Tom`s travels: Cambridgeshire & Norfolk (27-29/06/2025)

We landed late at night at Stansted Airport and decided to take a room in the nearby Hampton by Hilton airport hotel. The next morning, after a hearty and filling breakfast, we headed to the nearby train station and took a train that brought us to Cambridge. The sun was shining, and the weather was warm, and we could already see it from the yellowing grass of the many parks around town. We first reached our accommodation, the Mill Suites, where we left our bags, and then proceeded to visit the city. We walked n through the large park, Parker's Piece, known as the birthplace of the rules of soccer in 1848. We then walked through the old town and reached the main area where the famous King's College is set. Here we waited for our tour to start, which we had booked to have some touring of the city, plus the entrance to the college. We left the college behind and headed north to reach a small square where the church of St Mary the Great, the Senate House, and the Gonville and Caius College are located. The former is a late perpendicular gothic church from the 15th century, the second is a neoclassical early 18th century building formerly used for meetings of its senate and now mainly for graduation ceremonies, and the latter is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges, founded in 1348, and one of the wealthiest. We walked along the buildings of the college and then past two more important colleges, Clare and Trinity Hall. The former was founded in 1326 as University Hall, and is the second-oldest surviving college of the University, and was refounded in 1338 as Clare Hall by an endowment from Elizabeth de Clare, taking on its current name in 1856, while the latter was established in 1350 as the fifth-oldest college. We passed by some of the main buildings of both and then reached the Garret Hostel Bridge over the river Cam, from where we had a nice view of the colleges and the Clare Bridge right in front. On the other side of the river, we walked along the so-called Backs, referring to the colleges' backs, and where many of the buildings of several colleges are to be seen from a nice view, surrounded by lawns and trees. We followed the river and reached the Mathematical Bridge. Originally designed and built in 1749, but rebuilt on two occasions, in 1866 and in 1905. Although it appears to be an arch, it is composed entirely of straight timbers built to an unusually sophisticated engineering design. From there, we crossed over the river once again, passed by Peterhouse, founded in 1284 and one of the wealthiest colleges, before reaching the church of Little St Mary's, right next to it. Built in a Gothic style in the 14th century, it features a serene and nice interior and also Godfrey Washington's monument, who was the great-uncle of President George Washington. On the same street, at number 6, where a dark green door is, was where Stephen Hawking once lived with his family in 1975 when he taught at Cambridge. As we left the area, we walked along the main street, passing by the Corpus Christi College, which was founded in 1352 as Bene't College, a name which it kept until the early 19th century. A little further on, we reached the Eagle, the second-oldest pub in the city, opened in 1667 as a coaching inn. During WWII, Allied airmen left their signature and marks inside, and only RAF members nowadays can continue this tradition. The pub is also known for having been the place where Francis Crick interrupted the pub's patrons' lunchtime on 28 February 1953 to announce that he and James Watson had come up with their proposal for the structure of DNA. Finally, it was time for us to visit King's College. Our tour guide led us to the entrance and, after providing some facts and history about it, led us to the King's College Chapel, which we could only tour by ourselves. King's was founded in 1441 by King Henry VI, while the building of the college's chapel began in 1446 and was finished a century later. It is considered one of the finest examples of late Perpendicular Gothic English architecture and features the world's largest fan vault. General construction took place between 1446 and 1515; the large stained glass windows were completed by 1531, while the early Renaissance rood screen, which separates the ante-chapel from the choir and supports the organ, was erected in 1532–36 by Henry VIII in celebration of his marriage to Anne Boleyn. As we entered, we marveled at the beautiful interior, and despite quite a few people around, it was still enjoyable. We passed through the rood screen and by the nice wooden stalls and reached the main altar, where The Adoration of the Magi by Rubens, originally painted in 1634 for the Convent of the White Nuns at Louvain in Belgium, now sits. After admiring the beautiful, colored stained glass and the impressive architecture of the chapel, we headed back out and toured the King's College grounds. Here, we noticed how dry the season had been as the grass was already burned and yellowish. Right across the street, we then visited the church of St Mary the Great, built between 1478 and 1519 on a previous building and used as the university church. Behind it, we then walked through the nice Market Square, where there were many shop stalls and food trucks. We ended up eating at the edge of the square at a Mexican place called Tortilla Cambridge. After that we walked along a main street and reached the church of the Holy Sepulchre, also known as the Round