1. Coffee on the Lawn

On a fine Summer day, meals are invariably followed by an excursion into the garden with cups of coffee. You may think there would be some risk of lying on the lawn, getting sunburned, enjoying the conversation, and never returning to work. You would be completely wrong, of course.

2. The Island

Darwin has the pleasure of an island within the grounds. After a brief excursion across two wooden bridges, you can find yourself in what might be a semi-wilderness - given the constraint that you are in central Cambridge! On the island you are left to your private thought, accompanied only by the cows who watch you from the Green in daytime, or by the romantically inclined who have discovered this ideal Lovers' Lane (so I am told) at night.

3. The River

Darwin enjoys the longest river frontage of any College in Cambridge, and punting is therefore a popular activity. Punts pass through the College grounds, affording great entertainment in the case of those nationalities of tourist who find water-borne stability a challenge. Darwin has its own fleet, managed by the student Admiral of Punts, so an otherwise sterile afternoon of research can easily be avoided by escaping to the river.

Goodbye CamCam!

When this page was first written, it was possible to catch live footage of the river from the "CamCam" - a first generation webcam looking out the window from the Darwin Study Centre. Unfortunately its little brains got burned out by sitting in the hot sun all day, so it is now gone.