Cambridge
Cambridge must be one of the best-known towns in the world, and can be found on most tourists' lists of places to visit. The principal reason for its fame is its University, which started during the 13th century and grew steadily, until today there are more than twenty colleges.
Most of them allow visitors to enter the grounds and courtyards. The most popular place from which to view them is from the Backs, where the college grounds go down to the River Cam.
The oldest college is Peterhouse, which was founded in 1284, and the most recent is Robinson College, which was opened in 1977. The most famous is probably King's, because of its magnificent chapel. Its choir of boys and undergraduates is also very well known.
The University was exclusively for men until 1871 when the first women's college was opened. Another was opened two years later and a third in 1954. In the 1970s, most colleges opened their doors to both men and women. Almost all colleges are now mixed, but it will be many years before there are equal numbers of both sexes.
The Cambridge Folk Festival
Every year, in summer, thousands of folk music fans arrive in Cambridge for one of the biggest festivals of folk music in England. The festival is held in the grounds of an old house, where there is plenty of room for people to put up their tents if they want to stay overnight.
The Cambridge Folk Festival is very well organized, and there are never any of the serious problems which can be caused by large crowds.
However, some people who live nearby are not very happy about the festival. They say that there is too much noise, that too much rubbish is left on the ground, and that many of the fans take drugs.
On the other hand, local shop-keepers look forward to the festival. For them, it means a big increase in the number of customers!
Susan Sheerin, Jonathan Seath, Gillian White: Spotlight on Britain; Oxford University Press, 1985, page 42