Wicken Fen and Ely

We rented a car so that we could drive to a few more out-of-the way places around the countryside. Our first stop was Wicken Fen, renowned for its birds, but on this early April day children on Easter break were more in evidence:

From Wicken Fen we went to Ely Cathedral, this time taking the West Tower tour, 288 steps and 215 feet up to the highest point of the cathedral:

 The view from the second landing:

It's already a long way down:

It was a beautiful, unusually clear day, and the view was superb. Here you can see the Octagonal Tower that we climbed on our last visit to Ely Cathedral:

Our guide was excellent--well-informed, enthusiastic, with an outstanding presentation about the history of the cathedral and the surrounding monastery:

 After the tour we enjoyed the cathedral in other ways--t. interpreting the ceiling, s. deep in a book:

Me, inspecting the Prior's Door:

Christmas Adam in Ely

We spent the day a short train ride north of Cambridge, in the isle of Ely ...

... home to the third-largest medieval cathedral in the UK:

Unlike many other "medieval" churches in the area, which were extensively rebuilt in modern times, much of Ely Cathedral apparently goes back to the 300-year period between 1083–1375 when the cathedral was more-or-less under construction (see Wikipedia for the details). Unfortunately, Reformation iconoclasm did a number on the stained glass, carvings, and paintings, so the artwork is primarily Victorian:

We got the package deal, which included what for this acrophobe was a harrowing hike up the central octogonal tower. A view of the "lantern" in the central tower:

In the lantern:

A view from the lantern:

 At the top of the central tower:

 As usual, s's favourite part was feeding ducks: