September 2021 Part Two - A Glorious Cathedral and a Humble Abbey

 We got up early, grabbed breakfast and headed over to Ely Cathedral for opening. I've wanted to visit for a long time, ever since seeing it featured on TV in something I was watching. And it did not disappoint!

It's got this dark Gothic feel to the outside of it, as well as this very powerful facade, with the windows that lead your eyes upwards.

No, I didn't just take a picture of the Cathedral's binstores, it was more because I wanted to know what was here. At one point, it looks like there was another building attached by the way the arches are broken off, and the fact small windows look like they were bricked up in the buttress that was added. It transpired that once inside, we were told that the building here was part of the transept, had collapsed in the 15th century due to subsidence. The buttress was added to prevent further collapse, and they never got round to rebuilding it.

Inside, Ely Cathedral has the most spectacular ceiling, illuminated by it's many windows. The colours, the imagery, the design of it all is incredible. You can see many of the most notable figures from the bible, as well as various real life & semi legendary saints, monk's, bishops and others. It strains your neck to look at it, but I did notice one clever lady using the mirror from her compact to inspect it closely. Maybe worth thinking about for your visit.

The cathedral has this beautiful light streaming through the windows and then through the arches into the building. Compared to many other cathedrals, it has this lovely warm and friendly feel to it.

This was the highlight for me. This fantastic octagonal tower, sat in the middle of a large opening where the original tower would have been, is over the top of this large space where you are surrounded by arches, further adding to this feeling of space & light.

As you can see, it creates this fantastic space where you can really stand and appreciate each area of the cathedral just by turning on your heel. It's brilliant, and whoever designed it is a genius!

Some of the beautiful detailed stonework. The attention to detail is fantastic

There's also these painted wooden panels on the ceiling, which coupled with the stone pillars, really draws your eyes upwards, adding to that feeling of height and distance.

I have to say it, but Ely Cathedral is one of the best cathedrals in England. It's glorious, and I recommend it to everyone to pay them a visit. Tickets start at £14 for adults, and there is a wide variety of tours around the cathedral that you can join at an extra cost. All I will say, is get there as early as possible. We got there for opening at 10, and by 11am, it started to get very busy in places. And if you can, try and visit the stained glass museum, it's the only stained glass museum in the UK, and although it was closed when we were there, from their website it looks very interesting indeed!

Our second visit of the day, couldn't have been any more different if it tried! We went from the grandeur and beauty of Ely Cathedral, to the worn out and simple appearance of Denny Abbey & the Working Farm Museum. I don't think we could have done more contrasting things if we tried to! 

Denny Abbey is one of those places where it's had a turbulent history, and has born the brunt of it. Initially built by the Benedictines, it was then taken over by the Knight Templar as a sort of retirement home for knights who were unable to continue on, before being given to the Franciscan nuns (or poor Clares as they are more commonly known). Henry the 8th then came, suppressed and wrecked half of it, before it became a farm. More recently, the site was looked after by English Heritage, who then leased it to the Working Farm Museum, who are the current occupiers. 

You can see the different era's so cleary in the buildings, with various doorways, windows, fireplaces and staircases, all in varying stages of having been filled in, opened up or a mixture of the two. But I think that all adds to the charm of it!

You can see here very clearly where the nave would have been, the pillars and arch in the wall giving you an idea of the size of the original abbey church.

The museum has also redecorated some of the rooms to show you how life would have been in times gone by on the farm. I love seeing things like this, and seeing how different, yet how similar our lives are compared to back then!

And this bit was extra special, it's the original flooring from the abbey church! After almost a thousand years, it's still here, broken in place, missing bits in others, but still here. Is that wonderful?

The museum has some outbuildings as well, featuring various pieces of farm equipment (if that sort of thing floats your boat, or cuts your corn, I couldn't think of a better farming pun!). The museum closes over winter, and I read on their website they are usually open between April & October, but just make sure you check it out before visiting to confirm opening times. Check out their website at

 Denny Farmland Museum