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Perched on a mound of clay above the River Ouse,
ELY
- literally "eel island" - was to all intents and purposes a true island until the draining of the fens in the seventeenth century. Up until then, the town was encircled by treacherous marshland, which could only be crossed with the help of the locals, "fen-slodgers" who knew the firm tussock paths. In 1070,
Hereward the Wake
turned this inaccessibility to military advantage, holding out against the Normans and forcing William the Conqueror to undertake a prolonged siege - and finally to build an improvised road floated on bundles of sticks.
Since then, Ely has always been associated with Hereward, which is really rather ridiculous as Ely is, above all else, an ecclesiastical town and a Norman one to boot. The Normans built the
cathedral
, a towering structure visible for miles across the flat landscape and Ely's only significant sight. It's easy to see the town on a day-trip from Cambridge, but Ely does make a pleasant night's stop in its own right. It's also handy for
Wicken Fen
.
The Town
Ely
Cathedral
(June-Sept daily 7am-7pm; Oct-May Mon-Sat 7.30am-6pm, Sun 7.30am-5pm; £4) is seen to best advantage from the south, the crenellated towers of the west side perfectly balanced by the prickly finials to the east with the...
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