Church, which was unfrotunately closed. Built around 1130, it is one of only four medieval round churches still in use in England. A little further on, we then reached and entered the church of St Clement, dating to the 13th century, with later modifications and additions such as the 19th-century tower. As we continued on, we passed by yet another college, Magdalene College, founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, then known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary Magdalene. Not far from it, we then reached St Giles' church, a Victorian Gothic church from 1875 which replaced an older 11th-century one, nowadays used by the Romanian Orthodox congregation. Heading back into town, we then passed by St John's College, founded in 1511 by Lady Margaret Beaufort. It features a large neogothic chapel dating to 1869, which looks more like a church due to its size. As we passed the college's Great Gate, we admired its decorations, crenellated and adorned with the arms of the foundress Lady Margaret Beaufort and her ensigns, the Red Rose of Lancaster and Portcullis. Just down the street, next to it, we passed Trinity College, founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, with an impressive Great Gate featuring the founder in a niche above the doorway. Unfortunately, the college wasn't open for visitors, so we could only peek through the doorway to admire the impressive early 17th-century Great Court, said to be the largest enclosed courtyard in Europe. We followed the main street there, which was really picturesque, and past Gonville and Caius College, founded in 1348, and ended up where Great St Mary's church is. Heading a bit outside the city center, we then reached Jesus College, established in 1496 on the site of the 12th-century Benedictine nunnery of St Mary and St Radegund. From that point, we continued on our walk and passed by two more colleges. The first was Christ College, founded in 1437 as God's House, and in 1505 it took its current name when it was granted a new royal charter and given a substantial endowment by Lady Margaret Beaufort. The second was Emmanuel College, founded in 1584 over Cambridge Blackfriars, a priory for Dominican monks. Not far from there, we then visited the University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, which had a free entrance. It's messy, but a nice collection featured local medieval artefacts and objects as well as those from Asia, Africa, South America, and the Pacific islands. A little further on, south of the city center, we then reached the impressive building of the Fitzwilliam Museum, founded in 1816 and housed inside a mid-19th-century neoclassical building with a rich interior. Entrance was free, and I certainly underestimated its size. We ended up staying until the closure and marveled at the beautiful collection inside, which I still had to partly rush through. We started out with the painting collection, with masterpieces by impressionists, then many rooms of Italian artists from early and Gothic painters, through the Renaissance and up to the 18th-century vedute. There was also a nice selection of French and Dutch and Flemish artist as well as English ones too. A tunnel then led to another attached building where the antiquities collections were set, with Assyrian, Egyptian, Greek, and Roman pieces. A very interesting collection was that of English and European pottery. After visiting the museum, we had booked a punting tour, so we walked through town to get to the location. We opted for Scholars Punting, and once we got there saw that the majority of punting companies had boats there. We got on the boat, with two other tourists, and our friendly guide started punting and describing a bit of history and buildings which we passed by. We followed the river Cam, reaching St John's College and its Bridge of Sighs, named so after the one in Venice, but this one was built in 1831 in a neogothic style. We passed the next bridge, Kitchen Bridge, and then the large building of the 17th-century Wren Library, part of Trinity College. There were quite a few punting boats about, many of which were rented by students and clumsily punted about. We passed Trinity, Garret Hostel, and Clare bridges, eventually reaching the backs of King's College. From there, a bit further, we passed three more bridges, King's College, Mathematical, and Silver Street, where we then turned around and headed back along the river. The tour was quite enjoyable, and after thanking our guide, we got off the boat and walked around town a little more. We then stopped at the Eagle pub to have a beer and headed a bit northwards outside the city center to reach the Castle Mound. The castle was built after the Norman Conquest in 1066 and hugely expanded during the 13th century by Edward I, but then fell rapidly into disuse in the late medieval era, its stonework robbed for building purposes in the surrounding colleges. It was refortified during the English Civil War, but once again fell into disuse and was then used primarily as the county jail. The castle jail was demolished in 1842 when a new prison was built in the castle bailey, which was then itself demolished in 1932. Nowadays, only the castle motte and limited earthworks still stand, on top of which, though, there's a nice view of the city. Right next to it, we then decided to eat at an indian restaurant, Namaste Village, where I had the usual tikka masala. After that, we had a stroll through town and headed to our accommodation to sleep.

