Walk along the Backs until you can see King's College Chapel. You are looking at the present floodplain of the River Cam. However, the Chapel is actually built on a platform of Medieval refuse, which was dumped onto the floodplain to make it higher and less prone to flooding. The Market Square in the centre of Cambridge has been elevated in a similar way, so that today it is about five metres higher than the original land surface.

Look closely and you might be able to spot a baby moorhen!

We take the flushing loo for granted now. A sewage pumping station was built in the 1890's along with a rubbish clearance system. Rubbish was taken to the pumping station, it was burnt, and that fuelled the pumps that pumped the sewage under the river out to Milton where it was put on fields to grow food which fed the people of Cambridge!

You get a stunning view of King's from the Backs. The chapel is the size of a cathedral, in fact it looks more like a stately home! You've got the landscaping of the 19th century stately home aswell. The river, which had been a place of trade was made into a ha ha - to keep the cattle off the formal lawns. The Backs are a totally man-made creation; every tree and blade of grass was planted and it has to be maintained - it's all as artificial as King's College Chapel. But as you look out from King's College, it looks like you're in the middle of the countryside and these stately colleges in the centre of town give Cambridge a unique appearance!

Otter evidence!
Although otters haven't been seen in Cambridge, evidence shows that they do pass by! Otter droppings (spraints) have been found on bridges and around the riverside.

Keep following the path along the Backs until you reach Garret Hostel Bridge.