Cambridge is a popular city for international tourists, keen to take a behind-the-scenes look at this old English university city's people and places. Benedict le Vay reveals hidden secrets and amazing stories of the city's architecture, scandalous stories of the most outrageous dons and, most importantly, how to punt on the River Cam without looking like a complete prat.

Table of Contents:
Introduction vii 1 The Eccentric Year 1 January 1, February 2, March 3, Easter 4, May 4, June 5, July 7, September 8, October 9, December 11 2 Eccentric History 13 Cambridge: history and mystery 13, Grantchester pedigree, or just swamp dwellers? 14, Danish pasting 16, A sick wife and the infancy of academia 17, !e defiled virgin and the patron saint of laundry 19, Town versus gown: the early day 20, Two nations united - by a common dislike 21, !e stinking ditch defence 23, A pukkah university - in time for the Black Death 24, !e flames of Reformation 27, Progress and puritanism 30, !e scholars and the proctors: discipline 32, Civil war, greed, sloth and decadence 32, A growing town and the coming of the railways 34, From the flimsy first aircraft to Silicon Fen 37 3 Eccentric Legends 41 !e Chariots of Fire and the four-minute mile 41, Rupert Brooke: golden poet of a golden age? 44,One man's obsessive quest to kill an emperor 51, Cambridge's sword boat 55 4 Eccentric People 57 Snowy Farr 57, Richard Collius 58, Charlie Cavey 60, Kim de la Taste Tickell 61, !omas Hobson 62, Henry Fawcett (mail role model) 64, Syd Barrett 65, AA Milne 66, William Donaldson (AKA Henry Root) 68, William Horace de Vere Cole 72, Christopher Cockerell 76, Jeffrey Archer 77 5 Eccentric Colleges 79 Christ's 79, Churchill 83, Clare 84, Clare Hall 88, Corpus Christi 88, Darwin 90, Downing 91, Emmanuel 94, Fitzwilliam 95, Girton 96, Gonville and Caius 96, Homerton 102, Hughes Hall 102, Jesus 102, King's 108, Lucy Cavendish 110, Magdalene 111, Murray Edwards 114, New Hall 116, Newnham 116, Pembroke 122, Peterhouse 124, Queens' 127, Ridley Hall 131, Robinson 132, St Catharine's 134, St Edmund's 135, St John's 135, Selwyn 137, Sidney Sussex 138, Trinity 141, Trinity Hall 150, Wolfson 154 6 Eccentric Churches 155 King's Chapel: a miracle of masonry 155, Great St Mary's 165, Other eccentric churches 169, Other dead eccentrics 175 7 Eccentric Things to See or Do 177 Cambridge's eccentric museums 177, Punting 1878 8 Eccentric Walks 197 A walk on the mild side: the best of the city 197, !e walk around Cambridges' crown jewels 199, A stroll up King Street 209 9 Out of Town 213 Strange place names, odd bods and heroes 213, Not very wacky but also interesting 223 10 Eccentric Facts 225 Oxford and Cambridge: strange similarities 225, City eccentricities 229 11 Eccentric Living 235 Eat eccentric 235, Drink eccentric 238, Stay eccentric 244, Shop eccentric 246 12 Nuts and Bolts 251 How to get to Cambridge 251 13 Eccentric Glossary 263 Index 279