The King's College "Chapel" dominates Cambridge, sitting between the river and town square. Distances in Cambridge are measured from a copper plate in the base of the tower this photo was taken from. Students are required by statute to live within three miles of the tower.

A walking tour of the city provided by local guides took us through the narrow lanes between many historical sites. Cambridge is an attractive city but with students banned from keeping a car within 11 miles of the city it is important to heed the many bicycles/torpedos.

The town square is the site of a local market. While the awnings are clearly new, the fountain at the centre of the square, just visible in the photo, looked hundreds of years old. In fact, we were told that the market has been in operation in this square for over 1000 years.

Off to the side of the square, a solution to what is probably an age-old problem. Pigeons have been dubbed "flying rats" in the United Kingdom. This building owner is using a common technique to prevent pigeons from landing on his sign - they wouldn't do it twice in any case.

This postbox at the Cavendish Laboratory was installed in the reign of Edward VII (1901-1910), and was no doubt regularly used by Ernest Rutherford who split the atom there in 1919, and by Watson and Crick who (with assistance) discovered DNA there in 1953.

This tower is part of the St Bennett church. For historical reasons this church, unusually, is a Protestant Benedictine church. The tower is the earliest part of the building, was built in 1027, and is the oldest structure in Cambridgeshire.

In a complex system Trinity College and the other independent Colleges control admissions to the University and provide accommodation, libraries and tutors. The university provides lectures and conducts examinations. Only Masters of the College may walk on the lawn.

The Wren Library at Trinity College was completed in 1695 to the designs of Sir Christopher Wren. In perhaps a slightly unconfortable balance for a library it serves as both a serious academic facility and a tourist attraction.

This manuscript from the Wren Library is one of their earliest documents, an 8th century Latin Epistle of Paul. (It was inside a display case, if you're wondering.)

As a Mac user I couldn't help noting this example of Apple's (relatively) modern technology finding its place amongst the towering shelves of much older information storage devices. There wasn't a Windows machine to be seen.

A view inside King's College, taken with my back to the entrance to the Chapel. Again only the Masters of the College are allowed to walk on the lawn. This didn't stop a number of American tourists we saw who were joining us for evensong. I am so glad I'm not American.

On the rare occasion of their children's graduation from Cambridge, parents are allowed to stand on this lawn while the graduands file into the building on the right to receive their diplomas. (We have to admit, it was really nice grass.)

Punting on the Cam is popular, though being top heavy and without a spare change of clothes I didn't attempt it. We took a couple of hours to walk down the river though, along the popular route to Grantchester. We had afternoon tea in style at The Orchard.

If we'd ever had any doubts about whether we had hayfever (we don't), this walk would probably have answered them. Shoulder-high blooms lined parts of the walk, releasing pollen almost in quantities to rival Palmerston North.

While this old church at Grantchester is grand, it is the vicarage which has been made famous, thanks to Rupert Brooke's poem, The Old Vicarage. The core of the left-hand wall of this church is believed to date from around 1100.

The River Cam, resplendent in afternoon sunlight. We enjoyed Cambridge and would no doubt gladly live there, given say tenure at the University and the right to walk on a few of those lawns...