The Journey Home

 

The last day of our holiday began at the usual time for us – 5:30am – I got up sorted a few things out online (mainly the Church attendance bookings for Mass tonight and tomorrow at St. Teilo's), showered and brushed my teeth and packed the car.

 

By 6:30am we had said our goodbyes to the lovely Wagtail Barn and were on the road. The route looked like this:

Drew was driving today, as it was all major roads, he is not a fan of the B road! or in city driving. He drove along the A47 on to the A43 onto the M6 and down the M42S stopping at Hopwood Services after 2 hours and 55 minutes and 154 miles.

 

Breakfast

 

Given out early departure we decided to have breakfast on the road. Being a motorway service station, we thought out breakfast options would be Starbucks or Costa, McDonalds or Burger King. But stopping at the Welcome Break we found a real treat breakfast from a company called The Good Breakfast.

Their Ultimate Breakfast was 3 pork sausages, 2 rashers of bacon, 2 fried eggs, black pudding, 2 hash browns, mushrooms, baked beans, tomato & fried bread as neither Drew nor I like baked beans we asked to have ours without them, we were offered an additional hash brown in place and felt it would be rude to refuse. [Co-pilot's note: Yes, it would have been very rude indeed, very rude!!]

 

The breakfast was freshly cooked with the eggs done to our liking before our eyes and added to the plates being prepared at the back of the franchise kiosk.

 

Yes, it was as greasy and delicious as the photo. OK, perhaps our arteries need a few more 9 mile walking days to keep up, but there is something lovely about a traditional cooked breakfast. I was really pleased that both the bacon and the sausage was plump and tasty, I’ve had breakfasts where these items tasted like salted carboard, but not here, they were full flavoured. Having the fried bread to mop the plates meant that they were almost as clean at the end as they had been at the beginning. A treat for our last day of holiday.

 

Final Leg

 

We were back on the road at 10:24am and travelled to the end of the M42 on to the M5, then down the M50 and A449 

to the M4 arriving at Sainsburys, Thornhill, to shop for the next few days at 12:36pm another 103 miles and two hours and eleven minutes driving.  

 

Shopping and petrol sorted we left Sainsbury’s at 1:03pm and were home at 1:17pm with our cases unpacked and the first load of washing in by 1:45pm.

 

Holiday Review

This is the sixth time I've ended a holiday blog with a reflection. This year unlike some previous holidays it was a simple plan for a holiday focussed on the two weeks in Norfolk and the Michelin Star meals on the way. But even a simple holiday was full of fun, entertainment and insight but made a great difference after the long periods of lockdown of last year.

East Anglia was much more interesting and attractive than I had expected, the places we visited from Walsingham to Cambridge all had unexpected pleasures which made the visits worthwhile and fun. I hope the blog reflected how special each of those days have been.

An important highlight was catching up with old friends. Seeing first Andrew and Sara and then Robin and Liz, was a real treat, and completely unplanned in the case of the former, which reminded me how lucky I am to have friends who, though we may not see each other for years and years, can fall comfortably back into our relationship.

Meals

My favourite meal of the holiday was the first. Niall Keating's menu at Whatley Manor was a real delight to me and his not very sweet desserts and rich and complex savoury dishes are still firmly embedded in my memory. [Co-pilot's note: I hate to admit he is right, but this guy even gave me boogies in a shell and I liked them!]

That being said we had a lot of lovely food and our revisits to the Dereham Thai and the Railway Arms are testimony to simple food cooked exceptionally well.  

Travel

Miles Driven

Compared to previous holidays when we have driven 4 or 5 thousand miles this holiday only totalled to 1,809 miles. Though driving through some of the narrow Norfolk roads took more concentration than many of our drives along Highways in the USA or Canada.

Given the nature of the roads it is not a surprise that I drove 79% of the distance and 85% of the time, Drew only taking on wide A roads and motorways.

