A Change in the Weather

To Ely by Train, Again 

I have only just finished writing up the summer trip to the Home and Garden Show at Ely Cathedral when I was off again on the train to Ely Cathedral for its Christmas Fair. It was a grand day out, as ever, but it was as cold as the July trip had been hot. We did not sit outside, we did not seek the shade everywhere we went and we did not feel the need for constant drinks and ice-creams. It was a relief to see that Stamford railway station was staffed (it normally is in the morning, but now and again there is illness or holiday making it unstaffed for a day or more), which meant that the waiting room would be unlocked and available! We waited there for our train and then walked to the former First Class section, now declassified and enjoyed the bigger seats with charging points to make sure our iPhones would work all day (they had our return tickets on them after all).

Although cold it was a lovely day and we had a warn very pleasant ride, with hot chocolate from the refreshment trolley. The fens just look delightful - from the train; I'm not sure I'd have wanted to be out there! In no time at all the cathedral seemed to appear on the horizon and then as it drew nearer to swing around as we approached the station. We walked our usual route from the station to the cathedral, via the riverside with its pubs and restaurant (but this time we did not stop). To my amazement there were anglers fishing in the river in the cold weather: it's not like it's a sport where you get to move around a lot and keep warm.

At the cathedral grounds we could go through three enormous marquees full of stands displaying (and selling) all manner of food, drink, giftware and clothes, and then there were the hot food stalls at which we could have had lunch ... but that would have meant eating outside, so we didn't! By this time our tickets for the stalls inside the cathedral were valid so we joined the short, fast-moving queue at the main door and went inside. The lighting and decorations in the porch were stunning, and then we were into the throng that filled all three aisles of the cathedral, and I must observe that at 71 I felt I was one of the younger people present ... presumably the families will come at the weekend when they are not at work. 

After a thorough browse we had a mulled wine in the Lady Chapel and then left for a late lunch at The Almonry Kitchen, which I can thoroughly recommend. The first item on the menu was a beef and mushroom pie with potatoes and vegetables and I looked no further.

We had Anytime Day Return tickets and looked at our watches and decided to make our way to the station and buy our coffee there to drink on the train rather than have it in the restaurant and then wait most of an hour in the cold for the next train. We took a similar route back to the station but finding ourselves slightly ahead of time, extended it for a slightly longer walk along the river so as to keep going and keep warm!

Our train home was on time and again we managed to take seats in the former First Class section - it had never been worth paying extra for these on such a short trip but they are worth searching out, no longer actually labelled First but still with the yellow stripe above the windows, so easy to find.

I'm glad we had our coffee because although there was a trolley we never saw it move from the vestibule. Cross Country just can't seem to get a grip on their catering. Anyway, the coffee from Locoespresso at the station was far superior to what is served on the train!

The slight snag with travelling in the section of the train where we did is that it was at the front this time which meant we had the walk the farthest to the exit at Stamford, but that really didn't matter. And then the walk to our nice warm home after a really lovely day out. We had not bought much although we had spent a lot on fares and lunch and drinks but we had enjoyed a really good day. Worth every penny.

Homes and Gardens ... and Wine

A Day Trip to Ely Cathedral by Train

Every now and then our cathedrals put on a show of some sort. Sometimes they are connected with the festivals of the Christian faith, or with the history of the Church, and sometimes they just put things on because they have the space and facilities required for a show of some sort and can make money for their mission or the upkeep of their historic buildings. A festival we visited in the summer was one of the latter, nothing directly to do with Ely Cathedral's mission at all, but great fun for all and well worth the ticket price. This was the Home and Garden Show, using the cathedral grounds and the interior of the cathedral at Ely.

Ely is an easy train ride from our home in Stamford, and just as easy from Cambridge, Peterborough, Leicester or even Birmingham by the very same train. In fact, Ely is an easy train ride from lots and lots of places, even London by a different train, being a junction of lines from all over England. So we were soon there. It is a pleasant ride most of the way, through the Welland valley out of Stamford passing farms and villages, then alongside the East Coast Main Line to Peterborough before passing under it after Peterborough station and running alongside the River Nene out of Peterborough before crossing the fens to finish beside the River Great Ouse. Approaching Ely is always a joy: we look out for the cathedral and then watch it appear to revolve as we swing around the city to enter the station from the north, having joined the lines from Kings Lynn and from Norwich.

From Ely railway station we walked down to the marina area and had lunch siting in the warm sunshine outside one of the pubs down by the river. This really is a very pleasant place and it would be easy to while away a whole afternoon here! But the show was calling (and we had paid for the tickets!), so off we went when the time came and queued at the entrance gate.

It was a really hot and sunny day and there was not a lot of shade in the outdoor parts of the show, but there were plenty of stands offering samples of wines, beers, gins, soft drinks and ice-cream from various local and regional producers, which came in very handy.

We visited the stand of the Mallard Point vineyard and distillery which is local to us at home and whose gin we have bought in the past, and there we bought a couple of tumblers to bring home as a souvenir. Like their returnable gin bottles these are made of aluminium rather than glass and are painted the same garter blue colour that LNER painted Mallard and most other A4 locomotives. We use them in summer when dining or drinking outside to reduce the chance of broken glass in the yard.

We took business cards from a number of other stands - not all drinks producers, queued for and enjoyed an ice-cream and then went to look at displays elsewhere, in a courtyard garden and inside the cathedral. A bar had been set up in the last chapel but we did not call there.

After a cup of tea and cake at the Almonry restaurant it was time to make or way to the station for our train home. The train was indicated on time and by the time all the crowd heading to Ely from Cambridge had left, there was plenty of space for us to find seats together for our smooth and comfortable ride home. Another super day trip to Ely.

Ironically it is much quicker and easier for us to visit Ely Cathedral (or Leicester, or Peterborough) than out own cathedral in Lincoln which requires a change of train and takes a lot longer. Even Birmingham Cathedral is easier to reach than Lincoln!