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Pro
Packed with history and architectural interest
Con
None that I came across
In a nutshell
For 'the great ship of the Fens'
River Ouse and Jubilee Gardens
Airpunk Says: One thing people frequently recommend you (beside visiting the Cathedral) is a walk along the river and a pint at one of the pubs and restaurant. Of course, this is a fair weather activity, although some still do that in rain and snow, skipping the walk part of the...
Airpunk Says: Like most mid-sized towns, also Ely has a local history museum. Similar to others of its kind, it starts from what the era looked like in prehistoric times to the post-war years. Although it has an old-fashioned appearance, it is one of the more interesting of its kind. The...
Airpunk Says: This attraction was unexpectedly excellent. I was just awaiting some displays of local history and a couple of facts about the time when Cromwell used to live in that house. However, it turned out to be a small, but good museum about the life of one of Britain's most...
King_Golo Says: Ely Cathedral is the main sight of Ely. There was a monastery on its place as early as 673AD, but it was destroyed by the Danes in the late 9th century. In the late 11th century, Abbot Simeon arranged and supervised the building of a new church which became a bishop's see...
Ely Cathedral - Stained Glass Museum
Airpunk Says: The Stained Glass Museum is located at one of the Southern Galleries in the Cathedral and can be visited without having to pay the entrance to the Cathedral. However, there are combo-tickets at the cathedral desk which include the Cathedral, the Stained Glass Museum and in...
Airpunk Says: A guided tour to the Octagon is available several times a day. This includes an introduction to the history of the Octagon, most of which you will known already if you have done the free Ground floor tour (for details about the ground floor of the Octagon, please see my tip...
Ely Cathedral - West Tower Tour
Airpunk Says: The West tower is the higher of the two remaining towers of Ely Cathedral. A similar looking East tower collapsed in the middle ages and was never rebuilt. Tours to the West Tower are especially recommendable on clear days which give you a 360 degree sight over the Fens,...
Ely Cathedral - Ground floor tour
Airpunk Says: There are several tours available in the cathedral and they are all worth their money. The ground floor tour is free (once you have paid the entrance fee for the cathedral itself) and takes place four times a day. Please check out the exact timetable as they very per season...
Ely Cathedral - General information
Airpunk Says: Among England's Gothic Cathedrals, Ely's is one of the most beautiful. Although it does not have the majestic façade as Peterborough, the filigranity of Durham or the scissor-arch architecture of Wells, it has enough unique features to be worth a day trip.The present...
Confucius Says: There are three separate tours of Ely Cathedral, plus the optional Stained Glass Museum.The nave tour is free and the two tower tours have fees. If you can only choose to do one tower tour, then the Octagon is a better choice. The Octagon tour takes you up past the stained...
davidcross Says: As you approach Ely by train, the Cathedral rises above the city. However, when you start towards it, it vanishes for a time. You are actually better off continuing ahead when a roadsign would take you to the right.This is a terrific building with a fine Norman nave and...
christine.j Says: Oliver cromwell was born near Ely and lived there for a long time, before he went to London. Today, the tourist information is situated in the building and they offer tours by audio guide.These tours are very well organised, basic information for those who are in a rush, and...
The back side of the cathedral
christine.j Says: This year I had come by train and was walking up to the cathedral from the back side. It was still early in the morning and not many people were around, which made a very special atmosphere. Somehow the cathedral seemed to be more serene.I saw a beautiful sun dial, but what...
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The Prince Albert: Bring your own food!
leics Says: I noticed this pub on the way from Barton Road car park. It looks a pleasant enough place, but it's useful to know that they are happy for you to eat your own packed lunch (sandwiches etc) in the garden, as long as you buy a drink. That's pretty unusual for an English pub,...
planxty Says: If you are travelling to Ely from London, there are a couple of ways you can do it. There are trains to Cambridge from either Liverpool Street or Kings Cross, and trains to Ely from Kings Cross. The trains from Liverpool Street are stopping services, as is the Ely train from...
christine.j Says: Ely is not a very big town, but its train station is important. Several lines go through Ely and several train companies use the station. When my direct train from Cambridge to Norwich was cancelled because of a strike, I was very glad when I was told I could go to Ely and...
Waterside Antiques: Blissful browsing.........
leics Says: If you are into antiques, then this place is the largest in the area. It's housed on 3 floors of an old maltings, with different dealers displaying their stock. There's good parking, and it's in a pretty area of Ely; right by the river, with ducks/ tea-room/ riverside walks...
Helpfulness
I had heard Ely pronounced as "Eelee" and as "Eeli" and wasn't sure which the correct way was, so I asked the friendly lady in the tourist information. She said basically both are correct. Ely was called the Isle of Ely, which was shortened into Ely, pronounced" Eelee". But it was also called the other way around, Ely isle, and this was shortened into" Eelil", the "L" was dropped and "Eeli" remained.So both are correct, but "Eelee" is more common, she told me.
The tourist information is located in Oliver Cromwell's house.
Written Sep 18, 2007
leics Says: One of the nicest things about Ely is that there is so much green space within the city. Ely Park is pleasant in itself, but if you look carefully you can still see the earthworks remaining from the original Norman 'motte & bailey' castle. The castle mound itself (hidden in...
leics Says: Walk to the side of the main entrance to Ely Cathedral, and look closely. You can see clearly how the building has changed and grown over time. The Galilee porch was added to the Western entrance during the 13th century.The weblink below details all the changes undergone by...
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The 'great ship of the Fens..................'
Ely ('the place of the eels' ) didn't exist until the cathedral was built. It towers over the flat Fen landscape, visible from all directions from far away, 'riding in the sky like a great ship'. The...
The name "Ely" is derived from the term "Isle of Eels" as the town was once surrounded by water and marshland where an abundance of eels were caught. The eels were a source of food and income for the...
The Eel has lost its T-Shirt...
but don't worry, I haven't lost my mind. When I was planning our trip to Cambridgeshire, I was reading the Ely pages here on VT. Vt member Leics has a wonderful page. There is a picture of an eel...
Ely is a relatively small market town situated in Cambridgeshire, and is dominated by an ancient cathedral. Good transport links to London make it very accessible for a day trip (see transportation......
Ely is an historic town, dominated of course by Ely Cathedral. You can see it from virtually everywhere in the town. There is quite a bit to see and do in Ely, I'll bore the pants off you and list...
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