Christchurch to Ely and a rest day: E2 Days 90 and 91

Following a rest day yesterday there were blue skies at the start of the day and the splendour of Ely Cathedral at the end of it.

Yesterday and the evening of the previous day was a time for washing clothes, catching up with my blog, planning the next few days accommodation and most importantly, enjoying the company (and food) of my relatives who I do not often have an opportunity to see. This morning one of my cousins drove me back to the Hereward Way and gave me a very tasty packed lunch. Having offered my thanks for a bed for the last two nights I said my goodbyes I resumed my walk.

Above me the sky started completely blue, a huge dome over the flat Fenland fields. Soon insubstantial clouds frothed up from nowhere and by the time I had succumbed to the temptation of the cake in my packed lunch clouds with grey bases covered much of the sky. I ate my cake on the grass of the Hundred Foot Bank, looking over the New Bedford River and the flooded fields with scattered trees between it and the Old Bedford River. The two rivers run parallel to each other, in artificially straight lines, created by a 17th century scheme to drain the marshland. While the Duke of Bedford was responsible for the work being completed, a Dutchman, Cornelius Vermuyden, was the engineer. Between the two rivers the land, called the Ouse Washes, is frequently flooded to control water flows and supports a great amount of waterfowl in the winter, although today I could only see some geese and ducks.

Big blue sky.

Away from the river I was crossing fields on roads and on overgrown paths by drains. The route an exercise in straight lines and right angles. Farming on the grade 1 agricultural land, was almost entirely arable: wheat, rape, potatoes and vegetables. However, once long ago there were more cattle. Many of the roads and tracks are called "droves", tracks used to move cattle to drier land during the winter when fields tended to flood.

Pumping station.

Bridge over a drain.

I had walked this section of the Hereward Way a little over a year ago. Then, as now, a footpath was closed where it crossed a railway line. A diversion was again required. Walking through the villages of Christchurch, Welney and Little Downham I admired the yellow bricks used in many of the houses. Other buildings were of red brick or rendered. Unlike recent areas visited on my walk there were no stone built houses.

As my old GPS, a Garmin etrex 30, had worn rubber, compromising its water resistance, I ordered the latest model, a Garmin etrex 32x and had it delivered to my cousins. A real disappointment, the screen is much more difficult to read in the 32x, especially without the full (battery depleting) back light. It also loads maps more slowly. So much for progress.

Reaching Ely I diverted to a budget hotel on the bypass, those in the centre having become far too expensive. I then walked into town for a little shopping and to revisit the beautiful Ely Cathedral with its soaring architecture, uplifting height and rising columns fanning out around the central octagon. Candles were flickering in the chancel in the early evening light as I meditated on family and my recent journey through time and space.