England – David Kotz

Downs and Darwin

A lovely hike through the North Downs, with a visit to Darwin’s home.

“Welcome to Down House,” said the cheerful manager as I wiped the mud off my hiking boots at the entrance to Charles Darwin’s home. “Sorry for the wait, I was just out back checking on the sheep.” As I stepped across the threshold in search of a scone and a spot of tea, I felt more like I was stepping back 150 years as I skirted around the Drawing Room in search of the Tea Room. Out back, gardens and greenhouses (and sheep) still thrived, much as they had during Darwin’s day, though resting now as winter approaches.

The rear of Down House, from the gardens.

Richmond Park hike

A lovely stroll through a massive park on the outskirts of London, with surprising wildlife.

Earlier this fall, as we settled into life in London, I had the opportunity to take several hikes outside London. Thus started a sequence of ten consecutive weekend hikes… so I was determined to get out hiking again today! I chose a walk along the Thames River and through the extensive meadows and woodlands of Richmond Park, just outside London. Little did I know how much wildlife I would find in this extensive parkland, so heavily traveled by so many joggers, dog-walkers, and equestrians.

The Railway Tavern in the center of Richmond, outside London.

Chantry Wood hike

An extended walk in Chantry Woods with about twenty other Dartmouth alums.

I had my third opportunity to hike, today, in an outing jointly organized by the Dartmouth Club of the United Kingdom and the Tuck alumni club of the United Kingdom, to the Chantry Wood area around Guildford in Surrey. About 20 Dartmouth alums and three dogs came along. The day started cloudy, shifted to hazy, and ended with blue skies, leaving all in a wonderful mood as we settled in for a late Sunday lunch at the Seahorse Pub. As the photo gallery shows, the trees were beginning to show their autumn colors, and the route exposed us to a wide variety of meadows, forests, fallow farm fields, and country lanes.
A beautiful day! [Slideshow]

A farm with vast fields, with distant view of farmhouse and barn.

Brighton

A quick daytrip to Brighton, to visit its Royal Pavilion and the famous Brighton Pier.

When I ask locals for tips about where we might explore, first, outside of London. Brighton beach is often on the list. Its historic pier is iconic, and the town itself includes several museums and historic sites. So we hopped on a train for a comfortable ride from downtown London directly to central Brighton, on a cloudy Saturday. Read on…

photo of the entrance to Brighton Palace Pier — Brighton beach pier, England.

Ivinghoe Beacon Ridgeway hike

My second hike in two weekends, just as beautiful as the first.

With one outside-London hike under my belt, at Box Hill last weekend, I was eager to try another. This weekend happens to be the annual Peak Bag, organized by Dartmouth alumni to raise funds in support of student mental health. I registered, thinking I might be an unusual participant (outside the U.S.). By the time I hopped on the train out of London, however, several participants had posted about their completed hikes in New Zealand, Australia, and Hong Kong. It is indeed a global effort! Read on, to see where we hiked.

Sheep grazing in Aldbury Nowers natural area, conserved under the National Trust.

Box Hill circuit

A circuitous ramble over and around Box Hill in the Surrey downs.

Four weeks after arriving in London for a year-long sabbatical, I was itching to get outdoors – out in the hills, forests, and meadows, after weeks of city life. Don’t get me wrong – I am truly enjoying the chance to explore London, and to adapt to city living. But I am a country mouse, at heart, and needed to be out where I could climb hills, take in broad vistas, and listen to the wind in the trees. After some online snooping, I settled on this eight-mile circular walk around Box Hill, just an hour’s train journey south of London. Read on!

Box Hill and Westhumble train station is tiny, unstaffed, but cute.

London, first impressions

The beginning of my year-long sabbatical in London.

One of the joys of academic life is the opportunity to take the occasional sabbatical – a semester or a year away from the home university, focused on research without the day-to-day obligations of teaching or committee service. I have been extraordinarily fortunate to spend my past sabbaticals abroad: as a Fulbright Fellow to the Indian Institute of Science (Bangalore) in 2008-09, and as a Visiting Professor at ETH (Zürich, Switzerland) in 2019-20, leading to some fabulous scientific collaborations and personal/family adventures, which I’ve documented in this blog. Well, here we go again! this time, in London.

Imperial College. A glittering glass building In one of its central quads, with a big sign "Imperial College". — In one of its central quads, Imperial College welcomes new students in the first week of fall term.

Oxford University

I made a quick visit to Oxford University to give a research talk in the Computer Science department. My schedule allowed a bit of extra time to explore, and (with the help of two generous graduate students) I was able to see some of the major colleges within the university, as well as some of the main shopping district. The campus (and town) is impressively old, with elegant academic buildings at every turn. A quick climb to the top of the tower on University Chapel gave me an excellent vantage point to see the overall layout, and one student’s tour included a stop in the Hogwarts dining hall – better known as Christchurch College dining hall. Impressive place! More photos in the gallery.

Cambridge University

I made a quick visit to Cambridge University, to deliver a talk in the Computer Science department and to visit colleagues there and at the neighboring Nokia Labs. The schedule allowed me a little time to wander the courtyards of Jesus College, where I had spent the night, and its beautiful chapel – the oldest building still in use at Cambridge. (Astonishing, in this 250th year of Dartmouth College, to visit a university that was already five hundred and fifty years old when Dartmouth was founded.)

I decided to walk from there to the distant CS building, through the streets of Cambridge. (Sadly, most of the historic campus exists in walled compounds, like Jesus College, only open to members of the university.)

It was fascinating to walk along streets named after famous scientists, or for that matter, through the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematics. (Not far from the Bill Gates CS building or the Gordon Moore library, actually.) Lovely day!

More photos in the gallery.

Bletchley Park

A visit to Bletchley Park, the fascinating location where the British cracked the Enigma cypher during WWII.

Every computer scientist must visit Bletchley Park! And, for that matter, anyone interested in computing history, spycraft, or World War II. While on a short trip to London, we spent Sunday afternoon on a brief visit to this fascinating museum at the once-secret site where the British cracked the cryptographic codes of the Germans, during the war, and where, in effect, the modern computing era had its beginnings. The story was the subject of the recent movie, The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing. Read on, and check out the photo gallery.

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