VISIT TO EAST OF ENGLAND 2011

TUESDAY 6^th

I guess it was too much to hope for a holiday without rain but by the time we had finished breakfast it had stopped although it was still very windy as we watched the flowers in the window boxes sway about.

We abandoned Plan A which was to go to Grantchester and walk along the riverside into the back of Cambridge. Plan B we could visit the Cromwell Museum across the road from ‘The George’ and then go on to Hitchingbrooke House and the Park up by the hospital. But we took Plan C, Ian and Julia’s idea of going to Ely as none of us had been there.

We did go across to the Cromwell Museum which was once a schoolwhere Cromwell attended although the building began life as a hospital and was constructed in the shape of a small church. Unfortunately it didn’t open until 10.30 and we didn’t want to hang around in the cold wind.

It was about a 30 minute drive to Ely and as Keith had already researched car parking we followed the signs for long stay as the free car parks only allow 2 hour stay.

Just as it began to rain again we reached the Cathedral. Entering the magnificent building we had to make a choice about which admission price we wanted to pay. We could have the full works for £18 but in the end settled for the basic admission which included a guided tour. As expected there were a lot of visitors but we were able to explore every part of it in peace as the visitors were in small groups accompanied by a quiet speaking guide.

Founded in 673 by Queen Ethelreda the building consisted of several small chapels, including a larger one dedicated to her, and all set at the eastern end of the Cathedral, a point at which the building of all Churches begins. Looking up along the centre aisle we saw Victorian paintings of various scenes from the bible covering the whole ceiling area. Again a mirror table on wheels had been placed in the aisle for easy viewing.

At 'the cross' we paused to look up to the octagonal tower which had been rebuilt when the original collapsed in the 1300s. Constructed of wood and stone our guide told us that the 20 foot high panels, which can be opened, are paintings of people associated with the Church and that that the stained glass windows were of peacocks in recognition of the man Peacock who oversaw the building of the new tower. In the centre of the dome was a carving of the head of Christ surrounded by angels with beams 40 feet long, the timber being provided by trees from an abbey in Hertfordshire. All timber and stone had been shipped by boat as at that period Ely was surrounded by water. In later years a Dutchman was to come along and drain the fens which at that time the local people were not to happy about.

Entering the ‘Lady Chapel’ as it was completed on Lady Day (25^th March) we found the room very warm due to recently installed under floor heating so that this Chapel can be used in the winter. A large empty space with decorative plasterwork done in many layers, some of which had been badly damaged during the time when Henry Vlll wanted to abolish the Churches, we saw a large statue of a lady with gold flowing hair, arms stretched out above her hear and dressed in blue with a gold belt on her broad hips. I thought this was a tribute to Ethelreda but was told it was the Virgin Mary. A sculptor had been commissioned to create a statue details and drawings of which was not seen until the unveiling by Prince Charles. Our guide told us there was a stunned silence, and then slowly a round of applause but that the press had had a field day! Our guide pointed out that the Chapel was not very suitable for speakers but the accoustics were ideal for music and so many concerts were held throughout the year.

We returned to the main part of the church and went to see the choir stalls, some very ancient others of the Victorian period. Our guide demonstrated the seating at the back of the stalls where the seat could be raised so the choirboy or man could also discretely stand if he wished. (We have seen modern versions of this style of seating in many Cretan churches.)

By now we were getting hungry but before going to eat Julia and I set out to visit the Information Centre which was in the house owned by Oliver Cromwell’s family and part of it had been turned into a museum. Ian joined us leaving Keith to sample the beer in a nearby pub. We picked up the leaflet of ‘The Eel Trail’ a route following brass discs with an eel engraved on each disc, the eel getting bigger as we neared the end of the trail. We also learnt that Oliver Cromwell’s mother often cooked eels for the family. The trail would at least keep me amused when not taking photos!

We had lunch in 'The Lamb' another hotel owned by Old English Inns as Keith had not been impressed with the pub he had visited. After that our route was to take us past many old buildings including Kings College School which adjoined the cathedral. As we had made our way to the Cathedreal we had walked past several young men in smart suits thinking they were young business men but then noticed they all wore the same tie. They were in fact students of the college.

Down by the river we were to discover they had their own rowing boats and were just returning to the boathouse after a session on the river, the master on the safety boat shouting out instructions through his megaphone so the whole neighbourhood could hear what was going on.

As well as the skulls there was also a crowd of younger students in fibre glass canoes, some attempting to get the front end on the landing stage and after several attempts succeeding. The Marina looked very full and alongside the entrance to the Jubilee Gardens several canal boats were moored. We all took a fancy to the one called ‘Tipsy Gipsy’.

On grassy banks several breeds of duck, including one little duckling, nestled down hiding their heads from the strong wind.

Through the park we had some wonderful views of the Cathedral with horses in a field along with a squirrel struggling to get at the horsechestnut fruit inside the case.

We arrived at the Market Place where the sun made a brief appearance allowing me to become a human sundial as I stood in the September block with the shadow of my raised arm falling at 2pm GMT. During our exploration we admired different styles of chimneys and coloured roofs and finally we looked at the Tudor gateway only to find that it couldn’t be Tudor as there was no wood as mentioned in our guide. This gateway was further down the road where Keith was waiting for us. With the trail at an end we headed back to the car park taking the route marked on our map by the lady in the Information Centre.

6.30 we left for 'The Old Ferry Boat' at Holywell to meet up with Brian and Lilly who were already waiting for us. We enjoyed the evening with them listening to their adventures in their caravan and places they had visited in France with Marian. Outside the cloud had disappeared leaving a lovely starlit sky but that cold wind was still blowing.

Back at 'The George' I ordered a port and brandy for Keith. “Would I like Harveys, Tio Pepe or Croft?” No a port – they are sherries. There had to be a port bottle somewhere as Keith had had one earlier. By now other guests sitting at the bar were beginning to join in the light hearted atmosphere. Finally the barmaid found a bottle of Cockburns – fine now pour a brandy into it. We then had to make a choice of brandy and it didn’t help when Ian couldn’t remember which brandy Keith had previously had. The smiles broke into laughter as I announced to the barmaid that the drink wasn’t even for me! I warned the younger guests not to give up work or they would end up like us!