A semi leisurely breakfast aboard Ange De L’Eau with Wolfgang and Marlene before Fraser walked the two minutes to the hire car office to pick up our mode of transport.
Fraser parked the rental in the Morrison Supermarket parking lot which was very close to the boat, and came up with the innovative idea of using a shopping cart as a luggage trolley. It was a very fond farewell to Marlene and Wolfgang and we were on our way.
Our plan for today was to drive fifty minutes east to Cambridge for a look around as Fraser had not been there before.
After being on a canal boat that goes at the maximum speed of 3mph for the last two months, we felt a little uneasy hurtling through the countryside.
King’s College Chapel is the chapel at King’s College in the University of Cambridge. The chapel was built in phases by a succession of kings of England from 1446 to 1515, a period which spanned the Wars of the Roses. The chapel’s large stained glass windows were not completed until 1531, and its early Renaissance rood screen was erected in 1532–36. The chapel is an active house of worship, and home of the King’s College Choir. The chapel is a significant tourist site and a commonly used symbol of the city of Cambridge.
We didn’t have a great deal of time to wander around but besides Kings College we also managed a peek into the quadrangle of Trinity College. We didn’t do Cambridge justice so maybe in the future there might be an opportunity to rectify that.
Cambridge did have a significantly different atmosphere than Oxford. It was quieter, more green spaces, appeared smaller, cleaner and the River Cam was more integrated. You can take a canal boat right into Cambridge and we did see a few moored up very close to the centre of the city.
Time to then get back on the road and head to our hotel at Heathrow. Our flight to Calgary tomorrow leaves at 1.00pm and with the complication of getting Toque checked in, we do need at least three hours prior to the flight leaving. Throw in returning a hire car and getting it fuelled up and it is just a lot easier if we go down the night before.
Some of the more avid blog readers will remember when we moored very close to the M25 on our way down to London on the Grand Union Canal. Today we passed right over that spot but were unable to see anything due to the high road barriers. This is Maps.Me app pin pointing us going over the spot.
We arrived at the hotel at 4.00pm and ensconced Di and the Toque in the hotel whilst Fraser returned the rental but not before getting lost, yet again, around Heathrow. Toque made her usual grand entrance at the check in counter where she was the star attraction with flight crews checking in. Our final evening meal in the UK wasn’t particularly exciting but one hell of a lot cheaper than eating in the hotel. £13 for a club sandwich was just a little on the steep side and were considering what to do when we discovered a Golden Arches across the road.
Marlene and Wolfgang will understand when we say we went gaga over the size of bedroom and flush toilet making us very happy after living in 350 square feet for the last two months with a glorified Pooh bucket to deal with.
Tomorrow will be our last blog entry for this trip.
Rowkin Rovings Blog 