WHAT I MISS ABOUT CAMBRIDGE

US Dave just asked what I missed about Cambridgeshire, and of course the answer is NOTHING.

But I miss Mum and Dad (not that I’d be able to see them anyway at the moment, even over the fence).

And I’m dying to get back when pubs are open again, so I can stare through this window on the bend, opposite the Green and the Chinese takeaway.

You can’t really compare places during Lockdown, but I’m not missing the flats, though walking Parkers Piece and the colleges on a crisp November morning has its appeal.

But the wide open skies ?

You can fill ’em with hills and tower blocks.

The ONLY thing Sheffield doesn’t have is a go-to Crispy Beef and Singapore Rice; I suspect nothing will ever take the place of Chung Hwa in my heart, though the sit-down places on West Street look decent.

No train trips yet, bar the one home to collect the car. Sheffield will have many exciting day trips by rail to offer me; Cleethorpes, Burton, Rotherham. But I’ll miss being able to nip in to London (or King’s Lynn) in an hour from the expanded station at Waterbeach.

The other downside of living “oop North” is that it’ll take more effort to get the East Anglian section of the Beer Guide pinked when it arrives in September (possibly).

Who knows, that might make be appreciate that new micropub in Molesworth (don’t check that) more.

Actually, Cambridgeshire is one of the few counties not plagued by high-table hell. Cambridge has a pub stock to match Sheffield, and not many places can say that.

I’ll miss popping in to the Blue, and the Maypole, and the Champion.

And I’ll miss the fantastic beer (Bass last time !) and pies in my 2020 Pub of the Year in Harlton.

The street art in Sheffield is always going to eclipse that of Mill Road, unless you’re Beer Mat,

and I’m now 2 hours closer to the Etihad when football returns, though the Abbey will always call me back.

“But what about the colleges ?” asks the American tourist.

They’re lovely. And if you visit Cambridge you SHOULD go punting. Honest.

But frankly, that’ll take you an hour. Then you need to jump on the train to Waterbeach. And admire the lacings in the Sun. They’re world famous, you know.

Published by retiredmartin

Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.

11 thoughts on “WHAT I MISS ABOUT CAMBRIDGE”

  2. Nice one. A few surprises like the proximity to London, but overall those would be the highlights I’ve gleaned from your posts. Chung Wa must be really good. Or they are paying you for the advertising.

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    1. Saimon, a commenter from the village, tells me Chung Hwa is closed. I hope that’s only because the further restrictions on takeaways (waiting outside is discouraged) mean they’re taking their Chinese New Year holiday early. It is tremendous.

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  3. I wish we would have had the stamina to hit the Sun when we returned to Waterbeach from Cambridge. It is on our missed pubs list. So is Chung Wa. Will we ever get back? (To Waterbeach, that is!)

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  4. You still will be able to do a day trip to London ? Colins dad seems to manage it & we have chums in Leeds who manage a good day out in London .(takes us 2 hours -mainly because we walk to the station from home which takes 45 mins -no taxi -tight Northerners ) I still like your “big sky ” photos -I have done Northern city living & I prefer things to be a bit more bucolic these days

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    1. Pauline,
      Yes, on reading “But I’ll miss being able to nip in to London (or King’s Lynn) in an hour from the expanded station at Waterbeach” I thought two hours shouldn’t make much difference.
      I’m just short of two hours from Euston and get to London far more often that Birmingham or Stoke.

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    2. You’re right, of course, Pauline. Plenty of trains take 2hrs 20 odd, but I doubt I’ll be doing the trips down for gigs in the evening I sometimes did. On the other hand, Manchester and Leeds are far better for gigs anyway.

      You’re welcome to the big skies !

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