London to Cambridge

After a warm welcome at Harrow at my friend's Carole's home we had an uneventful journey to Cambridge which is familiar territory for me now after living there mostly for the past year or so. We stayed at the YHA there for two nights.  After settling our bags and bundles safely in our twin room we took off for the obligatory red tour bus of the city.  I was quite keen to do some punting on the River Cam which is the thing to do in Cambridge and we managed to get a good price for a fortyfive minute punt up the river.  Was great fun and so relaxing until we had a head-on crash with two other punts mid-stream and just missed floating through the undergrowth of the nearby weeping willows. The only thing we forgot was a bottle of red wine and a couple of wine glasses.

On our second day we went to the nearby picturesque and historic town of Ely. We arrived at theCathedral just in time for.the Sunday service and the Eucharist.  Ely Cathedral like most Cathedrals is really stunning and rich in  history going back to the 11th Century.  It was quite something to sit there during the service and feel the vibrations and impact of the glorious and triumphant music from such a powerful organ.

We later joined a small tour group and were guided up the Octagnal Tower and onto the roof of the cathedral...169 steps up a very narrow stone, spiral staircase.  At the top we were able to look back down to the floor of the cathedral far below which was very daunting to say the least and very far away.  Debbie kept gasping.."I'll be OK...I'll be OK".

We managed a tour of Oliver Cromwell's family home and were further enlightened on the drama and history surrounding the Reformation and conflict between the Pope as Head of the Church, Henry VIII and his wives, King Charles 1?  and Martin Luther's revelation of justification my faith alone.  All fascinating stuff....society of that era was predominantly very religious.      

We meandered down to the River Cam and walked along the river bank back to the train and back to Cambridge...a very educational afternoon.  We finished the day with an enjoyable meal in Caluchi's, one of Cambridge's top Italian restaurants.