The wild fowl has been pretty diverse and amongst others we've seen Little Egrets, lots of adult and baby Grebes and even a pair of Egyptian Geese, although I didn't have the camera handy when we passed them.
After the weedy stretches of the Great Ouse around Denver the Rivers Little Ouse and Lark have been fairly weed free. That must be due to this little weed cutter that we passed all snuggly moored up.
After the Little Ouse, we moored again on the Great Ouse at Littleport. The EA moorings are superb although Littleport village isn't worth a visit. It's very run down and has a lot of rental properties empty and advertised as to let. The Swan on the River pub which was opposite the moorings was run by kids so the service was slow and the beer was only just drinkable, not one to go on the list for a re-visit.
Just as we were leaving the moorings I went to put the washing machine on but there was no power. The Travel Power had packed up, so we tied up again and Roger changed the brush pack which he had recently bought for spares.
The one on the left is obviously the new one and I suppose, in the scheme of things, we've been lucky to get such a long life (6 years) out of the old one.
Next stop was down the River Lark. Again, the EA moorings at Prickwillow were excellent and we stayed there for 2 nights. On Sunday we visited the Drainage Museum which had lots of salvaged pump engines which had been used to drain the Fens. Unfortunately they were having a bad day and none of the engines or interactive displays were working but it was still worth a visit.
If you're heading this way soon, there are lots of damson & plum trees on the footpath just outside the village. I picked damsons and made my first batch of jam so far this year.
After lunch we continued on to Ely. This was our first glimpse of the imposing cathedral.
We didn't arrive until late afternoon but still managed to get a decent mooring and went walkabout.
This is Oliver Cromwell's House which is also the Tourist Information Centre.
This is St. Mary's Cottage which was built around 1550
The cathedral is really quite spectacular. The stone work is so intricate and there are gargoyles all over.
The main entrance door is intricately carved and very ornate.
You are welcomed by this gorgeous vaulted ceiling.
We went inside as I wanted to go to the Stained Glass Museum which is housed in one of the balconies of the cathedral. They had a good display of stained glass panels from churches all over the country, but I have to say that I was disappointed with the cathedral. It's definitely but better on the outside than the inside. Photography wasn't allowed either so I haven't any pictures to show you.
Ely is well worth a visit. The city has lots to see and plenty of good independent shops. There are also 3 supermarkets, Aldi, Sainsbury's and Waitrose. The post office is a portakabin in a car park but it has been so busy with the locals that there's a poster saying that the Post Office are considering re-instating a "proper" post office.
We're now moored on the River Cam at Five Miles From Anywhere pub. The moorings are good and the pub is very busy to say that it's only a Tuesday. The beer is good too, four real ales plus four draught ciders. They also have live music on regularly so no doubt we'll be paying a return visit on the way back.
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