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.



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