Ely Cathedral

Almost caught up with all our day trips we took when Paul's parents were in town! One day when Paul was at work, I drove with his parents & Charlotte up to the town of Ely, which is north of Cambridge. It was a charming little town, complete with free parking (VERY uncommon in England) and a gorgeous cathedral that was built starting in the 11th century. It's also the birthplace of Oliver Cromwell, so we'll have to go back sometime to check out that location. We spent our afternoon chiefly at the cathedral, and then enjoyed a nice afternoon tea at a nearby tea room! 

Mom H & I really enjoyed taking a tour led by a volunteer docent around the cathedral while Dad H took Charlotte around town for awhile. We tried to let her come on the tour but she voiced her displeasure at being in the stroller there immediately :) So thanks Dad for taking her out! The docent did a really nice and detailed job explaining the architecture and history of the church. It's really a shame that so much of the church's decorations date from *only* the Victorian age, owing to the religious history around Henry VIII's reign. All the decorations were taken down and mostly destroyed when the Anglican church was formed. We ended up cutting out of the tour after about 45 minutes because it seemed like the tour wasn't even half over yet, and I was getting anxious about how Charlotte & Dad were doing. (They were fine.) I'd love to take other visitors back to Ely sometime!

View of the cathedral from the tea room; gorgeous!