It's now Monday and we are back from bridge and a pub lunch. Stomachs are distended. Thankfully the beer is weak and there is not need for an immediate nap, but one might be on the horizon.
The entire crew went off to Ely, which is about 15 miles for Trumpington by motorcar. The town is quite old and that means something in this country.
The site of cathedral was a monastery starting in the 6th century. It's been done in a couple of times by bad actors like the Vikings and the Protestants, then the Catholics and then the reformation and on and on. (I may not have that all correct, but suffice it to say that what you see today, ain't what it once was.)
The cathedral looks like a number of the chapels in the colleges. One huge room with lots of stained glass, huge organ, lots of carving in the choir areas.
There is an opportunity to climb to the top of one of the towers, and like gullible tourists, Barb and I signed up. They had recently hired a lawyer for the church and there were documents to read and release of liability sheets to sign. We locked up our belongings and off we went.
The big room does not look like there are hidden areas around, but we slide through a small door in an antechamber and soon we are up a level. Then another door and we are three stories up. We stop and rest a touch, because the next climb is no more stopping. "A bit over 200 steps," states our guy. He short haired, long tattooed from knuckles to arms, though his face is untouched. Today he would make 5 climbs up and down and on occasion 6.
"How many steps?" someone asks.
"280," cries our guide. He evidently is not good at rounding as 280 ought to be rounded up and not down. He is a machinist during the week. I hope he is better with drawings.
So up we go. This is a pretty narrow circular stone staircase with stairs that are triangles. At the hub they are 0 inches wide and at the outer curve perhaps a normal width. I'm used to shallow steps with my feet, but it's not easy going. There is a handrail all the way and it's a nice touch. Maybe they lost a few choir boys along the way and put in some safety thingies.
We pop out of the top onto a roof that is octagonal in shape and about 30 feet across. The flooring is made up of lead sheets over wood and is pyramidic in shape. The center is the point of the pyramid and there is something there, with a path to get to it. Antenna or flag pole? Not sure now.
It's blowing quite a bit and we have a hand rail to hang on to and stone cutouts to view around. The cutouts are about 7 feet tall and you can lean out as far as you like. We are 200 feet up and look down on most of the cathedral.
Nice views of the surrounding area. The areas around Ely are fens. Which are low laying areas that flood. Modern technology has drained a lot of it and made more farm land, but when the winter and spring rains come to visit, they can flood again. In the old days Ely was known as an island.
If you have a feat of heights, this might not be the place for you. We spend 10 or 45 minutes up there, not real sure, but it felt like it might have been a long time. Then we head back down.
If you've ever done any rock climbing you know that going up is always easier than going down. No exception here. Barb goes slowly and follow here. Guide goes last to "close the doors behind us." But I think he does it so that if someone falls, he'll still be able to lead the next group once they clean the stairwell.
We make it down and stop at the lower level to regroup. A couple of minutes to rest, a few ore tidbits of history and now we find our legs don't work so well anymore. We're all a bit wobbly, but manage.
Ely has been a focal point for a long time and it being Sunday, there is a small market going on. Barb and I wander through. There are tables with all sorts of stuff/crap on them and I spot some coins. One is a 1796 penny with George III, the mad king on it. "How much?" "Did you get that from here?" the proprietor asks while motioning to a vague area on the table. "Ok then, 1 pound." I don't bargain and trade a new coin for a very old one.
The coin needs a cleaning, but the details on the coin are sharp and seem complete and the grunge looks like it just might be dirt and come off easily. So I've completed my modest collect of English pennies.
Next day we are off to Wimpole House.
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