Cambridge, Whipsnade Zoo and Driving North in 1950 - post 21

This entry is in the series Visiting Europe - 1950, 1964, 1992, 2002, 2015
More photos of Cambridge
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Chapel

Chapel

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Chapel

Chapel

Gargoyles

Cambridge Gargoyles

Whipsnade Zoo

4 week old elephant


4 week old elephant

The only reason that I know that I've been here, is that we have some old sepia Polaroids taken in the zoo, and I don't know whether we visited from Oxford or from London. Back in 1950 when we visited (right after WWII) I think the zoo was very different than it is today. The zoo was started in the early 30s and took inspiration from the Bronx Zoo. In January 1932 the Glasgow based ‘Bostock & Wombwells Travelling Menagerie’ closed after 160 years on the road, and the animals came to Whipsnade. For the journey from Glasgow to Dunstable the wagons were carried by rail and then towed up to the Zoo. However, the elephants and camels were transported in railway horse boxes to Dunstable but then had to walk the last few miles over the Downs to the Zoo.

I think some of those animals were the ones that we rode on - I see no evidence that animal rides are offered now.
Me and my sister on a camel at Whipsnade Zoo 1950


Me and my sister on a camel at Whipsnade Zoo 1950


My mother on the camel

My mother on the camel


One of the Polaroids that didn't finish

One of the Polaroids that didn't finish


So we took another one of the same

So we took another one of the same


Riding an elephant

Riding an elephant

After the International Anatomical Conference, we rented a car (A Morris Oxford) and drove up to Edinburgh.
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Rented English car (Morris Oxford)

We thought all English women were very dominant in their marriages because they all sat on the left side of the car until we realized that the man sitting on the right was the driver. The thing I remember most about this trip was that we had a lot of trouble finding a place to eat lunch. We would stop at 11:30 and the place would not be serving until noon. We would stop an hour later and the place would be out of food because a bus load of people had just stopped and cleaned them out. We finally found a place with a catering license who could feed us out of regular hours.
street in small English town - chimneys

street in small English town - chimneys

Bull and Swan Inn

Bull and Swan Inn

Poppys

Poppies

We stayed in Ye Olde Bell Inn & Restaurant. We had a room which looked out on the road and there was a big garden. I don't know exactly where this place was in 1950 - there are a couple of places where it could be.
Bell Inn with my sister, my mother and me

Bell Inn with my sister, my mother and me

In front of Bell Inn

In front of Bell Inn

Garden of Bell Inn

Garden of Bell Inn

Snapdragons in the Bell Inn garden

Snapdragons in the Bell Inn garden
Next entry in the series 'Visiting Europe - 1950, 1964, 1992, 2002, 2015': North past Hadrian's Wall - 1950 - post 22
Previous entry in the series 'Visiting Europe - 1950, 1964, 1992, 2002, 2015': Tracing Shakespeare's Life and visiting Cambridge in 1950 - post 20

Comments

The thing I remember most about this trip was that we had a lot of trouble finding a place to eat lunch. We would stop at 11:30 and the place would not be serving until noon. We would stop an hour later and the place would be out of food because a bus load of people had just stopped and cleaned them out. We finally found a place with a catering license who could feed us out of regular hours.
That made me laugh out loud! :LOL:
 
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Series table of contents

1950 Post War Europe - the Beginning of the trip Short Ferry Ride to Sweden, and Cologne -1950 - post 2 Cologne and the Rhine in 1950 - post 3 The Rhine Cruise in 1950 - post 4 Heidelberg and Mannheim in 1950 - post 5 Germany in 1950- Post 6 Berchtesgarden in 1950 - post 7 The Walled City of Rothenburg on the Tauber in 1950- post 8 Visiting Relatives in Lichtenau and going to Munich in 1950 - post 9 Driving through Bavaria in 1950 - post 10 Innsbruck, Austria in 1950 - post 11 To See the Matterhorn in 1950 - 12th post From Gornergrat to Zermatt 1950 - 13th post Our Chalet (Girl Guides and Girl Scouts) in 1950 - 14th post Jungfraujoch in 1950 - 15th post Visiting Berne in 1950 - 16th post The Fifth International Cancer Congress in Paris - 1950 - post 17 From One Conference to Another in 1950 - 18th post Oxford at the International Anatomical Congress in 1950 - 19th post Tracing Shakespeare's Life and visiting Cambridge in 1950 - post 20 Cambridge, Whipsnade Zoo and Driving North in 1950 - post 21 North past Hadrian's Wall - 1950 - post 22 Edinburgh 1950 - post 23 South to London via Gretna Green - 1950 - post 24 Buckingham Palace and the Tower of London- 1950 - post 25 Windsor Castle in 1950 - post 26 Eton College in 1950 and Sailing Home - post 27 Ship Follower in 1964 - post 1 Climbing to the Top of Paris in 1964 and the Train to Spain - post 2 Meeting my Sister and Niece in Madrid in 1964 - post 3 A Bullfight in Madrid in 1964 - post 4 Training to and Touring Lisbon in 1964 - post 5 Bus Tour to Belem 1964 - post 6 Armillary spheres, and Shopping in Lisbon in 1964 - post 7 Touring by Taxi from Lisbon in 1964 - post 8 Touring by Taxi - part 2 in 1964-post 9 Touring by Taxi - part 3 in 1964 - post 10 Touring by Taxi part 4 - 1964 - post 11 Photographing the Fish Market in Lisbon in 1964 - post 12 Finishing up Lisbon in 1964 - post 13 Trains in Spain in 1964 - post 14 Valencia - 1964 - post 15 Washington Irving and Alhambra in 1964 - post 16 The Alhambra -1964 - post 17 Granada - 1964- post 18 Visiting Toledo in 1964 -post 19 Getting Out of Spain - 1 August 1964 - post 20 1964 Tour in Citroen2CV of South France - post 21 Exploring - Beginning at Avignon in 1964 - post 22 Tarascon, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence & Les Baux in 1964 - post 23 Les Baux to Arles in Provence in 1964 - post 24 Harborside Marseille in 1964 - post 25 Marseille to Paris in 1964 - post 26 Up to Sacre Coeur in 1964 - post 27 Venturing to Versailles in 1964 - post 28 Versailles to Nürnberg in 1964 - post 29 Nürnberg in 1964 - post 30 Reflecting on Nürnberg in 1964 - post 31 Arriving in Naples in 1964 - post 32 Naples to Pompeii in 1964 - post 33 The Rest of Pompeii in 1964 - post 34 The Amalfi Drive in 1964 - post 35 Leaving Naples and Europe - post 36

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