My first experiences of skateboarding took place on the path leading to the underpass beside King’s Hedges Junior School in what was then called North Arbury. The subway, along with the nearby Ship pub and North Arbury Chapel were built around 1974, the same year that my time at the King’s Hedges School came to an end. Skateboarding didn’t take off in Cambridge until 1976. I remember screwing an old roller skate (with small hard rubber wheels) onto a piece of wood and this became my first skateboard. I had in mind to try out the subway and set off with my brother to skate this curved path, which ran from the roadside down into the underpass beneath Northfield Avenue. I found that I could generate some speed on this run despite the limitations of the rubber wheels, which had metal pins rather than bearings. The trouble was, small stones would jam under the wheels, jarring the board and sending me flying off the path. Aborted runs began to mount up but eventually I made it all the way down unscathed. As the sun warmed the tarmac, I felt brief moments of freedom and, to my amazement, I was able to stay upright and enjoy the thrill of repeated rides. There was a sense of achievement, as well as a glimmer of rebellion. These experiences seemed like a road toward autonomy, unlike many of the other events from this period of my childhood. Courtesy of Ian Rawlinson, 2023
