England - August 1, 2014

Up, not too early, and to the telephone shop in Ely to purchase a mobile phone that I can use while in England and, I hope, on the future foreign trips I’m taking over the next few months.  Supposedly, if I buy a SIM card (whatever that is) when I arrive in a country, I can insert it in this phone and have operating communication.  In any event, I know it will work for this trip.

Marilyn, Vic, and I drove to St. Ives, a village in Cambridgeshire, not the one in Cornwall (which would have been a long trip).  It is a lovely little town along the River Ouse.  We had lunch then went on an hour boat excursion on the river.  The promised commentary didn’t happen, but it was a pleasant ride, mostly in the countryside.  Saw many swans and ducks, a swan family, and a black squirrel.

Had tea (with goodies, of course) at an outdoor table overlooking the river and the bridge.  The bridge, built of stone in the 1420’s to replace a wooden one that in 1100 replaced the ford, is unusual in having a chapel in the middle, one of only a few remaining bridge chapels.  Originally tolls were collected from the church, and services were held.  The round arches of the bridge, at the left, were replacements for the original arches which were pulled down in 1645 by Cromwell and the Roundheads; when the new arches were built in 1716 matching the other arches was apparently not a priority.

In the middle ages St. Ives was an important port and the site of one of the four largest fairs in England.  The fairs declined in the 1300s because of the 100 Years War and the Black Death, and eventually competition from other ports and from the railways reduced the importance of commercial trade for the area.  Holidaymakers and boaters still provide significant income, however.

As we returned to the car park, Marilyn and Vic pointed out the start of a guided busway between St. Ives and Cambridge.  At the beginning and end a driver is necessary for the coach, but during most of the trip the vehicle is guided automatically (I’m not sure how it operates).  As with most such projects it was WAY over budget, and there have been accidents, some serious, as cars and lorries (trucks) got onto the busway by mistake.  Shades of the Green Line light rail in St. Paul and Minneapolis!

Returned to Witchford for some rest, a light supper, and packing for tomorrow’s train journey.  This visit was a delightful start to the holiday, sightseeing at a slow pace and enjoying the company of friends.