Miles Walked

While we drove much less than on previous holidays we kept up our walking with 142,941 steps which is equivalent to 56.31 miles or 30 hours over the 17 days. My legs are still feeling it. [Co-pilot's note: I, dear readers, have suggested he increase his daily walk by a mile to get his practice in - the idea did not sit well 😉]

Thanks

Thanks to those who have journeyed with us on the blog, Twitter and Facebook. There are still 3,000 photos to add to Flickr, that should keep me busy for the rest of the week! 

Let's hope by this time next year we are able to do our journey around Scandinavia that we had planned for August 2020. But only time will tell!

The Isle of Ely – no longer an isle, but still a paradise

 

Today we travelled from Cambridge to visit Ely, or the Isle of Ely as it is more frequently known, given that until the drainage of the 18th century the island was cut off from the rest of Cambridgeshire by the effect of the Witham, Welland, Nene and Great Ouse which make the rest of the fens, apart from this slightly higher ground at Ely, waterlogged. 

Breakfast

As mentioned in yesterday’s post our normal treat of a Premier Inn Breakfast was not available to us this morning, as, due to Covid, the restaurant was closed. Instead, we used the early morning (from our 5.30am wake up) until 8:45am to use the excellent Premier Inn Wi-Fi and catch-up with stuff.

We left the Premier Inn at 8:45am and headed for the nearest place that served breakfast – McDonalds on Newmarket Road a mile from the hotel. 

Drew opted for his favourite Double Sausage and Egg McMuffin breakfast while I, as it is a Friday, was limited to an Egg and Cheese McMuffin. [Co-pilot's note: And, dear readers, oh did he whinge about it!!]

Travelling to Ely

We left Cambridge at 9:40am and arrived in Ely at 10:10am again time was a factor in our planning. Though parking is free in the long stay car park in Barton Road, Ely, parking between 8:30am and 10am is limited to two hours whereas after 10am parking is available all day. 

Ely

I mentioned above the Ely may be a paradise, this is influenced by the possibility (one of many, none overly convincing) that the name of Ely comes from the Latin Elysium (Paradise), as St Etheldreda's chamberlain, Ovin, described it as "an ancient place of great spiritual importance to the people of the region, a paradise". It is a nice calm place after the rush and bustle of Cambridge yesterday.

Ely Cathedral

St. Etheldreda, the founder of the Abbey at Ely, was the daughter of the East Anglian King Anna. As noted in Sunday’s blog post her younger sister, Withburga, was the founder of the Abbey at Dereham. 

St Etheldreda image is second from the left

Following her death St. Etheldreda, also known, by the Norman corruption of her name, as Audrey, was venerated and her intact body was excavated and brought to be reinterred in the Abbey that is today the Cathedral of Ely. 

As Robin mentioned in his comment on Sunday’s post the word Tawdry, comes from a description of the ‘St. Audrey Lace’ sold at St. Audrey’s fair in Ely which by the 17th century was unfashionable and regarded as cheap or vulgar.

The abbey was destroyed by the Danes and restored when the Anglo-Saxons retook the area. With the attraction of having a great saint as its founder with her shrine present in the Abbey by the year 970 the restored abbey at Ely was the richest abbey in England except for Glastonbury.

With the coming of the Norman’s the new (i.e. current) building was developed and in 1109 it was made a Cathedral. For centuries, Etheldreda's shrine was the focus for vast numbers of medieval pilgrims. It was destroyed in 1541, but a slate in the Cathedral still marks the spot where it stood.  

The Cathedral was refounded in 1541 with the last Prior of the monastery becoming the first Cathedral Dean. Though the Cathedral was closed for 11 years by Oliver Cromwell who is said to have used it as a stable for his Calvary Horses it retained much of its form, though puritans destroyed the stained glass and much of the statuary.

The Lady Chapel

An amazing feature of Ely is the size of its Lady Chapel, there are many churches in Wales which are smaller than this immense ‘side chapel’. Given the amount of destroyed small images (with their faces broken off) and without stained glass it is still possible to imagine how amazing this huge light space would have been with the twinkle of candles, light coming through coloured glass and much coloured decoration on all the statues both large and small. 

