Pieces and Punting in Cambridge

Punt wars, Romans, Pieces and splitting the atom. All words associated with Cambridge's past and present. There is a rich history here that draws visitors from around the world to England's leafy cobbled seat of learning.

The area was first settled way back in 70AD by the Romans and after they departed by the Saxons. Curiously enough some locals still refer to the River Cam as the Granta, the name the Romans used in the distant past. Some habits die hard! They also refer to (some) open spaces as Pieces in Cambridge. You will find Parker's Piece and Christ's Pieces dotted around the city and plenty of other green open spaces in which to wander. For a view down onto the spires of Cambridge and surrounding villages such as Grantchester and Knapwell take a walk into the Gog Magog hills (only 300ft high) just north of the city where you will find Roman roads and an Iron Age fort.

Most people will know the city for its world famous university and its part in the annual boat race against Oxford. Dig a little deeper into the past and you will find an impressive list of names that have studied in the hallowed halls of its universities and colleges. How does Newton, Bacon, Tennyson, Byron and Rutherford sound? Rutherford first split the atom here in the Cavendish Laboratory, part of the extensive research facilities at the university, thus starting the science of nuclear physics. Newton worked on his Laws of Motion at Trinity College. The city is also a high tech centre known as the Silicon Fen so it's keeping up with the times.

The first college to be founded in Cambridge was Peterhouse in 1284. It still stands today with some of the original masonry intact despite numerous renovations. Discipline was apparently slack in the early days of the college and the rowdy behaviour of some of the students led to a 'town and gown' conflict that continued on through to the 18th century. We all know that students can be a rowdy lot but 500 years to settle a conflict? Maybe they were slow learners.

How does a relaxing punt down the Cam on a lazy summers day sound? Well you may need to watch out because so called Punt Wars have broken out in the last couple of years over this lucrative business. So lucrative that at times it is possible to cross the river by walking across the punts. Trouble has been flaring as rival company's battle it out for their share of the market. The Cam Conservators are responsible for protecting the Cam but are unable to restrict the numbers of licences issued due to local statutes so this situation may be set to continue. Let's hope it doesn't rumble on for the next 500 years. Punters beware.