Cambridge Get Away: Day One | Computers, Punting & Beer Gardens

Friday, August 24, 2018

Cambridge Get Away: Day One | Computers, Punting & Beer Gardens

My boyfriend and I went away for a few days recently. For a while we ummed and arred about where we would like to go, somewhere in the UK, easy to get to with lots of things to do and quirky places to eat or drink. Having been to Oxford in November of last year, we thought Cambridge looked perfect for the type of mini break we wanted. So before we knew it, we had booked a place to stay and we were on our way.

It was too pretty for me not to take my big camera with me and snap some photos for you all, especially if you just enjoy posts that mainly contain the pictures I take! So lets begin :)

Centre for Computing History

I know what you're thinking, sounds pretty boring right? Well if you thought that, you'd be wrong. I had read a lot about this place online and the reviews were fantastic to say the least. I knew my boyfriend would love it, so I suggested we go!

Situated close to the centre of Cambridge, inside a very active industrial estate (don't let that put you off), is a hidden gem of a museum, with something there for everyone. From computer programming to original, retro arcade games, you're never stuck for something to keep you busy. It's all very interactive. My boyfriend and I did some computer coding on an old 1981 computer and played a lot of retro video games from the 70's all the way up to our childhood favourites, including Spyro and Lego Star Wars.

Not only this, but they have Game Boys on display and even one you can still play, along with an old Master System, a PlayStation 1 and a Sega Megadrive. Not only this, but there was a Wii one could play with as well. Everything was in working condition, so you could be in there for hours just playing old games and programming on an old BBC computer.

There was also a room made to look like an office during the 1970s, it felt as if we had stepped into a time warp!

A few computers from 1981 that my boyfriend and I had a go at coding on

Somehow, the boyfriend managed to code the computer to start making funny shapes and to do it on a never ending loop, almost like a computer screensaver we have today

If you wanted to try your hand at computer coding, this book came in very handy

The Computer to the far left was used during the 1970's, the other two were used from the mid to late 80s

These computers actually work as monitors for old computer games, the boxes on the desk (that look like keyboards) house the video game, as well as allowing the player to control their characters, some are even wired with joysticks

This is an old PlayStation 1, we're both old enough to remember these consoles, including the original X Box, the PlayStation 2 and a Sega Megadrive

These are all original consoles that members of the public were allowed to play games on, my person childhood favourite, the Game Boy, is the grey console in the foreground of the photo

The office that was made to look as though we had just stepped into the 1970's

An old photo slide, in order to properly view the image, it has to be inserted into a projector, especially made for viewing old photo slides

An Evening Walk Around the Centre of Cambridge

After we had looked around the museum, we decided to head into the centre of Cambridge, mainly to get a feel for the place, and also to put some quirky cafes and bars on our list of places to visit. It's a lot smaller than I imagined, which is good in some ways, but the buildings are beautiful to look at, especially the churches, mainly because the place itself is so old!

Towards the end of our first night, we stumbled across a pub called 'The Eagle'. It was in here that the scientists who discovered DNA first announced their findings during the 1950s. I didn't take any photos of the inside, however the photo at the end of this post is the beer garden attached to it. It had a very cozy, homely vibe, so it was quite small, but the beverages were delicious, the staff were friendly and there were enough seats for everyone to sit and enjoy a quiet drink. If you're off to Cambridge anytime soon, this would be a pub worth a visit!