#busride - Cambridge to Ely, the indirect way...

Final score from the Abbey Stadium,
Cambridge United 1, Luton Town 3!

So, my scheduled connection lost, what was I to do? There was another number 9 to Ely an hour away, but I wanted to keep moving. Luckily, Stagecoach offer another means of getting to Ely, albeit somewhat counterintuitively via Newmarket (for the geographically challenged, Ely is north of Cambridge, and Newmarket is east of it. But, it was due in twenty minutes, so I settled down with my good book, a history of the Peninsular War (we won, the French didn't) and waited.

And, sure enough, another shiny double decker arrived, ready to whisk me off. An on-time departure, and we were on the road, past the Abbey Stadium where, coincidentally, my beloved Luton Town (come on you Hatters!) were locked in mortal conflict with the locals on the football field (we seem to play Cambridge United quite a lot). I was reassured that it was 2-1 to us, that Cambridge were down to ten men, and that we might win a game.

The Rowley Mile is further back...

The route to Newmarket is, once you've escaped the Cambridge suburbs, a fairly quick one, with little in the way of population to serve. Unlike Mid Suffolk, West Suffolk is predominantly heathland, and doesn't support quite such so many people. It is, however, famous for horse racing, and the route took us past the end of the July Course, with excellent views from the top deck.

I've never been wild on Newmarket itself, as like too many Suffolk towns, the planners and developers have conspired to obliterate much of its charms. The bus has no time for architecture though, as we're off to the north-west.

The only significant stop en route to Ely is Soham, which is reliant on buses despite having an active railway pass through the town. The line from Ely to Bury St Edmunds, with its two-hourly service between Ipswich and Peterborough, hasn't stopped here for years, although it was the scene of one of the most famous instances of railway heroism.

On 2 June 1944, the leading wagon of a train carrying high explosive bombs caught fire, and the driver and fireman managed to detach the burning wagon (itself loaded with ten tons of general purpose bombs) and hauled it about 140 yards before it exploded in the station itself, killing the fireman and a signalman as well as badly injuring the driver.

It has to be said, Soham isn't that exciting now, and it was soon behind us.

Finally, the approach to Ely. The thing about Ely is, it has an incredible cathedral which dominates the skyline. Pictures were required, I thought...