Today was one of those days.

We had decided we’d catch the bus into Cambridge this morning after our walk, to catch up with our son and to do a little shopping. Mick was also keen to get a ‘good map’ from the Tourist Office.

Bus 18 stops in front of The Willow Tree (the village’s gastro pub) every hour on the hour, and we made it with plenty of time to spare at 9.50am, as the stop is literally 69m from our front gate.

We were surprised to see the size of the bus that came around the bend.

It seemed like overkill to us, more so when we hopped on, and the bus had only one other passenger. This meant we headed straight upstairs to the prime seats in the very front row with the best views – like little kids!

We paid £13 for a family day tripper pass – the best deal we could get for a day which would allow us to travel anywhere in and around the Cambridge area for the day. Remember we’d paid exactly that amount to get us from Portsmouth to Cambridge on National Express last Thursday.

It is very expensive using public transport in England. It is just something you have to get used to.

We did have a great view.

We passed, very carefully, another double decker bus in one of the outer villages of Cambridge. I’m not sure which one. Unlike the next photo, which was taken as we drove throug Grantchester, for all the Grantchester fans – you might recognise something from the TV show. I didn’t, but I did like the clouds.

Very close to Cambridge we drove along a narrow hedge-lined road. These are pretty common on country roads, and although they look very nice, can make travelling on them more difficult.

It was actually wonderful not to be driving.

By the time our trip was drawing to a close, after about 40minutes, the bus was full. We were able to get off right in front of Downing College where our son lives.

Today is the annual cricket match at Downing College between The Fellows and The Staff. Our son, in his first match last year, took a few catches and wickets, and made some runs, to help the Fellows win the match.

He and Mick headed off to check out the pitch.

They found the pitch to be quite damp, and after a few practice bowls, realised it would be a ‘slow wicket’.

The match was due to start at 2.00pm, but that was too late for us as we had to get back to our dogs. We all were disappointed we could not watch.

We walked to the Tourist Office to find an extensive lineup of tourists wanting what Mick was after – a ‘good map’, and decided we’d return another day.

Instead, we decided to make good use of our ‘day tripper’ ticket and caught the bus to Camborne – a new settlement comprising just over 8,000 people, and only 7km from Bourn (without an e). Building in Cambourne commenced in 1998. We’d been told about Cambourne by one of the porters at Downing College on our arrival last Thursday. He spoke of it in some awe, as its newness, being built from scratch on empty farming land, is a very rare thing in a country as old as England.

Anyway, I am rambling.

As we waited for the bus, the day turned very sour indeed.

The scheduled bus pulled into the bay and the driver hopped off after putting the Not in Service sign on. He was heavily engaged in a conversation on his mobile phone that involved the failure of a replacement driver to turn up.

Meanwhile, Mick and I were standing less than a metre from the bus, chatting to some friendly locals lined up for the same bus who were advising us about weekly tickets amongst other things. Mick, who is the inquisitive type, noticed some bubbles on the side of the bus and decided to feel them to see if they were rust.

Well, the driver paused his angry mobile phone conversation to rip into Mick. Told him not to touch the bus, it was private property etc etc. This shook us all up as it had come out of nowhere. Mick told him he was only feeling the rust and the angry driver told him he could be charged for damaging private property. This exchange lasted a few more seconds and the driver and his bus left, leaving behind a surprised bunch of commuters.

Mick gave him a blast and told him to pull his head in, or words to that effect.

I felt very sorry for Mick as he definitely did not deserve that.

It left a nasty taste in our mouths for the rest of the day.

One of the girls cheered him up though when we got back from Cambourne.