“Ely is a city because of its cathedral. It only has a population of around 20,000 people which, compared to other cathedral cities, is very small. But not the smallest. Ely is the 3rd smallest city in England, and the 6th smallest in the UK (St Davids, another small cathedral city in Scotland only has a population of around 2,000).Ely's cathedral dominates. As you drive towards the city it looks slightly out of place, like it may have landed there from space. I don't have a precise measure, but would guess its around 50 x bigger in volume than the next biggest structure for miles and gave me a sense of 'building dimorphism';Closer up, the cathedral looks impressive and still very large. Its setting appears more normal and there are some small grounds to walk around in. The cathedral runs some guided tours and suggest this is time and money well spent. For non-residents of Ely there is a small charge to enter, but parking in the city is free (which seems the wrong way round).The cathedral is under renovation (to be expected, it is after all around 1,000 years old) and there was some scaffold around the entrance when I visited, but 95% is scaffold-free so don't let this put you off.Definitely worth a visit, and definitely worth the extra effort to do a guided tour.Hit the thumbs up if this was helpful ?”
Churches
“Ely is a city because of its cathedral. It only has a population of around 20,000 people which, compared to other cathedral cities, is very small. But not the smallest. Ely is the 3rd smallest city in England, and the 6th smallest in the UK (St Davids, another small cathedral city in Scotland only has a population of around 2,000).Ely's cathedral dominates. As you drive towards the city it looks slightly out of place, like it may have landed there from space. I don't have a precise measure, but would guess its around 50 x bigger in volume than the next biggest structure for miles and gave me a sense of 'building dimorphism';Closer up, the cathedral looks impressive and still very large. Its setting appears more normal and there are some small grounds to walk around in. The cathedral runs some guided tours and suggest this is time and money well spent. For non-residents of Ely there is a small charge to enter, but parking in the city is free (which seems the wrong way round).The cathedral is under renovation (to be expected, it is after all around 1,000 years old) and there was some scaffold around the entrance when I visited, but 95% is scaffold-free so don't let this put you off.Definitely worth a visit, and definitely worth the extra effort to do a guided tour.Hit the thumbs up if this was helpful ?”