Ecological writer Satish Kumar once wrote that ‘unless you know Nature, you cannot love her’. Likewise, if we wish to protect England’s green and pleasant land, it’s important to get to know why. People who drop fast food litter, pollute our seas with oil and hunt our precious wildlife, obviously were never taught all about why our land is so beautiful and precious.
Cambridgeshire is obviously home to Cambridge University and Ely Cathedral, but many beautiful surrounding villages. And it’s home also to many nice rivers, if you fancy a bit of punting! The Fens is a rich boggy land stretching out to Cambridgeshire, that’s home to some of our most fertile land (therefore produces nearly all fresh produce sold in organic box schemes).
one of England’s biggest (and longest) cathedrals
Ely Cathedral is way bigger than most others, yet only in a small city. Viewed from miles away, this medieval cathedral is on a par with Liverpool or Canterbury cathedral in size. This is because it was not built for the city, but for monks who wished to build a huge monument to Christ, in a community founded by princess Etheldreda, in the days when Ely was a small island in The Fens. Back in the day, the ‘Isle of Eels’ could only be reached by boat in the waterlogged Fens, and today suffers floods.
one of the world’s oldest universities
Cambridge University was actually founded by scholars fleeing Oxford University, and today they remain two of the world’s oldest places of learning. Situated in (along with Norwich) the cycling capital city of England, Cambridge also houses one of the world’s longest-running folk festivals, and is home to the ‘mathematical bridge’, which uses straight pieces to create a curved arch (with no screws, bolts or nails – that’s what Cambridge brains can do!)
The Oxford vs Cambridge Boat Race
This well-known boat race has been has been held each since 1856, bar the two World Wars. It covers a 4.2 mile section on the River Thames, a race thought up by two friends. The race is watched by 15 million people (in the days before TV in 1912, both boats sank as they filled with water during poor weather). One former rower was Hugh Laurie, in the race when his team (Cambridge) lost, after clashing oars.
