Cambridge

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The word "Cambridge" has an almost sacred tinge to it for 17 year olds on the verge of applying to universities. For some, a repetitive chant of the word provides a soundtrack for seemingly endless nights filled with schoolwork, and the image of a city filled with aspiring scholars and libraries big enough to get lost in is a driving force powerful enough to get through any set of exams. It's easy to conclude that a trip to Cambridge for a student with their high school career nearing to an end would not be a relaxing way to start a summer holiday, since certainly the disheartening admissions statistics would be ever present in their mind, slowly poisoning the enjoyment of the ancient and beautiful city. This thought did occur to me, although thankfully I stomped it out and silenced it when walking to the Stenaline cruise ship. The cruise journey was the first stage of a three day trip to England, and I wouldn't have needed the optimism I brought with me in my suitcase, since the visit to a city swarming with young people due to the university Open Days with a close friend was everything I wanted it to be.

Travelling to Cambridge was an experience in itself, and I remember sitting in the restaurant watching the waves roll by, and my friend saying, "We're on a cruise ship. This is so…adult." Before we knew it we were sitting on a train moving fast through a stereotypically English landscape, savouring the English accents of the people sitting near us. Next our luggage was hobbling along cobble-stone streets as we walked through Cambridge. Cambridge seems like any other city from right outside the train station but don't be fooled: when you walk towards the centre the "normal" streets morph into narrower, older, versions with their own distinct personalities. A fun way to pass the time when trying to locate a hotel in Cambridge is the "guess what subject that young passer-by is studying" game. Undoubtedly the victims of this game were innocent tourists who were unknowing labelled as "Computer science" or "Oriental studies" by two girls left exhausted by the 5.30 cruise ship wake up call.

We spent the days visiting colleges and Starbucks, and being dangerously tempted to step on pristine green areas festooned with warnings of "do not walk on the grass". We spent one evening sitting on (perfectly legal) grass at a mini festival in a park, speaking about the people we'd met in attempted English accents.

I'm glad I was at Cambridge during the Open Days: not only do you get free lunches and tours by undergraduates who tell you entertaining stories about the aged college porters, but you get to meet young people who are in exactly the same stage of life as you, and with whom you have much more in common than complaints about how teachers can possible give piles of coursework during a summer holiday and still call it a holiday.

I truly enjoyed my trip to Cambridge, it wiped away the idealistic image I had of the city and replaced it with something much better: a memory that always succeeds in bringing a smile to my face. Thank you BBC awards!

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