The current statue of Our Lady in the chapel makes me think of the Disney Princess Merida more than Mary, the Mother of Jesus, but artistic taste is different for everyone.

Ceiling Images

Drew, so impressed by the ceiling images in the Cathedral found it was easier to lie down on the floor to take photos than it was to lean back to achieve the same effect.

Stained Glass

The stained glass in the Cathedral is also very impressive, largely Victorian, it still shows a wide range of images more associated with Catholic tradition. 

Stained Glass Museum

A bonus for our visit was the Stained Glass Museum, this excellent history of stained glass from the early days to today is in the South West Tower of the Cathedral. Robin had told us about it some years ago, but it was well worth seeing in person and listening to the free audio guide available on my mobile via QR codes.

An Early Example of staining glass

A later piece looking like a painting with rich details

We have many photos from the museum and Drew again had to fold himself into lotus position to get his best shots. 

Back to Wagtail Barn via Sainsbury’s Petrol Station

We left Ely at 12.30pm and drove along the A10 to the A47 and on to Sainsbury’s Petrol Station in New Costessey, then back to the Barn by 2pm in time for some fruit for lunch.

Dinner

This evening, given it is a Friday, I looked for places where we I could have a meat free meal. We had passed the Greenstone pub, owner by Marston’s who have recently bought the Brains pubs in Wales, on our way into Dereham eight or nine times. So, we booked a table for 7pm.

I began with nachos which were served with guacamole, sour cream and a tangy tomato salsa.

Drew went for breaded mushrooms with a garlic mayonnaise

I went for fish and chips with mushy peas – I was amazed to find a huge piece of fish, bigger than the plate. It was a nice piece of Cod with a fluffy batter and bread to mop up the juices. A simple but tasty meal.

Drew had a double beefburger with jalapeños and mature cheddar cheese with onion rings. He was happy with the well-cooked burger. 

For dessert Drew opted for Sicilian Lemon Muffin Cheesecake with ice cream – he loved this tangy sweetness.

We got back to the Barn at 8.30pm packed our cases and sorted things out ready for the morning before going to bed at 10pm.

Cambridge – City of perspiring dreams

 

It was the author Frederic Raphael who coined the title of this blog post in his epic drama ‘The Glittering Prizes’ in an attempt to play on the Oxford nickname ‘The city of dreaming spires’.

Many of the depictions of Cambridge, while flattering to the look and feel of the city, are less flattering to those who live and study there. Be it Cambridge Spies or Some Kind of Beautiful or Dimensions. It seems Cambridge has no Morse or Lewis or Endeavour to appeal to the aspects of wider life of the City in the way which those series do for Oxford. So, when deciding to go to Cambridge we had little expectation of what we would experience. It turned out to be a lovely, though busy, City with lots and lots to see. 

Why Cambridge

Cambridge was due to be the site of our third two Michelin starred meal of the holiday at the renowned Midsummer House on the side of Midsummer Common in the City. Daniel Clifford, a former winner of Great British Menu (twice) and still a regular judge for the series, is Chef Patron here and has always struck us as straight forward in his cooking and personality, though sometimes a bit rough on the competitors less willing to challenge themselves.

We had booked our visit in early March at the same time as the Restaurant Sat Baines booking. However, last Friday as we walked the streets of Norwich on our way to Tatlers Restaurant an email arrived explaining that: 

We are sorry to inform you that we have had a member of staff test positive for Covid-19 and in line with the government guidelines will be closing the restaurant from Wednesday 4th August 2021 until Thursday 12th August 2021 inclusive, whilst our staff isolate for 10 days; therefore we have to cancel your reservation for 12th August 2021.

We weren’t surprised that this had happened to one of our bookings this holiday, it was the chance we took coming away this year. (In fact, it happened to three bookings, we have already mentioned the Tipsy Vegan booking cancelled on Tuesday and, a day latter than the Midsummer House cancellation we got notification from the Premier Inn we are staying at in Cambridge that their restaurant would not be open for our pre-paid breakfast for the same reason, but that they would refund us.

