and it's here where university students
come to graduate
and also to find out their exam results.
And here we have Gonville and Caius
founded in 1348.
Unlike a lot of English cities
Cambridge does not have a cathedral.
This is Great St. Mary's Church
and it's the University Church.
Great St. Mary's also marks
the centre of Cambridge.
All distances
are measured from that plaque just there.
A short walk from Trinity Street
will take us to The Backs
and this is where a lot of the colleges
back on to the River Cam.
Punting is a very popular activity in Cambridge
on this part of the river.
Punting takes place on flat-bottomed boats
and a pole propels the boat down the river
which also acts as the rudder
to steer the boat.
Although it does take a bit of practice!
Here we come to Trinity College
founded in 1546 by Henry VIII.
It was founded when two earlier colleges,
Michaelhouse and King's Hall,
were combined.
An interesting feature of Great Gate
is that the statue of Henry VIII was
originally holding a sword
and if you look closely
students replaced the sword
with a chair leg!
One famous alumnus of Trinity College
was Sir Isaac Newton.
It's said that this tree
may have been taken from a cutting
from one at Sir Isaac Newton's home.
Possibly from the one where
it is said that the apple fell on his head.
Right next door to Trinity we have
St. John's College founded in 1511
by Lady Margaret Beaufort.
The name of St. John's' rowing club
still bears the name Lady Margaret
after the founder.
Now Trinity is the largest college
and St. John's the second largest
and they're right next door to each other
so as you can imagine
there's some considerable rivalry
between the two.
Now most churches in England
are approximately cross shape
with a central nave pointing East-West
but not this one.
This one is a round church
and it's one of only a handful in England
This one was founded in about 1130.
Well that's it from Cambridge for today
but it's a fantastic place with
with lots of historical buildings
fitting into a fairly small city
but unfortunately I couldn't show you it all.
So, hopefully see you again soon!
See you again!
