Ely cathedral can be seen on the drive up the A11. And as you draw nearer, its just looms more beautiful and grand on the horizon. Its one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever seen. There is such a large amount of detailed work gone into the construction that a review like this just wouldnt do it justice. I would recommend taking a seat and staring at the painted ceiling for a while.

There is often a display going on inside. Recently they have held a fair trade show and a series of choral concerts

Even the cloisters and associated buildings nearby are not to be missed. Take a stroll to the river and look back up, the outside is just as magnificent

It's true, outside Cambridge in this part of the country it is a rare treat to view an historic landmark as stunning as this one. The whole town built around the amazing Cathedral. The scale of the Cathedral can only be truly appreicated when you are standing on the grounds, where you combine to magnificant height with the length of the building. It is a fantastic building, surrounded by an historic town, with some of the best stories and legends.

Worth a visit if your in this part of the country.

Lets face it, the landscape around this part of the country isn’t ever going to be described as “stunning” (unless you really hate hills, or even small bumps). But, should you ever find yourself passing even remotely close, I would strongly suggest a detour to Ely, and an afternoon spent exploring the great cathedral there. To describe it as a hidden gem would be an understatement. Courtesy of the flat plains around, the cathedral rises out and can be seen from miles around. I guess they had a lot of time on their hands in the middle ages in the Fens - and it shows. The place is massive, and for a town the size of Ely, even more impressive. It is one of the best preserved monasteries in the UK, having survived Henrys great asset grab more or less intact. Inside it’s vast, with some impressive stone work, and even ancient graffiti! The Lady chapel is spooky in it’s demolished catholic wall carvings (head-less, and not-quite removed), and even the almost long gone cloister is quite impressive (if you like abbeys, that is!).

It was Oliver Cromwells home town too, and you can visit his house (pretty much robbed of any real connection to him now).

The rest of the town is the usual mixture of cutesy houses, and horrible chavy places.

I’d recommend it to any of my overseas friends who might be doing a tour of the UK, and be in Cambridge as part of it. It’s only 30min drive away from Cambridge, and would make a brilliant afternoon trip.

It’s well worth a look, even if you happen to live in Cambridge, or be up there visiting friends.