Cambridge

Cambridge is a university town in the English county of Cambridgeshire. On the Backs, it’s a city of crocuses and daffodils, verdant open fields, with cattle grazing only 500 yards from the market square. Because the market area is not walled off, cows sometimes stray into it. It’s worth visiting the Cambridge of Brooke, Byron, Newton, and Rutherford, with its summer paradise of punts, ‘bumps,’ cool willows, and May Balls.

The spectacular vista of King’s College Chapel from across the River Cam, the rich complexity of Gothic architecture, students cycling to lectures, and languid summer punting on the River Cam are just a few of the pictures that come to mind when thinking about Cambridge.

Cambridge juggles its roles as a historic city, home to a world-renowned university, and, more recently, a globally recognized center of excellence for technology and research. After a disagreement with the townspeople, students from Oxford formed the University of Cambridge in the 13th century. They picked Cambridge as a research site since it is a calm town. Many of the founders of a (then) tiny American institution called Harvard, which is also based in Cambridge, were educated at Cambridge University in the 17th century (named after the English university). Mathematicians like Sir Isaac Newton, philosophers like Bertrand Russell and Ludwig Wittgenstein, and authors like John Milton and Lord Byron are among Cambridge University’s illustrious graduates. Rutherford’s groundbreaking work in nuclear physics, as well as Crick and Watson’s DNA research, took place there (see the Eagle pub below). More Nobel Prizes have been awarded to Cambridge professors than to any other institution in the world. However, the rumor that just one institution, Trinity, has produced more Nobel laureates than France is untrue.

Heritage villages, towns, and historic monuments (such as Ely and Peterborough) surround the city on all sides and are all within reasonable driving distance. Cambridge, like Oxford, was spared the German carpet bombing that wreaked havoc on many other British towns, making it one of the best-preserved medieval cities in the country.

Every year, more than 3.5 million people visit Cambridge to enjoy the ancient city’s attractions as well as use it as a base for exploring some of England’s gentlest (read flattest; excellent for leisurely hikes, poor for hills with overlooks) and most unspoilt countryside.

The National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB), approximately 2 miles (3 km) north of the city centre, and the Cambridge University Botanic Garden, about 1 mile south of the city centre, are the city’s two official weather observation stations. In addition, the University’s Computer Laboratory’s Digital Technology Group operates a weather station on the West Cambridge campus, which displays current weather conditions online through web browsers or an app, as well as a 1995 archive.

The city, like the rest of the United Kingdom, has a marine climate affected heavily by the Gulf Stream. Cambridge, which is in the driest part of the country, receives roughly 570 mm (22.44 in) of rain per year on average, about half the national average, with some years falling into the semi-arid (less than 500 mm (19.69 in) category. The last time this happened was in 2011, when the Botanic Gardens received 380.4 mm (14.98 in) of rain and the NIAB site received 347.2 mm (13.67 in). 2012, on the other hand, was the wettest year on record, with 812.7 mm (32.00 in) of rain recorded. Because of Cambridge’s low elevation and low precipitation propensity during transitional snow events, snowfall accumulations are often minimal.

Because of its low-lying, inland, and easterly location within the British Isles, summer temperatures are somewhat higher than in regions farther west, and often match or even surpass those in the London area. In July 2006, the NIAB and Botanic Garden observation stations both reported the highest official mean monthly maximum (i.e. averaged over the full month) of any month at any site in the UK since records started; 28.3 °C (82.9 °F). The yearly maximum national temperature in any given year is often recorded in Cambridge – 30.2 °C (86.4 °F) at NIAB in July 2008 and 30.1 °C (86.2 °F) in the Botanic Garden in August 2007 are two recent examples. Although a temperature of 37.5 °C (99.5 °F) was recorded on the same day at the Guildhall rooftop weather station in the city centre and is accepted by the Met Office, the absolute maximum is 36.9 °C (98.4 °F) attained on 10 August 2003. The previous record was 36.5 °C (97.7 °F) established in August 1990 at the Botanic Garden. The last time the temperature topped 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) occurred in July 2006, when the high hit 35.6 degrees Celsius (96.1 degrees Fahrenheit) in the Botanic Garden and 35.8 degrees Celsius (96.4 degrees Fahrenheit) at NIAB. Over the 1981–2010 period, the temperature will typically hit 25.1 °C (77.2 °F) or higher on over 25 days of the year, with the yearly hottest day averaging 31.5 °C (88.7 °F).

