Photos: Dmitry Tonkonog, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Maksim Sokolov (Maxergon), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Julian Herzog (Website), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
Photo credits
Photos: Dmitry Tonkonog, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Maksim Sokolov (Maxergon), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Julian Herzog (Website), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
The Corpus Clock's grasshopper mechanism
Your local guide
Mei-Ling Zhou
View profile
Highlights
- A clock face with no hands
- Time read from lit slits
- A grasshopper mechanism up close
- A deliberately unsettling motion explained
- Modern art on an old street
About this tour
This session looks closely at the Corpus Clock, a modern addition to the city's much older streetscape, installed at Corpus Christi College in 2008. It covers how the unusual face is actually read and the mechanical grasshopper on top that drives it. It is a short, focused session on one unusual piece of public art rather than a broad walk.
We start with the face itself and how to read it, then move in close for the grasshopper mechanism as it moves. Questions usually turn to why the clock was designed to feel unsettling on purpose, which I am glad to explain. I finish with a note on the best time of day to see it lit.
It suits anyone curious about design and mechanics as much as history. It also works well as a short add-on before or after a longer college session in the same part of the city.
Included
- Live video walk with a local guide
- Questions to your guide all the way
- A short list of places to visit later
Not included
- Internet connection
- Travel to the city
Itinerary
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Welcome and sound check 5 min
The guide joins the video call, checks the picture and sound with you, and gives you a quick sense of Cambridge before heading out.
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Clock face overview 15 min
The camera holds on the large gilded disc with no hands or numerals, and I explain how the time is actually read from a ring of lit slits around the edge.
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Grasshopper escapement 15 min
Moving closer, you see the insect-like mechanism on top biting forward with each second, and I explain why the clock's inventor built in a deliberately uneven, unsettling motion.
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Your questions 7 min
Time to ask anything about Cambridge: prices, safety, food, or whatever you are curious about.
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A short list to keep 3 min
Before you go, the guide sums up with a few things worth remembering: a dish to try: Afternoon tea and The Kite, worth a slower look.
Good to know
- A stable wifi or mobile connection makes the picture smoother than a shaky one.
- Any phone, tablet or laptop with a camera works. You watch, the guide does the walking.
- Times are shown in London time, so check the time where you are before you book.
- The session is not recorded, and recording it yourself is not allowed. Feel free to take your own notes.
- Ask questions any time, out loud or in the chat. The guide will pause to answer.
- Sessions run in small groups, up to 9 people, so there is room for everyone to ask something.
Questions about this tour
What will the session cover?
The guide walks through Cambridge, showing you Clock face overview and Grasshopper escapement live on camera, plus whatever else you would like to see.
What happens if my connection drops?
Rejoin with the same link within a few minutes and the guide will catch you up on anything you missed.
Can I ask the guide questions during the session, or is it a fixed script?
Anything, any time. Sessions leave room for your own questions throughout, not just at the end.
Do I need any background in art?
No. The guide explains what matters as you go, whatever you already know or do not.
How it works
- You get one join link after booking.
- Join from any device: phone, tablet or laptop.
- We connect on a video call directly in front of the clock, timed so the mechanism is visibly moving on screen.
Times shown in London time (GMT)
Cancellation
Flexible
- Cancel up to 24 hours before the start: full refund.
- Cancel less than 24 hours before the start, or no-show: no refund.
- If the guide cancels or the date does not reach its minimum group: full refund.
- Cancel in My Account → Bookings; the refund is calculated from the start time in the tour's local time.
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Next: Mon 9 Nov · 9 seats left From 18,00 €
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