Outing to Ely with included guided tour of Cromwell’s House

Tuesday 8th December 2026 -

Cost £32.00pp

Pick up 8.50am Abbey Fields, 9.00am Abbey End/The Clock

Ely was an island until 400 years ago, built on the fens and surrounded by marsh and water, being only reachable by boat.

The Cathedral is the third longest in England.
Cost of visiting the Cathedral is £14 although entrance into the building and the shop is free. The Cathedral also contains the Stained Glass Museum situated
on the upper level of the Cathedral, via a spiral staircase (40 steps). Tickets to see the Stained Glass Museum cost £6.50 and can be bought jointly with the Cathedral, or separately, either online or on the day.
Behind the Cathedral is the Physick Garden where early monks grew and developed plants and herbs (not to be touched) to use to cure sick parishioners.

Ely Museum in Market Street tells the story of the fens from prehistoric times to present day. Admission is £7 and can be paid on the day The city itself has a variety of shops and cafes to explore and to have refreshments/ lunch before we meet at Oliver Cromwell’s house by 2.10pm for our tour.
Our guided tour will start at 2.15pm and take approximately 60 minutes, leaving time for a short break before the coach leaves at 4pm.

Accessibility There is wheelchair access into room 1 (the Parlour) to room 2 (the Kitchen) with a ramp back to the main reception area. Access to the upper floor is by stairs which have a handrail. An audio guide is available for those who are unable to reach the upper floor. As with many old houses, there are uneven floorboards, smaller doorways and reduced light. There are moving mannequins in rooms 3 and 5 – Mrs Cromwell’s room and the Study. In room 6 (the Haunted bedroom) there is a mannequin and short audio clip. There is some seating in each room. There are no toilets available in the house and the nearest public ones are on Palace Green opposite the Cathedral. They are about halfway down the green on the left-hand side looking towards the Cathedral and are roughly opposite the cannon displayed there. Alternatively, there are public toilets in the Cloisters in the town centre.

Bookings

--Booking forms can be found on the Ku3a website or are available from the Outings table at Open Meetings. Outings are only open to U3a members and priority will be given to bookings from Kenilworth u3a members.

--We ask those booking make a member of the Outings Team aware of ANY issues that may affect their ability to travel or enjoy the outings so that these can be discussed with a view to obtaining a reasonable solution. Where food is provided any allergies or intolerances also need to be made clear on the booking form.

--Full or partial refunds cannot be guaranteed and are likely to depend on the outing being fully booked or a replacement being found for individuals.