Hobson’s Brook, Cambridge

Hobson’s Brook is probably my favourite place in Cambridge. Can’t quite explain why, probably the presence of trees and water all in the same place. And yet Byron’s Pool is the same, but doesn’t produce quite the same level of relaxation. Hobson’s Brook, is simpler, perhaps more lush, perhaps more peaceful and hidden away, and more central to Cambridge.

Hobson’s Brook, February 2019

I have, in the past, seen two kingfishers that live along the brook. Perhaps its the presence of the kingfishers that adds to the magic of Hobson’s Brook. Those mythical kingfishers that I’ve only ever seen once, on what was probably me second visit to the brook, where I managed to snap both of them. You can see the pair in the photo below. There is one perched on a branch, more or less in the centre of the photograph. Then you can see the second one as a small blur of blue, towards the left hand side of the photo and towards the bottom.

A kingfisher perched on a branch in Hobson’s Brook, March 2019

A Kingfisher having just fished, Hobson’s Brook, 2019

I’ve never seen them since, though the possibility of seeing them again always fills me with a sense of magic when I walk up the brook.

The new bridge between Kingfisher Way and Hobson’s Brook

In the middle of 2020 work was finished connecting the Kingfisher Way estate with the brook. This was a brilliant development, allowing people on the estate easy access to the brook and a way of walking onwards towards Lammas Land, without having to walk down the busy Brooklands Avenue. It has also made the small playground in the estate accessible to people walking up from Trumpington along the brook.