by Kelly Bushell

It's a university town like no other. The world-famous Cambridge University takes up a large portion of Cambridge's city center. Since its loose formation more than 800 years ago, the school's influence has pervaded its hometown, molding a unique cultural and educational atmosphere unlike any other.

As time wears on many English towns have given way to the modernity of a new age; Cambridge has not. The University, the city, and their inhabitants seem content (and quietly proud) to live amongst the same trees as Isaac Newton, Lord Alfred Tennyson, and CS Lewis.

You won't mistake Cambridge for another University town. Not with wise professors passing through the streets with their heads held high, as if to say, "yes, mere mortals, it is I, the professor."

Bikes bustle up and down the cobbled streets at an alarming pace, but the activity speaks of productivity. There are classes to be taken, exams to study for. The primary mode of transport for Cambridge students, bikes are an absolute necessity. Parking has become a hot commodity in the small town, but so are wicker bike baskets.

The all-black 1890's version of bike may have gone out of style at the turn of the century, but it's still a stronghold in Cambridge. It's a nod to the past most would love to have lived through.

These days though, more than half are mountain bikes, built to endure steep ledges, but also perfect for keeping upright while riding down cobbled streets through the rain. When they're not running down tourists, bicycles line the stone walls that have held up the town, and protected it, for years.

Unlike its American counterparts, the University is not separate from the town it sits in. Instead, it's a central feature on the landscape of the downtown, and adds vibrancy to what would be, without the University, a small Essex township.

Students pour in and out of the coffee shops, cafés and pubs that line the streets. When they're not studying over a latte, you'll find them arguing over last Sunday's rugby match, and discussing plans for world domination. (CONTINUE...)