Would I were in Grantchester, in Grantchester!

Apologies for the delay in posting – I’ve just had too much on these past few weeks. I’ve got plenty to write about though – not least, our weekend trip to Cambridge which delivered one of the most torrential downpours I’ve ever seen as well as a lovely paddle along the Cam. I’ll also be writing posts about my solo weekend camping trip along the river Nene (this coming weekend) and a review of the latest model to join the Crooks Kayak Stable – a Dagger Fiesta 9.3! Hopefully, I’ll also have enough time to add more to the ‘Types of Kayak’ page too.

So…..Cambridge. And what a varied weekend it was weather-wise. Dawn and I dragged the caravan to a lovely little Caravan Club CL in Harston – a beautiful little village on the outskirts of Cambridge on the Friday evening. We rang ahead, as instructed, and the small holding owner was there to greet us at the gate when we arrived. We couldn’t believe our luck when she showed us to our pitch for the weekend – a tranquil little apple orchard all to ourselves!! Yet another reminder of why we don’t stay in hotels!!

Needless to say, we’re visiting this site again in October. But back to this trip – by the time we set up on the Friday evening, there was little time to do anything but eat spaghetti bolognaise and crusty bread washed down with a bottle of French red whilst listening to the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra playing themes from the ‘Detectives TV Shows’ on Radio 2  – ‘ain’t life grand?

We were up early on the Saturday morning and Dawn dropped me and the Drama Queen off in the lovely village of Grantchester – south of Cambridge – where I put in at a bridge just outside the village.

Grantchester is noteworthy for a number of reasons – it is said to have the world’s largest concentration of Nobel Prize winners, it was home to the Edwardian poet, Rupert Brooke who lived at the Old Vicarage (now home to the author Jeffrey Archer – Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare and his wife Mary), nearby is the infamous Byron’s pool where Lord Byron enjoyed ‘skinny-dipping’ as did Virginia Woolf apparently, and the village hosts a Barrel race on Boxing day every year which culminates in a hog roast party at the Rupert Brooke pub. Village life – marvellous! And, of course, it is home to one of the most wonderful tea rooms in England – The Orchard – a must for everyone’s bucket list.

I set off paddling at a little after 9 and had promised to be back at 12 to take Dawn to The Orchard for lunch. My original plan to get as far as the ‘Backs’ before turning round was scuppered – I’d be lucky to hit Cambridge given the time constraints, but anyway, off I paddled and it was simply wonderful. The weather was perfect, warm but mainly overcast, although the sun did pop out occasionally and, more importantly, it stayed dry.

The Cam, certainly the stretch between Grantchester and Cambridge is lovely – slow moving and bursting with greenery. Grantchester Meadows (the path through it is known locally as the ‘Grind’ although for the life of me I don’t see why – it’s a fine walk through lush meadows - as the name suggests - bordered by impressive woodland) full of dog walkers and cyclists accompanied me for the first few miles of meandering river, although I was completely alone on the water until around 10ish when I neared Cambridge itself and then, all of a sudden, the Cam was awash with Kayakers – I’d happened upon Cambridge Canoe Club!

Having picked my way through novice paddlers splashing their way from bank to bank (hark at me – the experienced kayaker with 2 months under his belt! :-D ) I continued on until I entered the city where my way was finally blocked by a considerable number of punts. No, that’s not a spelling mistake – punts are flat-bottomed boats with a square cut bow originally developed on the River Thames - here’s a photo:

I had reached my first portage point, but decided instead, after a glance at my watch, to turn back and paddle gently south to Grantchester and my lunch date. It never ceases to amaze me how the light constantly changes on the water – have a look at some of the photos and you’ll see what I mean:

As you can see, the paddle back was lovely. Instead of finishing at the bridge where I started, I took a right fork into the heart of the village and ended up at a lovely pool beside Grantchester Mill. Take a look:

Dawn arrived and had her first ‘go’ aboard the Drama Queen:

We both nearly toppled in when I helped Dawn out of the boat, but we survived and headed for The Orchard (passing the previously mentioned Baron Archer - dressed in an old cricketing jumper – on the way). The Orchard really is a fabulous place on a sunny afternoon. We had cheese ploughman’s followed by fresh fruit scones with strawberry jam and Cornish clotted cream all washed down with lashings of piping hot Darjeeling – wonderful! Take a look:

The last photo (admittedly not very good quality but it was taken with my iPod and was a bit rushed) is of the last flying Lancaster – the City of Lincoln – passing by presumably on it’s way to or from an air show – what a fantastic sight – and noise as it roared past! We spent hours lazing in the warm sunshine listening to bees humming and birds singing and the sudden appearance of the Lancaster was a perfect finish to a lovely afternoon. The following day we were treated to thunder storms and rain that bordered on terrifying – we sheltered under a shop canopy in Cambridge along with lots of other touristy types and the rain was so heavy and so utterly deafening that everyone simply laughed and spent an hour grinning inanely at each other as they pointed constantly at the rain as it pelted down like stair rods – it really was a strange experience.

This last photo is a memorial to the poet Rupert Brooke in the garden of the Old Rectory:

So, that’s my first paddle on the Cam – as I mentioned earlier I loved it so much we plan to return in October where, hopefully, I will get time to explore the ‘Backs’ in the Drama Queen – I’ll keep you posted.