Ely in general

Ely is a small quite city in Cambridgeshire with the most well known attraction being the Cathedral which has stood since 673AD. With the tallest point being in the region of 215ft tall it makes for a great landmark for the city in the surrounding flat fenland. Ely has a population of around 16,000 people. Built on the River Ouse Ely offers a Marina and mooring for canal boats. As well as many places just to sit and enjoy watching life on the river go by on the sunny days. Tours of the river by boat take place on a regular basis and pre-booking is rarely needed. Ely although quite offers plenty for a relaxed day out or weekend away. We usually take ...  Read the complete review

Ely (pronounced like "really" - don't call it Eli) is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire. It is just 14 miles from Cambridge, so is a popular tourist attraction for anyone coming to the Cambridgeshire area. It has a population of approximately 20,000, making it a small city. Transport: If you were to visit Ely, your first concern would be how to get to Ely. Ely is easy to reach on train from London (direct train) and from the North or Midlands by changing at Peterborough. The train station is located out of the city centre and would take around 20 minutes to walk from. There are no buses stopping close to the station going into the town centre, ...  Read the complete review

I first wrote this review almost three years ago, when I was torn between giving Ely four or five stars... now I'm torn between giving it three or four. I’ve changed the narrative accordingly, based on more recent observations of the place. THE AREA Ely is probably the only town worth visiting in the Fens of Cambridgeshire. All around it for many miles are unpleasant, violence-ridden villages such as Littleport, or grim flatland market towns such as Downham Market. But Ely, sitting on a hill with one of the most majestic cathedrals in England, is well worth a visit. Aside from the cathedral, it doesn't look that amazing when you walk out ...  Read the complete review

Ely is a funny place. Its on the interface between the Fens and the rest of the world. When I first visited Ely 4 years ago, the first thing that struck me was that there were a variety of car parks that were close to the centre, that were all free and there were plenty of spaces. We were house hunting and so bought a copy of the local paper. It had a letter from someone talking about "Ely's parking crisis". He was basically complaining that on a market day, he couldn't park outside the shop he wanted to visit on the High Street, for free, for as long as he wanted. Having lived/worked in South London, Bath, Stratford upon Avon and Oxford, ...  Read the complete review