This rather unprepossessing house at 22 Fitzwilliam Street is where Charles Darwin lived from 16th December to March 1837, after he returned from his voyage on the Beagle. It was during this time that he started writing up his notes and organising his specimens.
Long time readers will know that one of my favourite things to do is visit churches – not for any spiritual reason but architecturally and historically, and if it’s possible I take the opportunity to climb up into towers and onto roofs. Great St Mary’s is often recommended because its tower gives great views of the city, so I duly put it on my list of things I wanted to do.
To visit King’s College Chapel you must show your ticket at the Gate House and then walk around to the right and the entrance to the chapel. After you’ve finished in the Chapel though you are free to walk around some of the grounds. Note that the college buildings themselves are private but you can take photos outside and walk around the Back Lawn and down to the River Cam – basically the view you get from walking along the Backs as I had done previously, only this gives you a better close up of the exterior to the chapel.
I don’t often do audio tours when I’m travelling, I suppose because I always have a rough plan of what I want to see on any particular day and between that I enjoy wandering around the area following whatever route strikes my interest. On this occasion I had no real plan for the day I arrived in Cambridge and Booking.com was offering me a deal on this particular audio tour so after checking in at my hotel I headed out to explore the Cambridge Backs.
Eltham Palace and Gardens is an English Heritage property in London that has been on my to visit list for a very long time. Finally last October I set aside a day to visit. I travelled via train from London Bridge to Mottingham (about 20 minutes) then it was an easy 15 minute or so walk from the station to the Palace. As an English Heritage member admission was free. From the entrance with the car park (there is another entrance around the corner) you walk along a path by the side of the gardens until you’re crossing over the bridge and the moat as it was in the 14th century.
This interesting monument just outside the centre of Cambridge and not far from the Fitzwilliam Museum was named for Thomas Hobson a local entrepreneur who carried goods between London and Cambridge and he gave money towards this project, a man-made watercourse providing clean water to the city. He’s also where the expression Hobson’s choice comes from*.
The Fitzwilliam Museum has been on my to visit list for a very long time and I made sure to fit it into my plans on this trip. Entrance is free but it is advised to book a timed ticket anyway for the exhibitions even though they’re also free. When I visited the exhibition was Islanders: The Making of the Mediterranean and I had a ticket for opening time at 10am which meant I had plenty of time to wander around the exhibition and then through the rest of the museum without it feeling too crowded.
Last March I went on a five night trip to Cambridge. One of the reasons I wanted to visit the city was to see King’s College Chapel. I’m not at all religious but I do like a good Christmas carol and watch the carols from King’s programme each year and have always admired the setting. Needless to say I was not disappointed.
Nottingham Central Library opened in its brand new purpose built building last week and I went on one of their free guided tours to get a feel for the place since I’m hoping to do a lot of family tree research next year in the local studies section. I will say the building looks great, very modern, very spacious, very well thought out. It has been a long time coming though with its location at Angel Row closing in 2020 and the opening date of the new building being pushed back again, and again, and again. So the fact that it actually opened this year was something of a pleasant surprise!
I’ve previously written a bit about the art gallery Mostyn but this was my first time actually going inside of the building to see one of the exhibitions. Lady Henrietta Augusta Mostyn, of the Llandudno land owning family, was a patron of the arts and an artist herself and lent her name and support to the creation of the gallery. The building was designed by G A Humphreys and officially opened in 1902.
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