Holiday instalment #3 - onwards to London

Hi again... another instalment of the holiday....

After completing 7 days on our canal trip with Michael and Yvonne.... it was heading back to London.... via Naseby to visit the site of the Battle of Naseby  This was an important battle in the civil war in England in 1645. 

Now it is corn fields.  There is a monument at the site and we had lunch here.  I have to say it was rather chilly but we enjoyed the history of the site.

After leaving Naseby we headed towards Cambridge ( where Michael who is a Professor of Social and Cultural Studies has been working on his sabbatical).  We made a slight detour towards Ely where there is an amazing cathedral.  On the way I was intrigued with the wonderful thatched roofs of some of the houses,

Once we got to Ely we spend some time walking through the Cathedral.  It is stunning..  just to think that it was built so long ago.  The first structure was built in the 11th century.  The current cathedral was built around the 1500's and restored in the 1800's.

Isn't it stunning.  As my hubby says " incredible - all done by hand - no Black and Deckers in those days!)

We spend the night in Cambridge and next day, Sunday, had a look around.  Cambridge is a university city... made up of lots of Colleges and the university... a different system of doing things than here in New Zealand.  One of the most famous is Kings College.   It has a spectacular chapel. This was founded in 1446 by Henry VI (1421-71) and took over a century to build. It has the largest fan vault ceiling in the world and some of the finest medieval stained glass. 

Peter was so impressed with the age and history of this chapel.  Henry VIII married Anne Boylen in this chapel.  New Zealand does not have history like this so it is amazing to us.

On our way out of Cambridge we stopped off at the American Cemetery and Memorial.
This is were many of the soldiers and sailors who died during World War II are buried.  This a wonderful memorial to these amazing men and women who helped save our world.

We finally returned to London late afternoon and spend the next 3 days with Peter's sister Helen, making daily visits into the city to see the sights,... but I'll leave that till the next instalment - followed by France ( Paris) and Italy ( Venice and Rome) - just to keep you coming back to visit!!!!!

thanks for stopping by and I hope you continue to enjoy reading about our trip