Ely!

Sometimes dissertation madness threatens to take over and that's when you know you need to get out of the library for a while. Hence a little daytrip to nearby Ely, a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire! Ely is roughly one and a half hours away from Norwich by train and its name comes from the Old English Ēl-gē which means "eel region" - once upon a time, there were plenty of eels in the marshes of the area! There are many historic buildings and winding streets to wander around. The river is a popular boating area and you can see many houseboats with (sometimes) funny names. Ely Cathedral's heritage goes back to Saxon times and you can read more about its founder, St Etheldreda, at the cathedral's website: http://www.elycathedral.org/history/the_story_cathedral.html

These days, the cathedral still serves as a place of worship but also hosts exhibitions, concerts and plays - for example, the upcoming Los Gitanos and Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. I'm fairly sure that sometime in the summer last year, there was a "Rave In The Nave" party for high schoolers.

Ely is lovely little spot in East Anglia for a daytrip. So get on the train for cake and tea and an easy stroll!

Cheers,
UEA Malaysian Ambassador