Ely Apple Day

My weekend visit to Ely was not planned. I had planned to go up the Old West to St Ives and maybe Huntingdon but, as I passed 'Blue Iris' going the other way, Mr Iris called out that Brownshill Staunch was closed until early November. So, not wanting to spend the weekend at Earith, I turned around and headed for Ely.

I moored alongside the Maltings in one of my favourite spots and walked into town (sorry, City). Friday afternoon in Ely is a pleasant place to be; not too busy but still some Fenland life going on.

On Saturday, it got a lot busier. Not only was it market day but the annual Ely Apple Day event attracted many people to the Cathedral Green. Ely does put on a good event; heaps of tradition and culture mixed with a moderate portion of marketing and commercialisation. The other thing that stands out is the great sense of 'community' and lots of people enjoying themselves. I particularly enjoyed the tales from Ye Olde Worlde Yarnsmith from Norwich and the huge Apple Strudel I bought for lunch.

Mick and Gena also turned up  in the morning with their latest boat for sale and I spent a very pleasant evening in the Cutter with them downing  a few of pints of Ghost Ship (or something like that from Adnams).

Over Saturday night and the early hours of Sunday morning the heavens opened and the rain hammered on the roof, waking me up far too early for my liking. Anyway, the morning was quite pleasant but the forecast for Monday and Tuesday was poor so I headed home into a brisk headwind.