A rea-Ely pretty cathedral

As we’ve mentioned before, we’re musical types. This is great, because it takes us to some of the country’s most gorgeous cities and cathedrals. Last weekend, we were in Ely – not somewhere I’d ever been to before [I’d sung there once before when at university, although I’d forgotten just how stunning the cathedral is]. It’s one of those places that isn’t much of a city beside its cathedral; nonetheless there were some great pubs and places to while away our (limited) free time.

More noteworthy, though, was the cathedral. Oh wow. I have a book on the world’s cathedrals (yup, I’m cool like that) and this place makes the cover. We went on a tour of the roof and up into the Octagon tower, so were lucky enough to see the views from above as well as below. To anyone visiting Ely, we’d definitely recommend the tour – £8 well spent, with a fascinating and lovely guide, and access to some breathtaking parts of the building.

The main quire, with rood screen and altar behind:

View into Ely cathedral quire

Quite a colourful cathedral, apparently the Victorians restored the original colours – amazing to think all cathedrals were this vibrant when newly completed!

Ceiling of Ely cathedral nave

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Bekonscot – a model day out

We headed to Bekonscot Model Village with some family last weekend. Ever been? It’s well worth a visit if you’re into small-scale, intricate and seriously detailed…

Dating back to the 1930s, Bekonscot feels like a wonderfully traditional day out that hasn’t changed much since it was originally conceived. Apparently a much more widely-spread and popular pasttime, the idea of the model village was brought to Beaconsfield, Hertfordshire by a wealthy accountant with a very large back garden, who intended it merely to amuse him and his guests. He opened it to the public a number of years later.

Bunting

There are six model villages within the miniature landscape, all built to 1:12 scale. They include wonderful details, some great punning names and a very English approach to life.

Cricket

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Scandal at Cliveden

For the bank holiday weekend, we headed to Cliveden to see for ourselves the luxurious yet scandalous home of the Astors and the Profumo affair. A beautiful house that is now a rather grand hotel, the grounds are managed by the National Trust. (Unfortunately there’s a lot of scaffolding at the moment!)

Cliveden

There was a new rose garden, which gave ample opportunity for some close-up shots…

Rose

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The Vyne, Hampshire

[Due to an unfortunate incident the DSLR was out of action for this trip, so the iPhone 5s had to step in]

Recently, we decided to spend a day away from London and headed to The Vyne, a beautiful Tudor house in Hampshire.

The Vyne

Coincidentally, they were having a Tudor weekend so we got involved – with a hog roast and traditional pastimes, such as archery. There was a bit of girly success here, which was extremely exciting (please note the arrow directly in the centre…) [Please also note that it was an unsporting extra arrow that gifted this victory]

Golden arrow

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Trip to the Isle of Wight

[My Canon 600D was unfortunately out of action for this trip, but my flatmate kindly lent me his Nikon 3200, so all was not lost]

We recently had a wonderful trip to the Isle of Wight for a weekend away. Expecting rain, we were pleased and surprised to have hot, dry weather and beautiful blue sky for all three days. We visited beautiful, unspoilt beaches like this one and paddled (although the pebbles were painful!).

Isle of Wight beach

Walking down to another beach, we found a stream of little notes, taped to branches and fenceposts, and sometimes to the path itself. So romantic! [She gets excited about these things.] We decided it must be for a husband or boyfriend returning from the army.

Returning love notes

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Cambridge – the alma mater

For one of us, Cambridge holds a very special place in his heart after spending three years there. I didn’t know it very well so loved having an insider’s tour.

Bridge of Sighs

Although the sky was rather ominous, the view from the tower of Great St. Mary’s church in the city centre was made even more spectacular by the multicoloured market stalls.

Cambridge market

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A brush with royalty

Something you might not know about the Month of Sundays crew of two is that we like singing. We’re fortunate, as this takes us to some really beautiful places, like Windsor

Windsor Castle

We were spending the weekend singing services at St George’s Chapel inside Windsor Castle, which also meant that we were taken to parts not open to the public. Which was pretty cool. But the whole city is beautiful and doable in a day, which is ideal as a day trip from London (it’s about 25 minutes from Paddington). There are quirky places to see, like this crooked tearoom:

Market Cross House

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