I’m John Stark, and I’ve lived in the Coleridge area of Cambridge since 2002.
Before COVID, I’d walk to get to places, then back home. To go north-south there was Rustat Road, Coleridge Road and Perne Road. To go east-west there was Coldham’s Lane, Mill Road, Davy+Radegund Road and Cherry Hinton Road. Yes there were roads in between, but those were just where other people lived, and I rarely ventured into them. I’d probably walked past Coleridge Recreation Ground 4,000 times, but had only set foot on it once – in 2002, to kill time between estate agent viewings of my current house and another.
The COVID lockdown in 2020 changed all that. You were only allowed out for essential reasons, or up to an hour each day to exercise. I began by walking around Coleridge Rec. But doing that every day didn’t suit me so I started to explore the rest of the neighbourhood.
Within the next two years I walked every interconnecting road and footpath in Coleridge and Romsey at least once (and strayed into a few cul-de-sacs). Previously when people asked me for directions to random places like Hobart Road I often hadn’t a clue even if I’d just passed them; now I could label most on an unmarked map. I also explored parts of neighbouring Cherry Hinton, Abbey, Queen Edith’s and Petersfield, hence the name “Coleridge and Beyond”.
A friend I told about my walks suggested creating a website/blog about them. I started by documenting some areas that are changing now or quite likely to soon – like the emerging Chisholm Trail and the Chalk Pits – rather than picture-postcard views along the Cam or Kings Parade that change little and are well covered elsewhere. The Walks page contains a list of them. Each walk contains photographs and short notes describing places as I find them, whether pretty or ugly. My photos won’t win any prizes – many are hastily grabbed between passing vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians!
Having started with walks, I then decided to fulfil a long-standing ambition to photograph all the Elizabeth Way Murals. Then the Cows About Cambridge appeared, and after adding the Large Cows Trail and Mini-Moos Trail I created pages with more photos of each cow, for people who just wanted to see the sculptures without the walking trail map, notes and streetscapes. So the Galleries section for photos of public art was born.
There are also a few pages about other topics relevant to people living here, like broadband, on the Notes page. The Links page contains links to other websites about local history, amenities and developments. The Blog page highlights new content and other changes to the website.
For some my time capsule of Cambridge may make dull viewing now, but it should be more interesting to look back at in a few years’ time once things have changed, as they have over the 20-odd years I’ve been here.
Enjoy!