For a while, with the Cambridge plans changed we wondered whether to cancel the hotel, but this seemed a great opportunity to visit this ancient City, so with the help of Google and Trip Advisor we managed to book another restaurant for the evening and went ahead with our travel plans. 

The Route to Cambridge

The route was a simple one – down the road we had already travelled to Thetford and then down the A11 and A14 into the City. 

We left the Barn at 8:30am and arrived in Cambridge at 10:08am (it is a fact that we timed our arrival to after 10am as Cambridge Car Parks charge by the hour at a £1 more per hour before 10am than after. A good way to separate the business from the tourist travel, but I’m somewhat ashamed that (a) I noticed this and (b) it influenced our planned travel!! – Yes, I’m just a sad individual 😊 I know!!).

Shipdham

When we travelled to Bury St. Edmunds we saw the odd shape of the steeple topper in Shipdham but given traffic conditions we weren’t able to get a photo of it. So today, with time to spare we stopped in Shipdham to see their lovely Church. 

Arriving at Cambridge

We arrived in Queen Anne Terrace Car Park, Cambridge at 10:08am and parked the car. Immediately opposite the Car Park is a park called Parker’s Place and beyond that Downing College, a building I was familiar with from the film I mentioned earlier – Dimensions. 

From here we walked past the striking Catholic Church dedicated to the English Martyrs and then went on to the Horticultural Gardens and saw our first cow. 

Cows about Cambridge

As part of a piece of Public Art called Cows about Cambridge (beware a lot of puns when reading about the project) there are 44 large cows and 46 mini moos (see what I mean about puns) around the city. We encountered our first two here, but there are many more that we came across during our visit.

We didn’t seek the cows out, but we came across three groups who were using the Trail Map and another two who had downloaded the Track the Herd app. We decided not to become obsessed with Cows, but anyone who is keen on seeing more should visit the website, or the city itself!!

Booking Visits

Our next destination was The Fitzwilliam Museum, like a number of sites around town this needed to be prebooked, but luckily we were able to do that on site and planned to return at 1.15pm, the next free slot. We also found that other sites like King’s College Chapel were already booked out for the day and indeed into next week, so while we saw the outside of this iconic building, we didn’t get to visit the inside.

Walking in Cambridge

We then walked up the street from the Fitzwilliam and it appeared that every corner was a new college. Peterhouse, Pembroke, St. Catherine’s, Corpus Christi, King’s Gonville and Caius are all on this stretch of road as is Trinity, which we didn’t visit until this evening. Most of the colleges are closed due to Covid as many international students have been stuck at college over the summer, unable to return home for fear of not being able to return due to Covid travel restrictions. 

Corpus Christi

Corpus, while its main student areas were closed, did have its Courts open for us to wander around. So, we took advantage of this. Corpus College seems to appear in so many films that it looked immediately familiar in the ‘New Court’ (the completed in 1827 type of new!). 

New Court leads into the chapel which is itself a spectacular work of Art.

Walking into the Old Court, built in the 1350s, is breath-taking. To think of all the people who have stood in this place and studied here. Christopher Marlowe, the Elizabethan playwright and spy, was once a student in these buildings. An amazing link to the past.

The Time Eater

At the edge of Corpus Christi College is an amazing clock called the Chronophage (which means time eater in Greek) it was unveiled by Professor Stephen Hawkins, whose own rooms in Gonville and Caius College was across the square from the clock, in 2008.

Fitzwilliam Museum

Having taken more photos of familiar sites, like King’s College, and especially King’s College Chapel (from the outside as noted above) we arrived at Fitzwilliam Museum for our booking time.

While not every gallery was open (some were too small to be safely available during Covid) we had plenty to see in the Museum. From Chinese, Japanese and Korean pottery to Cypriot, Egyptian and Roman funerary and related items. From armour and weapons to medieval books of immense value, all the displays make for fascinating reading. 

We stopped for a cup of tea halfway around. Drew had blackcurrant and hibiscus and I a second flush Darjeeling, they were both very refreshing and we saw some of the mini cows.