The following morning, after an early rise, we headed to the train station and took a train to the first stop of the day, the town of Wymondham. Once there, we left the station and shortly after reached the old town. We walked along a street lined by old houses until we reached the central main square, Market Place, typical of market towns in the area, such as this one. At its center stands the Market Cross, a timber-framed octagonal building with an upper floor raised above an open undercroft, which served as the centre of administration of the town's weekly market. It was built in 1618 after the original was destroyed in the fire of 1615, which damaged much of the town's heritage. Continuing on, we passed more nice old buildings and reached Beckett's Chapel, originally from the 12th century but rebuilt in its current Gothic form during the 15th century; today it holds an art centre. Right next to it was a really nice timber-framed building hosting a local pub, the Green Dragon. We passed a war memorial and then eventually reached the main sight of town, the Wymondham Abbey. Founded in 1107 as a Benedictine priory, it became an independent abbey in 1449, and from a single tower design it evolved to a two-tower one. The east tower was built first to an octagonal design in 1409 whiled the west tower was completed in 1498. The abbey was dissolved in 1538, after which many of its buildings were demolished and reused for construction. The east end of the church was demolished at the dissolution, meaning that the surviving 70 metres long building is about half its original length. Once inside, we marveled at the now well-kept interior, with the old Norman pillars, the beautiful 15th-century wooden hammer-beam angel roof, and the impressive altar screen made in 1921 as a war memorial and finished gilding in 1934, which from afar looked like it was made in medieval times. After visiting the church, we had a walk around the grounds, which, as is typical to Briish religious buildings, still featured the cemetery around it. At that point, we walked through the town center once again and eventually reached the train station from where we took the next ride into the nearby city of Norwich. Once there, we exited the large station and started walking along the river Wensum on a path called the Riverside Walk. Along the way, we passed the Pulls Ferry, a 15th-century stone watergate and ferry house used for unloading the stone necessary for the construction of the cathedral. Continuing on, we passed the Cow Tower, an artillery tower built in 1399, standing apart from the main city walls to defend the north-eastern approach to the city with hand cannons and bombards. A little further on, we then reached the impressive cathedral, measuring 141m in length and with a spire reaching 96m in height, the second-tallest in the UK after Salisbury Cathedral. Construction was begun in 1096 by Herbert de Losinga, Norwich's first bishop, in a Norman style and finished by 1145 with the crossing tower, but the building was damaged after riots in 1272. The first wooden spire, covered in lead, was completed in 1297 but was blown down during a storm in 1362, while the following spire was struck by lightning in 1463, and rebuilt in stone in 1485, the one that can be seen today. Considered as the most ambitious of all the Norman towers to have survived in England, it is decorated with geometrical circles, lozenges, and interlaced arcading. Following the damage of the riots and later the spire's fall, some of the windows were replaced with ones in the Gothic style during the 13th century, while the flat timber ceilings were replaced with Gothic stone vaults in the 15th century. We entered the cathedral and, while a mass was taking place in the nave, started visiting the apse, which, due to its size, looked like a church by itself. The tribune is taller than the rest of the church and features three levels of arched piers. Here were also the nice 15th-century wooden choir stalls, the tomb of the cathedral founder Herbert de Losinga, and the bishop's throne. Notably, this is the only cathedral in Northern Europe that has always maintained its ancient throne in its original position behind the high altar, facing the congregation. Behind the apse in the circular gallery, in St Luke's chapel, is a 14th-century altarpiece known as the Despenser Retable, believed to have been commissioned as a thanksgiving after named after Bishop Henry le Despenser's forces suppressed the Peasants' Revolt in 1381 in Norfolk. Above, on the upper gallery, is the treasury with pieces coming from various Norfolk churches, and the ceiling still contains 14th-century frescoes. As mass was over, we passed under the pulpitum which separates the choir from the nave, with above it the large organ from 1899. We then walked around the side aisles and the central nave to reach the main entrance and western end, from where we had a beautiful view of the whole interior complex. After that, it was time to visit the cloister, which was built between 1297 and 1430 and features two storeys, making it the only example of its kind in England, and the second-largest cloister in the country, surpassed only by that of Salisbury. The decorations at the