Sunday 1 July 2012

To The Tower!

Cambridge is a city blessed with having few high buildings; a scattering of church spires and college buildings decorate the skyline but mostly it's a panorama of low, clustered rooftops. But where to view this roofscape? The new John Lewis store? The top of the multi-storey carpark? How about Great St Mary's Church tower?


There are three drawbacks to the plan. Firstly it costs a small amount of money for the pleasure. Secondly there are 123 narrow, steep steps to ascend. And thirdly they sometimes ring the bells while you're in the tower! But, hey we're not to be put off by such trifles, are we?


Having climbed the steps, with only brief pauses to catch your breath and allow the passage of stout parties on the way down, you will find yourself 114 feet (35 metres) above the ground with superb views of the city and some of the surrounding countryside.


The "sore thumb" in the distance is the University Library. The white building in the foreground is known as the Old Schools and in between are Clare College and Trinity Hall.


In the foreground of the photo above is Gonville and Caius College (Caius is pronounced Keys, by the way) and behind it stand the buildings of Trinity College including the Wren Library on the left with the long white roof. There's just a bit of St John's College sneaking into the right of the photo at the back.



Kings' College Chapel can be viewed in all its glory (above) while in the other direction you can look down on the multi-coloured awnings of the Market Square...



But what I actually came up here for today was to gaze down on to the Senate House lawn where some of this year's graduation ceremonies are taking place.



With the aid of a zoom lens you can be incredibly nosy....

             


Or you can drop in on Auntie's Tea Shop....
  



Look over there, there are some buskers on the corner of Petty Cury gathering a small crowd....



And isn't that a pigeon perched on a pinnacle?


Take care.











kkk  

17 comments:

  1. You had me worried for you when I read your post title John!! A delightful and humorous post, thank you for bringing a smile on another overcast Sunday morning.
    Enjoy your day John.

    ReplyDelete
  2. ..glad you took on the challenge John; great shot down the stairwell. Some very imposing schooling institutions to see. Especially like the grandeur of Kings College Chapel with all the spires.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is a post I'll be coming back to with some frequency. Wonderful tour, well photographed. Jim

    ReplyDelete
  4. Delightful post, as always. I never climbed the tower to see those wonderful views, but my daughter's graduation day will long live in my memory and it's nice to be reminded of that.

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a wonderful tour. Thank you Jim!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for the look-round. An uncle of mine, now deceased, attended school at Cambridge, so seeing the buildings of the school was special for me.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What great views, lots to see, lots of great buildings!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Awesome views! No. 4 has so many interesting shapes. Love the gent checking his watch. Hope you had some refreshments at Auntie's Tea Shop after all that stair climbing.

    ReplyDelete
  9. John, the things we do for our blogs! I am glad that you climbed up there to show us the Cambridge sights.

    ReplyDelete
  10. The climb was worth the money and the effort.
    Cambridge is as beautiful from the air as from street level.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thank you for doing the climb and taking such fantastic shots ...I would never make it up those steps ...and IF I ever did I'd be stuck as I freeze at the top of tall spiral stairs....I still remember the discovery of this fact many years ago.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wow, now this is what I call a high perch, a pigeon eye view of the vacinity. I love your telephoto shots, with thier dramatic point of view. Oh, and a great place to get your cardio exercise too :^)

    ReplyDelete
  13. I'd say the view and photo opportunities were well worth the 145 steps! (I felt great when you reached the top. I hope you did too.) Wonderful photos!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Most enjoyable ariel tour of the city. Alas, I expect every town in the country has some sore thumb blotting it's view.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I would love to visit Cambridge.

    ReplyDelete
  16. o, that was a fun look-see...my favorite building, of course, is the king's college chapel. exquisite. like the music it sends forth...also enjoyed the long lens peeks....:)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Though I've never been across the big "pond", John...thank you for showing where my Mum grew up!!! Loved every picture!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for taking the time to comment. I'll try to answer any questions via a comment or e-mail within the next day or two (no hard questions, please!).