The sun shines for around 1,500 hours each year, or about 35% of the time, which is typical of most places in inland central England.

Cambridge is around 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of London. The city is situated in a flat and rather low-lying territory directly south of the Fens, with elevations ranging from 6 to 24 meters (20 to 79 feet) above sea level. As a result, the town was formerly bordered by low-lying wetlands that have since been drained as the town has grown.

Cambridge’s geology is made up of gault clay and Chalk Marl, often known as Cambridge Greensand, which is partially covered with terrace gravel. A layer of phosphatic nodules (coprolites) under the marl was mined for fertiliser in the nineteenth century. It grew to be a significant business in the area, with earnings funding structures like the Corn Exchange, Fulbourn Hospital, and St. John’s Chapel until the Quarries Act of 1894 and competition from the United States put a stop to production.

The River Cam, which originates in the settlement of Grantchester to the southwest, runs through the city. Water meadows inside the city, such as Sheep’s Green, as well as residential development, surround it. Modern-day Cambridge, like other cities, has several suburbs and high-density housing regions. Cambridge’s city center is mostly commercial, including ancient buildings and big open spaces like Jesus Green, Parker’s Piece, and Midsummer Common. Many of the streets in the city center have been made pedestrian-friendly. New housing projects have sprung up in the twenty-first century, with estates including the CB1 and Accordia schemes near the station, as well as developments like Great Kneighton, formerly known as Clay Farm, and Trumpington Meadows now under construction towards the city’s south. Darwin Green (previously NIAB) and University-led projects in West Cambridge and North West Cambridge are two other large developments now under construction in the city.

An Air Quality Management Area covers the whole city center, as well as sections of Chesterton, Petersfield, West Cambridge, Newnham, and Abbey, and was established to combat excessive amounts of nitrogen dioxide in the atmosphere.

Cambridge has long operated as an important regional trade station due to its river connection to the surrounding agricultural regions and strong road links to London in the south. Cambridge was given a monopoly on river commerce by King Henry I, allowing this sector of the economy to expand. Merchants from all over the nation came to the town market to sell a broad range of commodities, and yearly commercial fairs such as Stourbridge Fair and Midsummer Fair attracted traders from all over the country. The river was described as “frequently so crowded with [commercial boats] that the passage thereof is blocked for some time” in a 1748 report. Every Monday, for example, 2000 firkins of butter were transported up the river from the agricultural fields of the North East, namely Norfolk, to be unloaded at the town and transported to London by road. Cambridge’s role as a market town declined when retail distribution patterns changed and the trains arrived.

Cambridge’s economy is now broad, with strengths in areas including research and development, software consulting, high-value engineering, creative industries, pharmaceuticals, and tourism. Forbes named the city one of the “most beautiful cities in the world” in 2010. Tourism brings in more than £350 million to the city’s economy.

Because of the number of high-tech enterprises and technological incubators that have emerged on scientific parks across the city, Cambridge and its environs are frequently referred to as Silicon Fen, an analogy to Silicon Valley. Many of these parks and structures are owned or leased by university campuses, and the firms that operate them are often spinoffs. Trinity College owns Cambridge Science Park, Europe’s biggest commercial R&D hub; St John’s is the landlord of St John’s Innovation Centre. Abcam, CSR, ARM Limited, CamSemi, Jagex, and Sinclair are among the technology businesses. Microsoft Research UK offices are in West Cambridge, apart from the main Microsoft UK site in Reading, and there is also a location on Station Road.

Pye Ltd., established in 1898 by W. G. Pye, a researcher at the Cavendish Laboratory, started by supplying the University and eventually specialized in wireless telegraphy equipment, radios, TVs, and defense equipment. Pye Ltd grew into a number of other businesses, notably Sepura, a TETRA radio equipment producer. Marshall Aerospace, situated on the city’s eastern outskirts, is another important employer. The Cambridge Network is a network that connects enterprises. Autonomy Corporation, a software business, is based on Cowley Road in the Business Park.

Cambridge’s telephone area code is 01223.

At Cambridge, there are several cybercafés, as well as free Wi-Fi in many cafes and bars. The Grand Arcade public library offers free internet access, but you must first register as a library member, which requires TWO forms of identification: one for you, such as a passport, ID card, or photographical driving license, and one for your address, such as a utility bill, bank statement, or an official letter from a council.