Trail script by Historyworks, read by Michael Rosen.  

You can either listen to the audio and/or read the script below.

To find the teacher resources including powerpoints and laminates click here. 

If you look up in Cambridge you can spot the Coat of Arms on bridges, signs, and above the door of the Guildhall. The Coat of Arms of Cambridge shows the River Cam with three ships on the water to demonstrate the important role the river played in the development of the city as a market town, with boats bringing wares to sell in Cambridge. The red roses and gold Fleur de Lys (which means lily flower in french) are Royal symbols to show the status given to Cambridge by monarchs across the centuries, and specifically the charter granting this Coat of Arms by Elizabeth I in 1575. There is a bridge with fortifications to represent the “Great Bridge of Cambridge” which is the present Magdalene Bridge. Most noticeable are the two red monsters either side of the Coat of Arms which are special mythical horses belonging to Neptune, called “Hippocampi”. These seahorses are symbols of the sea emphasising the importance of Cambridge’s access to London and the World via the river route to the Wash and sea beyond!

Please do listen to the song called "Seahorses" devised by the research by Helen Weinstein co-created with lyrics by CBBC's Horrible Histories songwriter, Dave Cohen, sung here by the young choir at Abbey Meadows:

Here are excellent pieces of artwork drawn by primary school pupils in response to this story:

Please listen to the piece of music composed by Cambridge student, Alex Cook “To Seek a Dream” based on a poem by Xui Zhimo about the River Cam: