Our incredible journey in this amazing country continued Friday last when we hopped a train bound for Ely, in Cambridgeshire. We have seen many beautiful churches and cathedrals in Norwich and many other places, but we'd read that the Norman Cathedral at Ely was so magnificent that it was simply not to be missed. Fortunately for us, Ely is an easy 55 minute train ride from Norwich.
Princess Etheldreda, daughter of the King of East Anglia (the region where Norwich is located) was a newly converted Christian in the 7th Century. She founded an Abbey in this location in 673 AD and the city of Ely grew up around this Abbey. The original Abbey no longer exists, and the Norman cathedral that now stands here was started by William the Conqueror in 1070 (or so) and took 300 years to build. It really is a stunning cathedral and has the most beautiful stained glass that we'd yet to see. The colors in this glass are amazing. The cathedral also boasts a beautifully painted ceiling and incredible stonework. It does not have a spire but instead has a square 'lantern' tower made of wood. We had a terrific tour. One of the interesting things we learned was that the church was at one time heated with coal burning furnaces (there is a picture of the black chunky looking thing), located all around the church. These furnaces spewed soot for decades and covered the walls and ceilings and completely obscured the paintings and many of the windows. Our guide (who was in her 70's) says she remembers attending church as a girl and everything being dark and sooty). The heaters were converted to gas and the church was restored to its former glory in the last 10 years. We then wandered around on our own and got some great photos. We walked around Ely, which is a charming place, not very large at all. We lunched in the cathedral refectory and it was a fun experience as all the food was homemade by church volunteers who were quite friendly and talkative. Yummy lemon drizzle cake.
After lunch we took a magnificent walk through a very large green area with horses and magnificent trees and flowers still in bloom! Sophia got to get close to the ponies and even petted one on the nose. We then headed back to the train station and rode a half an hour up the track to the town of Bury St. Edmunds.
Bury St. Edmunds is famous for its Abbey ruins. The Abbey that once stood here was one of the largest and richest Abbeys in England's history. Built in the 10th and 11th centuries it flourished until the 16th century when the Dissolution of the monasteries took all of its relics and wealth. The Abbey fell in to ruin. By the time we entered the area of the Abbey ruins, it had gotten quite dark, so our pictures didn't really turn out. It was light enough, though, for us to walk around and be stunned and amazed at the size and the elaborate layout of what once was the Abbey.
Just outside the gates of the Abbey park, we lucked into a crowded Christmas Fayre in full swing with rides, local vendors selling crafts and goodies, and a French market with stalls full of food, wine, cheese, sausages and sweets of all kinds - such fun! Best of all for Sophia, though, were the animals. I think they were planning a live Nativity at some point in the Fayre, but for now they just had the animals in the stable. There were fuzzy donkeys, a very woolly ram and some absolutely beautiful cocoa brown alpacas that seemed so gentle and sweet. Sophia loooved it.
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