The Cathedral from the river.

Riverside, with weeping willows just coming into leaf.

Make the punishment fit the crime! Local playground.

Trying unsuccessfully to make friends with a Greylag goose.

Which ended up with the goose beating a retreat!

Playing Pooh Sticks on the bridge over the Ouse

Lovely day! Thank you!

Ely is so named after the vast numbers of eels which used to be caught there in ancient times. Elvers still come up the river Ouse to mature before returning to their breeding grounds in the Sargasso sea. Ely stands on slightly higher ground than the surrounding area, most of which is barely sea level. Until the seventeenth century, most of this area was flooded for half the year, making it a rich haven for wildlife. The `fens', as this country is known, were progressively drained from then on, with much assistance from Dutch engineers who had experience of making Holland out of what was previously sea. The Cathedral is still known as the `Ship of the Fens', and can be seen for many miles in any direction.