center of the crossing of each vault are a significant medieval sculptural treasure and one of the few survivors of iconoclasm from the Tudor and English Civil War periods. There are over 1,000 bosses, beginning with natural subjects like flowers and foliage, followed by figural representations such as foliate men, acrobats, mythical creatures, and narratives illustrating events from the lives of the saints. The cathedral interior, especially the nave, features some beautiful examples that depict the history of the world from creation, while later bosses return to foliage and formal subjects like coats of arms. However, it's in the cloister where they are most visible, as they are just a few centimeters above one's head, and their details are clearly observable. The east range features foliage and a sequence depicting the Passion of Jesus, the north range includes scenes of the Resurrection and events from the lives of Mary and the saints, while the south and west walks depict the Apocalypse, the Annunciation, and Herod's Feast. From the cloister, we could also admire the beautiful complex of the southern side of the cathedral, with the spire jutting out and up. After the visit, we headed out and walked around the cathedral close, the space around the building. On a bench, we spotted the small statue of Paddington the bear and took a picture with it, and then admired the cathedral from the front, from its western side. We exited the city by passing through one of two historic gates, the picturesque Ethelbert's Gate, built as penance for what happened in 1272. At that time, an annual fair in Tombland, Norwich, escalated into violence between the monks of Norwich Priory and the townsfolk after a disagreement resulted in monks killing several citizens. The monks claimed clerical immunity, leading to further conflict and a violent backlash from citizens, who burned the cathedral and looted the priory. King Henry III intervened, siding with the monks by fining the city and executing 30 ringleaders from the riots. He also ordered the construction of the Ethelbert Gate to replace the burned church of St Ethelbert, serving as a reminder of the events following the conflict. At that point, it was time to visit the city center, which claims to be the most complete medieval city in the UK. We passed by St Michael-at-Plea, a church from the 15th century which closed in 1971, used then as an antiques market with a café in its chancel, and soon to be opening a bar in its place. Continuing on, we passed by the church of St Andrew, dating to around the beginning of the 16th century in Perpendicular Gothic style. Across the street, the large building of St. Andrew's Hall and Blackfriars' Hall, also known as The Halls. It consists of a complex of former Dominican priory church and convent buildings originally dating to the 13th century and rebuilt in the 15th century. Not too far ahead, we then stopped for lunch at a place called Rumsey Wells, where we had a really tasty shepherd's pie. Nearby, we passed the Strangers' Hall, a picturesque 14th-century house with a courtyard refurbished and expanded in the following centuries by various merchants and mayors. The name of the hall refers to Protestant refugees from the Catholic Low Countries, known as the Strangers, who sought asylum there beginning in 1565. Continuing on, we visited the church of St John Maddermarket, dating to the 15th century, and not much further that of St Gregory, deconsecrated and turned into an antique shop, which we then checked out. We walked through town and reached the western end, where some remains of the old town walls are set. Just outside the former walls, we then visited the large catholic cathedral of St John the Baptist, built between 1882 and 1910 in a neogothic style. After visiting its interior, we headed back east into the city center and passed by yet another church, St Giles', built between the 14th and 15th centuries. Not far ahead, we arrived at a place called the South Asia Collection, a kind of shop/museum which features and sells art and crafts of South and South East Asia sourced from small businesses of that region. After that, we walked onwards and reached the church of St Peter Mancroft, originally dating to the 11th century and rebuilt in its current Gothic style in the 15th century. Its large and light interior featured some medieval stained glass windows. Just next to the church is the large open area, which is the Norwich Market, in use since the 11th century. Nowadays it is modern looking sided by the 1938 Art Deco building of the City Hall and the 15th-century Guildhall. At the center of the market are around 200 stalls with objects and food, and we had a brief walk around browsing the offerings. Nearby, we then walked along a busy street filled with many shops, and then walked through the Royal Arcade, a picturesque Art Nouveau shopping gallery from 1899. From there, we headed northwards and entered the small church of St Peter Hungate, dating from the 15th century, which is now deconsecrated and hosts a small art exhibition inside. Next to it, we then walked along a slightly downhill, winding, cobbled street known as Elm Hill, probably the best preserved medieval street in town, lined