Sarah recently signed up for a Coaching in Running Fitness course. While courses are laid on all over the country, the timing of this particular one worked best. So it was, we found ourselves in Cambridge. While Sarah was on the course I planned to cycle to Ely Cathedral.

We were staying at Cambridge Orchard Park Travelodge. However, after Sarah had left for her course, my day quickly went downhill. The extension for my GoPro camera. More worrying, I couldn’t find my Garmin Edge either. This had my route I was due to follow. Oh dear!

In the end, I had to leave without the Garmin. Thankfully, I could view a copy of the route on an app on my phone, which was useful, but I would spend the day constantly having to stop and check and recheck the route. I would also take a number of wrong turns.

First up, almost immediately after leaving the hotel, I had trouble finding NCN Route 51. This was my route out of Cambridge. Of course, after finally finding it, I then made my second mistake when following it too far.

Another mistake I made was ignoring the warning of this sign. It advised taking an alternative route to the one I had planned.

However, for now, as I made my way through Milton Country Park, I was following the correct route.

After leaving the park I joined the path along the River Cam and joined NCN Route 11. I would attempt to follow this all the way to Ely.

My route left the canal at Waterbeach and indicated a path alongside the rail station. Except, the path quickly came to a halt at a locked gate and I could go no further.

Never mind, I re-routed and headed for an alternative crossing of the River Cam.

It wasn’t easy …

Quickly, the path on the other side of the river deteriorated.

I even had to haul my bike over this gate …

Then after another wrong turn, I finally rejoined NCN Route 11. I followed a section called The Lodes Way.

This took me through a series of fens, beginning with White Fen.

The paths were long and flat.

Next was Burrell Fen.

Then Adventurers Fen

After which I arrived at Wicken Fen where I stopped for lunch. I’ll be writing another blog post about Wicken Fen Nature Reserve and Fensman’s Cottage.

Back on the road, I continued my journey to Ely.

At Barway, my route took me off the roads again and on to another path.

The path traced the River Great Ouse for a little while.

Eventually, I arrived at Ely.

Leaving NCN Route 11 I found Ely Cathedral.

I was going to have a look around, but there was a charge, and I didn’t have enough time.

So, I grabbed a quick cup of tea and then set off again.

I headed for Witchford. This section was adventurous. I found myself on a busy road looking for a path that didn’t exist. Another re-route was required.

Next, I cycled through Grunty Fen. My route back to Cambridge was proving gruelling, however. I was cycling straight into a strong headwind. The long straight roads and open vista meant for the last 20 miles there was little respite from the strong relentless wind.

I cycled through Cottenham.

A little further on I reached Histon. I was nearly back now.

One last check of my route and I rejoined NCN Route 51 and followed the Guided Busway byway back to the start.

I had cycled 45 miles. Five miles or so more than I had planned. It was meant to be a gentle ride! Take away the mishaps at the start, the wrong turns, and the headwind, and this had been an enjoyable ride. 🙂

You can view my Cambridge to Ely route below: