We had to be out of the house by 10am so rushed about madly getting everything packed and out. The cleaners were sitting outside when we finally left at 9.55am.

We said goodbye to George and Lech who headed off to York. Helen left too and we would join her later in Aylesbury.

We drove off making sure we stayed on decent roads to Snettisham RSPB – not the single track ones through tight villages.

It was raining when we got there unfortunately. After a cup of tea Glenn went to check out the birds. I stayed in the van staying dry and warm writing up some blogs.

Glenn came back after an hour a little damp but having seen the interesting village and some nice birds – photos to be added later.

We then continued to our next stop – Ely Cathedral. It’s a huge building dominating a small town in the middle of a marsh.

Construction was started in 1083 by Norman Abbot Simeon. It was dedicated to  St Etheldreda an Anglo- Saxon princess who founded the first chapel on this site in the 600s. She also has 2 saintly sisters. 

At the time it was an island in the middle of a marsh. In 1300 23,000 pilgrims travelled here every year to visit St Etheldreda’s shrine. Travel was on a boat from Cambridge taking 1 day.

This was the original door from 1135. It originally connected the cathedral to the monastic cloister and dormitory.

It has zodiac signs on the left to keep the pagans happy and men doing various jobs on the right.

The base of a cross below is from St Ethelredas original church and is from around 673. It was found in the 1700s in a village being used to tie up animals and moved here.

The cathedral was built on thin layer of green sandstone on top of mud. Springs came up from the floor in places. One day a monk dug an extra hole in the floor. 

That night the huge tower came crashing down. There was now masonry lying everywhere and a large hole punctured in the middle of the green sandstone. 

A church official Alan de Walsingham worked with architects to create a design of an octagonal tower to stand on the edges of the punctured sandstone layer.  Master carpenter William Hurley rebuild it in wood to keep it light. It’s now one of the medieval wonders of the world.

Each of the 8 lengths across is a 63 foot oak tree. There are doors where the angel pictures are. There is a bell tower above. It’s possible to do a tour of the tower by walking across the roof to see it. On a clear early you can see  Peterborough cathedral that is 30 miles from here. 

Similarly Winchester cathedral is also floating on a marsh. A diver has spent his life fixing up the supports below.

There is ancient painting still on the walls from the 1100s. 

There is a portrait of Prince William and Catherine that was commissioned in 2021 by the Cambridgeshire Royal Portrait Fund as a gift to the people of the county. It is here until next March.

The whole cathedral was amazing. I did a whirlwind walk around before heading back to the carpark so we could continue on our way. 

We arrived in Aylesbury 2 hours later and welcomed by Helen with gin and tonic then dinner. It was a relief to relax after another big day. We watched Strictly Come Dancing – a very popular competition in the UK then off to bed for a good sleep.