by nice Tudor period buildings. From there, we then crossed the river and walked past some more buildings, such as the Neopalladian 18th-century Octagon Chapel, and the 15th-century church of St Clement. Once back across the river, we walked past the Erpingham Gate, the main entrance of the Cathedral close, built in 1425 and with a nice design including the arms of its commissioner, Sir Thomas Erpingham, and symbols associated with the Holy Trinity. After a bit more walking, we then reached another of the city's main landmarks, the castle. Built in the 11th century for William the Conqueror, it sits on a motte and bailey, dominating the city, and consists of a keep, decorated with arcades, and the surrounding complex added in phases subsequently. The castle was used as a gaol from 1220 to 1887, when it became a museum which it still is today. Once there, we purchased the ticket which provided entry to the different museums inside, but we unfortunately couldn't visit the keep as it was under a 5-year restoration, bringing it to its original state. We visited the nice Anglo-Saxon exhibition, and the large collection of paintings ranging from the 17th century to the 20th century, including nice 19th-century landscapes from the Norwich School of painters. After the visit, we exited the complex and decided to have one last walk around town before eventually heading to the train station and from there back to Cambridge. We had booked an evening ghost tour, and we ended up being the only two guests on the tour. The lady leading it took us to the major sites through town, recounting old tales and ghost stories at every corner. After that, it was time for dinner, we opted to eat again at an indian restaurant called Maharajah, where I had one of the best tikka masalas ever.

In the morning, on our last day, we took a train from Cambridge and shortly after reached the town of Ely, a few kilometers north. Ely stands on a clay island in a land once full of marshes, which was drained and then turned into farmland starting from the 18th century. Once there, we left the train station and headed towards the city center on foot. As we approached the old town, we passed by the Porta, the medieval gateway to the Cathedral close and its monastic buildings, now housing a library, classrooms, and a conference room of the King's Ely school. Continuing on, we then reached the impressive Cathedral, the main monument of Ely. A mass had just started, so we decided to stroll around and wait to visit it. On the lawn in front of the cathedral, we then saw a russian cannon captured during the Crimean War at the Siege of Sevastopol in 1855 and given to Ely by Queen Victoria in 1860. A few steps away, we then passed by a timber-framed building from the 16th century with some older parts as well, which was the residence of Oliver Cromwell from 1636 to 1647, when he was collector of Ely Tithes. Next to it stands the small church of St Mary, dating to the 13th century. We decided to have breakfast as we hadn't had a proper one yet, and we stopped at a place called Bake Shop, where we had something sweet and tasty. At that point, we then walked all around the cathedral, admiring its architecture from the exterior before entering through its southern portal just as the mass was ending. It was originally founded as an abbey in 672 by St Æthelthryth, and the present-day building was started in the 11th century in Norman style. The whole church measures 164m in length, with the nave reaching 75m, making it one of the longest in Britain. The tall, imposing west tower reaches a height of 66m and also dates to the 11th century, with the upper part completed in the 14th century. As we entered through the south transept, we then walked through the long presbytery expanded in the 13th century in an early Gothic style. Here were nice chapels known as Chantry Chapels, added in the late 15th and early 16th centuries for two bishops. At the center of the presbytery were the 14th-century wooden choir stalls, the 19th-century rood screen, and the Gothic marble high altar. Next up was the large Lady Chapel, 30 m long and 14 m wide, built in the 14th century in a Gothic style. From there, we then reached the center of the church, where the beautiful octagon and lantern are set. Once in its place was the central Norman tower, which collapsed in 1322 and was replaced by this large stone octagonal tower, with its eight internal archways, leading up to timber vaulting that appears to allow the large glazed timber lantern to balance on its slender struts. We then walked along the length of the main nave, admiring its tall, slender form with the multi-storey arcades to the sides. On the southern wall was the Prior's Door with a well-preserved tympanum carving dating from 1135, and which once connected to the cloisters now gone. At last, we reached the western end and main entrance, where we admired the beautiful Romanesque structures of the West Tower and adjoining southwest transept. From there, we then exited the cathedral and had one last stroll through town. For lunch, I decided to grab some fish and chips from a place in the center, and then we headed to the train station to get the next ride to the airport and leave the UK.