Having arrived at 1:15pm we left at 3:10pm.

Mathematical Bridge

Our next stop was the Mathematical Bridge, a fascinating site, sadly, due to Covid restrictions we weren’t able to walk on the bridge, but it makes for a good view even from a nearby bridge. Some inexpert punters made an amusing foreground for the photos of the bridge as they managed to turn around 360 degrees in a yard or so – not intentionally I should add.

We walked back to the Car Park at 3:40pm and travelled the 1.5 miles to the Premier Inn. Having checked in at 4pm we showered and changed and were back out by 4.40pm ready to walk to dinner.

Trinity Restaurant

As explained earlier in the post our arrangements for dinner tonight had been disrupted by Covid. Having looked for other restaurants we found the simply named Trinity on Trinity St in the City Centre. However, given the late notice for our plans, the only seating available to book was 5:15pm – somewhat early for dinner, but the food looked good, so worth it from our point of view. 

We began with a share Focaccia which came with three dips – a pimento vinegar rich in harissa, a curry oil made more with the flavour of a yellow Chinese curry than anything else and a roasted garlic oil. Each dip had a distinctive flavour and while my favourite was the pimento and harissa, Drew preferred the roast garlic, but non of the dip dishes had anything left by the time we had both finished the bread.

For starters I had opted for Chicken and Morcilla goujon with broccoli puree and beetroot and bacon salsa. The goujon was light and crisp and the pieces of chicken and morcilla inside sung with flavour. I love black pudding but this Spanish one was one of the richest I have tasted. The puree and sauces were good enough to be meals in themselves, the beetroot earthiness and the salty bacon worked well together and the broccoli puree was refreshing.

Drew had sun-dried tomato corn cake with courgette and pine nut fricassee. It was surprising in texture and flavour and Drew enjoyed every bit of it. I even wondered about having a taste so I could comment on it, but it was good enough for such a suggestion to be politely declined (at least it was declined!!). [Co-pilot's note: I was, dear readers, my usual congenial, polite and jolly self when I declined the wanton demands of the greedy one!]

For mains I had the confit rabbit leg with haggis and potato pressing and saffron and turnip puree. The rabbit was delicious, I forget (given I really only eat it in Spain these days) how delightful a meat this is. Cooked tenderly it was soft and unctuous. Rabbit is a meat that brings back so many memories for me, rabbit stew being one of my father’s favourite meals to eat and in later life, to cook. While this rabbit was much more tender than the bits that used to end up in Blackey family stews it did evoke the memory really well. The haggis and potato were a nice side and the sauce was again beautiful, but the rabbit was indeed the star of the show.

Drew had a slow roasted pork belly, which looked delicious and had a wonderful cracking, this was served with aubergine gratin, aubergine puree and a red pepper marmalade. Drew was in such raptures about the pork I couldn’t get him to tell me about the rest, but there was nothing left on his plate at the end. 

We shared a plate of summer beans, French beans and runner beans, with a light taste of fermented shrimp cooked through them as a seasoning. They were crisp and the seasoning brought out their original flavours – excellent.

For dessert Drew had a salted caramel panna cotta with peach compote and seed crumble all served in a lovely glass. It didn’t only look lovely but tasted it too.

I opted for the cheese and biscuits and they were a lovely surprise. A strong mature cheddar from Hay on Wye, a Blackstick Blue (an old favourite of mine) a delicious goat’s cheese from the Belvoir Valley and a camembert type cheese from a local farm. I was so, so pleased to have such delightful cheese.

End of the day

We finished the meal at 7pm and meandered gently through Cambridge after dinner, going to the river and seeing some more of the Cows. Our route took us past All Saints College, Jesus College and Sidney Sussex College. We were quite tickled by the signs at the end of two roads – Jesus Lane and Sidney Street!

We got back to the hotel at 8.30pm and after editing photos and taking it easy after a day of nine miles of walking we went to bed at 10pm. 

It seems like we are fitting a lot into our days this holiday.