Through the tunnel

Off to Cambridge about a week or so ago now, the first time for a while. I managed the various junctions, managed the tunnel under the Thames estuary, for which my shiny new direct debit appears to have worked. Not sure what people who don't do the Internet are supposed to do, as there did not seem to be any ticket machines or ticket lanes at all. We even made it round to the northern side of Mill Road, passing my old secondary school on the way, and with just the one wrong turn off Mill Road. 

I was surprised at the numbers of lorries that we passed without livery, without anything to say about the operator of the lorry, be that a haulage operator like Stobart or a shop like Sainsbury's.

We had then planned to take lunch at the 'Three Horseshoes' at Madingley, which we managed to get to through the maze of fast new roads which have appeared in the thirty years since we lived in the area. But access denied, despite having emailed ahead the day before. A house that fancied itself, which was full this Tuesday lunchtime and which was doing well enough that they were very casual with us: if we didn't reply to your email that meant we were full up.

At this point we decided to head off to the hotel at nearby Bar Hill, a place which consisted of a large new hotel, a large new Tesco's and a few houses when we knew it. A Tesco's which even, at that time anyway, went in for sourcing some of its vegetables from the vegetable farms on the fens a little to the north. Somehow we got into a muddle with all the new roads, and I think we managed to get onto the A14 before getting off it again to miss the hotel. But we did find the Fox, a sort of high end Wetherspoon's, where there was plenty of space, friendly staff and no nonsense about shutting in the middle of the afternoon. And we ate for a fraction of what it would have cost us at the Three Horseshoes.

We passed on paying a nostalgia visit to the giant Tesco's next door and BH took the driver's seat to get us back to the railway station, looping around the north of Cambridge to complete our circumnavigation. I might say that I did very well as navigator. Along the way, we passed just a mile to the south of my old primary school, a little to the south of the 'G' of Girton, top right in the snap above.

Startled on arrival at Travelodge (Cambridge Central) (the subject of preliminary notice at reference 3) by the massive amount of redevelopment over the past twenty years, completely changing the appearance of the station end of town. So our hotel was located on a smart plaza, a full on leisure complex. Gym. Bowls. Cinema. What we thought was a potentially noisy club. Pots of fast food. And the hotel, newish, decent and plain, cost a fraction of what we might have paid nearer the centre of town. Furthermore, our room sported a bath, which I was not expecting, and the reception area included a bar.

And, with neither ticket machine working, I even passed the car park challenge - that is to say paying for it over the telephone, talking to a computer. The first time I have done such a thing. A bit of a fiddle, but second time around, that is to say the next day, was very much quicker and easier. We could have paid less, but as it was our, car was parked right outside the hotel, maybe 20 yards from the front door.

After a pause to recover from what was, for us, a long day, we set off to establish the eastern passage, that is to say to establish that one could get through to Mill Road from Rushtat Road. Unlike on the occasion noticed at reference 5, we did not pay homage to the late lamented 'Argyll', electing to hang left over the interesting plastic tube of a bridge linking the railway station on the west of the tracks to all the shops and houses to the east of the tracks.

To find another massive dose of redevelopment,  much like what you get in many parts of London now, but do not expect in the provinces. But maybe I would be surprised if we ever ventured back up to the big cities up north? Lots of eateries and drinkeries but mostly busy and full of young people, so we settled for a quiet little bar at the bottom of the Ibis hotel: the 'Chill#2 cafe and bar'. A hotel which also appeared to contain a large bicycle storage facility on the first floor, left in the snap above. A café which sold a modest range of snacks, pizzas, hot drinks, cold drinks and alcholic drinks. Just what we needed.

We were further entertained by a couple, rather younger than ourselves, who seemed to spend quality time there, who lived across the river from the lido at Jesus Green which I used as a child and who also spent quality time in Brixham. They seemed to know south Devon pretty well, to the extent of confusing Holne, where we have taken to staying, with the River Dart Country Park, home to the operation websited at reference 6. Fun and frolics for all. No doubt they offer après-frolic too. A connection established by my earwigging and happening to know the fate of the Palace Hotel at Torquay, as noticed at reference 7.

On the way back we passed an establishment which has only just fallen by the wayside, having never, as far as I can remember, been visited by me. Once called the 'Crown', presumably at that time a rather dingy establishment catering to railway and other working people, more recently the seemingly famous 'Flying Pig', for some years a well known place for music. You can read all about it at reference 1 and it is celebrated at reference 2, sadly unavailable. 

Never heard of at eBay or Abebooks, while the Book Depositary and Amazon have heard of but cannot supply. Amazon can manage the picture above.

On return to our hotel, the club turned out to be an arts venue with a choice of three auditoriums. Lights out well before midnight.

And I am pleased to be able to report that our room was not overheated, something box hotels used to be prone to, and there was very little noise from outside or anywhere else.

References

Reference 1: https://capturingcambridge.org/hills-road-area/hills-road/106-hills-road-the-crown-inn-the-flying-pig/.

Reference 2: A Disorderly House: The colourful but murky, occasionally bawdy, and often really rather dodgy history of the Flying Pig - Nick Barraclough - 2018.

Reference 3: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2021/11/gabions.html.

Reference 4: https://myringgo.co.uk/. The car park people.

Reference 5: https://pumpkinstrokemarrow.blogspot.com/2011/12/tale-of-two-stews.html.

Reference 6: https://www.crsadventures.com/.

Reference 7: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2021/08/sir-roland-storrs.html.