Cambridge, London 20-23 August 2016

We left the campground and followed back roads as far as we could before we hit the arterial roads into Cambridge. Our room for the night was in an apartment where the kitchen and bathroom were shared. We washed our clothes in the kitchen and found a laundrette the next morning to dry them.

Cambridge http://www.visitcambridge.org/ is a town alive with cyclists. You have to keep your wits about you, as you cannot hear them coming from behind. There are many cycle ways and plenty of

parking in town.

We stopped for morning tea at the Museum of Cambridge, a small locally run building on the edge of the main town. We had to choose which cup we wanted for our tea from a selection of fine china. We sat outside where we could watch the bikes.

We learned that the shop front which was the facade of the new building in fact came from a shop at one of the colleges. The curator asked for the shop front but it was refused. So he visited the site at night for several weeks on his bicycle and piece by piece he removed it back to the museum.

We learned about Mr Hobson who hired out horses and who insisted on resting each horse in turn. So you had to take the next one available or you missed out. It the origin of the expression Hobson's

choice.

We learned of a lady who after visiting a local market and acquiring a bottle of whisky as well, got caught in a snow storm. She sheltered under a thorn bush and several days later was found by a passing pedestrian. She became famous in her region and was showered with gifts. One must assume a lot of those gifts were alcohol because she died the next year of alcohol related maladies.

We continued on through town and stopped outside the Tourist information centre where our bikes enjoyed the chance to talk with a few hundred others while we were waiting.

A bit further on was the Corpus clock. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corpus_Clock.

Across the road was the Fitzwilliam museum with an astonishing array of displays to view. I enjoyed the armour section where many medieval coats of armour were on show. There was also an excellent collection of ceramics. And best of all it was free. http://www.visitcambridge.org/things-to-do/fitzwilliam-museum-p130001

Sally took the chance to look around a local art shop hoping to spend her 20 pounds and found just what she wanted but it was too big to cart on a bike.

We left town on a cycleway which avoided the main roads and stumbled across the DNA cycle path. http://www.bshs.org.uk/travel-guide/dna-cycle-path-cambridge-england. It went on forever.

At Great Shelford we found our host for the night Steve who was originally from America but now resided with his wife in Cambridge. As usual we spent a wonderful evening enjoying good food, good wine, and good company. They only had a single bed so I got to sleep on some cushions on the floor and got a superb nights sleep.

Local knowledge is a wonderful thing. Today we were going to be privy to 4 titbits which made our cycling easy and enjoyable.

First up was how to get out of town on the cycle way – always useful information. After Cambridge the countryside gets a little bit hilly after a good week on the flat. We were well rested so they held no horrors. Along the way we had to pull over for a cycle race, cheered them on, and recommenced our journey.
Later we were passed by a local cycling club and one of the riders

chatted to Sally for about 5 minutes while waiting for people to catch up. He told her that at the next village was a pub where Jamie Oliver grew up so when we found it we stopped and had a pint. It was called The Cricketers in a town known as Clavering. A shower come through so we went inside and listened to the piano playing before we parted again.Just down the road we found a small supermarket where we could only buy a large packet of biscuits. It was empty of food really. While munching on our most unsatisfactory lunch another cyclist turned up. But the supermarket had closed. It was with great pleasure that we gave him a packet of biscuits to see him to his home in London. It is nice to help others occasionally.

We found our way to Ware and a third person told us of a nearby campground, A fourth told us to follow the canal path which made getting there really easy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hertford

At the campground we had to set up the tent under cover and transport it to site. Sally took advantage of a small food trailer to buy dinner and we went to bed rather tired after a long day on the bikes.

Getting through London was the next challenge on our agenda. We chose a Youth Hostel just outside of London and the whole day we could follow the tow path along side the Lee Navigation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Navigation

We got lost and found a pathway which was surrounded both sides with blackberries. They were plumpest sweetest blackberries we have ever eaten. At the hostel we made a large blackberry and apple pie washed down with gallons of fresh cream. It was way oversized so we found some other guests to feed and it was soon gone. Our bikes

spent the night in their own tin can locked away from thieving hands.

Sally has a former colleague who now lives in London and we were determined to visit her while there. It had one other unintended consequence. We had mentioned on Facebook that we were dreading our voyage through London and the lady with whom we had stayed when we first arrived asked us to stay another night and go around London rather than through it. We agreed.

We followed the Lee Waterway to Tottenham and then cut through London streets to Crouch End, Highgate, Hampstead Heath, got lost and finally found our way to Cricklewood en route to West London. At a cafe Gerry and Sally chatted about old times for and hour and a half and she told us of a B&B (The Windmill) right next door which upon enquiring had rooms free for the night. Local knowledge again !