Lonely Planet

34 Lonely Planet Traveller October 2017Admission to Ely Cathedral costs £8;a tour of both cathedral and its tower is£15 (elycathedral.org). The Escape Roomat Oliver Cromwell’s House is open onSaturday and Sunday only (£80 for up toeight people; olivercromwellshouse.co.uk).Prices at Poet’s House start at £160 fora house double; the larger master doublescost from £190. A three-course dinner is£30 (poetshouse.uk.com).Ely train station is 15 minutes’ walkaway from the hotel, and has servicesfrom London King’s Cross, Cambridge,Norwich and Liverpool (nationalrail.co.uk).A good way to explore Ely and unearthsome intriguing Fenland history is to followthe Eel Trail, an easy stroll through the citythat takes in notable architecture, local artand the River Ouse (visitely.org.uk).``````With the throngs of summer fading from its time-worn streets and mistsrising from the River Ouse, early autumn is a particularly atmospheric timeto visit Ely. Its cathedral, standing sentinel over the surrounding Fens fornearly a millennium, is the obvious place to start. Guided tours take in itsoctagonal towers, considered architectural marvels of the medieval world.For a slightly more modern spin on Ely’s historical riches, book into the EscapeRoom at nearby Oliver Cromwell’s House – the ruse is that you’re a capturedRoyalist, and have 60 minutes to escape from the Lord Protector’s guards andflee the building. Peril over, beat a path over to the Poet’s House, a GradeII-listed hotel with fine views over Ely Cathedral and Cromwell’s House frommany of its bedrooms. The styling here is rather more contemporary, witha colour palette of black, grey and silver, copper bathtubs in the roomsand a long glass extension housing the cocktail bar at the back. Dinner isa relaxed if elegant affair, with a short menu including the likes of searedpork with rhubarb and saffron-poached John Dory. Look out, too, for dishesfeaturing Ely’s original namesake: its famed eels.``````ELY, ENGLANDEastern promisesFREE WINE MAKE IT HAPPENQuote ‘Lonely Planet Traveller’when booking dinner in therestaurant if staying the nightand get a free bottle of housewine (valid to 28 February 2018,excluding the Christmas periodand New Year’s Eve).``````Twelfth-century ElyCathedral, seen from thebanks of the River Ouse