A "Short" Road Trip

On Friday I took a cab to the Enterprise Car Rental place and was offered a zippy little Renault for the amazing weekend special of £11 per day - same price as the cab one way from the flat. The young man at Enterprise pointed me in the direction of the airport and off I zipped, arriving just in time to greet Sally as she came through Arrivals. When we got back to the flat we enjoyed an early dinner with Nancy, then Sal went off to bed for a good night's sleep. She woke up raring to go and, after a quick breakfast and general directions to Cambridge, we began our day trip.

It was spectacularly sunny and warm and as we headed south and west into the countryside, taking in the quintessential English spring. The blossoms were out in a full chorus of colour – the pink apple and cherry blossoms contrasting with the white flowers of pear and plum. In my opinion, spring is when the English countryside puts on its finest show. The bright yellow gorse offers a startling contrast to the paler shades, as do the vast fields of rapeseed. Animal life was in abundance too with herds of the ubiquitous black and white Holsteins grazing in impossibly green fields, adorable spring lambs cavorting around their mothers, and regal pigs standing in social communion near their sties. We stopped at a petrol station because Sally wanted to buy a map so she could see where we were going, and off we went in the direction of Ely.

Horses grazing with Ely Cathedral in the background.

Strange looking birds near the River Great Ouse.

I’d heard the cathedral at Ely was breathtaking, and so it is. Known locally as “The Ship of the Fens,” this gothic structure, built by William the Conqueror in 1083, rose majestically into view above the "flat and watery landscape" as we approached it from the east. We found a free public car park and started exploring the town by foot, first visiting the cathedral and being gobsmacked by the nave with its stone-vaulted ceilings and exquisite paintings. At one point in history, Oliver Cromwell got his knickers in a twist over something political, and for twelve years wouldn’t allow any Catholics to worship in the cathedral, using it instead as a stable for his horses. What a meanie. I would have liked to have visited the Stained Glass Museum, but we wanted to see Cambridge as well, and time was running out. I’ll go back and check it out another time before I leave the country though. http://www.ely.org.uk/cath.htm.  

Punting on the River Cam.

We were getting hungry at this point so stopped at a simple but promising-looking cafe where Sally ordered a chicken sandwich and I chose egg and mayonnaise. I have never seen plainer looking sandwiches in my life - plain brown bread, very fresh though, filled with the chicken or egg. Not a pickle or a lettuce leaf in sight. We had a glass of water to add to our spartan meal, paid the bill and left. Before leaving the town, we walked along the River Great Ouse with crowds of other people enjoying the summer-like weather, and ambled through sprawling antique stores and along paths and streets lined with charming stone houses.  When we felt we’d stayed long enough to get a taste of the town (city actually, because it has a cathedral), we walked back to the car and pointed towards Cambridge, just 12 miles away. 

More punters on the River Cam.

Cambridge is such a vibrant city with its student population and lively outdoor eateries and parks. The place was buzzing with activity as we parked the car along the road and walked over the footbridge into the centre of town. I'll certainly come back here again before I leave. We had only an hour or so to enjoy the place because I wanted to be back in Norwich before dark, not being familiar with the roads at night. I drove through a roundabout and took what I thought was the only road north in our direction and all seemed well. We were chatting happily away when we realized, some time later, that we were almost at Nottingham, long past any turn off for Norwich. Sally checked the map and we took the next exit heading in the general direction of the east coast. A drive that should have taken an hour and a half took four hours, and we arrived back in Norwich at 11:00 pm, in the dark. Live and learn.