England 2025!

 I think we can all agree that I have wandering feet. Sooner or later - I start to crave new sights and sounds and places. This time, I got it in my head that I wanted to visit the Norfolk Broads. Chances are, you've never heard of them. If so - I'll tell you all about them (and why I wanted to visit them) when we finally get there. Since the last thing I want to spend my vacation on is driving, I planned a trip to both the Broads and other nearby sights in Norfolk. 

This trip is "just" mom and me. Here we are for the obligatory pre-trip photo:

The direct flight from MSP to Heathrow is 8 hours, and this time it left at 11 pm at night. That's way later than it has left in the past. In the end I think I liked the timing. We boarded quite sleepy, and dozed our way through the early hours. We arrived at 1pm, which meant less time until we could finally sleep. 

We sat near several younger people who were quite anxious and also interesting. Distracting them and hearing their stories made the flight feel a lot more connected than usual. One of them was having panic attacks at flying, and had gotten air sick on the way to Minnesota. Unfortunately, the strong north winds on arrival even made me queasy, and on landing the plane skidded sidways an alarming amount. But none of us actually threw up, and we were all safe - so all's well that ends well. 

Royston

We spent our first night in Royston, about 90 minutes drive. We wanted to stop before jet lag sleepies hit, and that was just about perfect.

Royston is a very ancient town, catering to travelers going from London to York. There are caves under the cross roads, and wild speculation abounds about their origin. They were closed. More recently, King James 1 and VI (he was the first King James for England and Scotland, and the sixth for Scotland) stayed there on his way to be crowned in London in 1603. He loved it so much that he had it set up as a hunting preserve - close enough for convenience, far enough from distractions. 

You can still see the medieval influence on the buildings on the cross roads, including this chippy that was the kitchens of King James' palace. 

We stayed in a B&B run by an older couple. The guy is a carpenter who expanded his house as his children grew up. When they moved out, they started a B&B. We stayed in their "family room" that had its own little loft. After a missed night of sleep - we slept long and hard! 

Wicken Fen

The next morning we started our journey to the north coast. On the way, we happened upon Wicken Fen, a protected wetland that hasn't been developed for the last 125 years. It is one of the last remaining fens in the region and is being actively managed by all sorts of groups. We paid the fees (which I'm sure support their efforts) to walk through the site on boardwalks, enjoying all the interpretive signs. We did not do the extra Easter Egg scavenger hunt :( . 

They also have one of the region's last wooden wind pumps, which they use to help manage water levels and keep the site from drying out. 

Ely

The landscape around Ely is so flat that people from miles around can see the cathedral, so we were amused to catch our first glimpses of it when it was still a long way away. We drove right into Ely, and managed to find a spot to park practically in the shadow of the cathedral for just long enough to walk around and grab toasties for lunch.