Cambridge to Ely

Today marks the start of British summer time.  After a glorious week of great weather and clear blue skies, the weekend weather has been a bit bland.  A blanket of light grey cloud seems to have enveloped the country.  I had been looking forward to a long run in spring like conditions, but it felt like we were still in the tail end of winter.  At least it wasn't pouring with rain and windy.

I had decided that today I'd run along the River Cam all the way to Ely.  It's a run that I do maybe 3 or 4 times a year.  In the winter the ground conditions can be too boggy in places, and in the summer many stretches can be over grown with nettles.  Spring and autumn are usually just right.  From my house it's about 17 miles to Ely rail station.  I wanted to do a little more than that so I started by running a lap of Coldham's Common and then Stourbridge Common before reaching the river and following it all the way to Ely.

There were many rowers out on the Cam first thing, along with marshals lining the bank.  It seemed to be mostly scullers preparing for a head of river event.  I was obviously a little early to catch any real action.  I think all of the rowers were from various town clubs rather than the University.  Given that Cambridge lost The Boat Race yesterday, I'm sure most University rowing clubs would still be in mourning.

Scullers on the Cam

Once I was beyond the A14 bridge (which you can see in the picture above) the river banks were deserted.  I didn't see anyone else for the next two miles, which brought me to Waterbeach.

Boathouses and river bridge at Waterbeach

The stretch of river to Waterbeach is the most familiar to me.  I often run this as a quick 10.5 mile run before breakfast on a Tuesday morning.  It's also the prettiest stretch of river.  The landscape is fairly sparse north of Waterbeach, and can seem very bleak when the weather is foul.  Today it was fairly tranquil, but could have benefitted from a blue sky.  Hopefully, the next time I do this run, which could be next week, conditions will be better for me to take some photos.

The 10 miles, or so, of footpath from Waterbeach to Ely is mostly along the top of a flood prevention bank.  If you haven't taken any consideration of the wind direction, it can be pretty miserable to find yourself running into a head wind all the way, given that you're reasonably high above the surrounding landscape and very exposed.  I know this from experience as a few years ago I decided to get the train to Ely and then run back to Cambridge.  On that occasion I found myself running right into the path of a fierce wind all the way home.  I'd like to think it's a mistake that I won't make again.

From Waterbeach there are a small number of man made landmarks that can act as mile markers on the journey to Ely.  At Waterbeach Bridge I cross the river the run on the east bank until reaching Bottisham Lock a mile down river. Here I cross back to the west side.  There's then a 5 mile stretch of wilderness before reaching a road crossing at Dimmock's Cote.  A fairly unremarkably bridge on what must be one of the quietest A roads in the county.

Dimmock's Cote Road Bridge

About a mile and a half further on the River Cam joins the Great River Ouse, at which point a footbridge crosses the Ouse.  Usually it is possile to make out Ely Cathedral from here.  And although I could just make out its outline on the horizon, it wasn't clear enough for my camera to distinguish it from the cloud.

Just after crossing the bridge I came across a group of dog walkers, the only people I'd seen for miles.  I don't know what their dogs were, but they were pretty big.  As I approached I spotted them looking over their shoulder, and they had clearly seen me.  None of them made any attempt to pull to one side of the path as I passed them, leaving me to run in potentially ankle twisting rough ground to the side of the path.  Neither did they do anything about keeping their dogs under control.  As I ran on, both dogs bounded after me getting way closer than I was happy with.  I had visions of receiving a dog bite just a couple of miles from Ely and three weeks before the biggest marathon of the year.  Fortunately, no harm was done, but I do detest dog owners who can't control their dogs, or who think it's ok for their beloved pets to 'play' with strangers.  I wonder how many dog owners have shouted "it's ok, he doesn't bite", just before their mutt sinks his teeth into the ankle of an innocent passer by.

Gripe over.  As I ran on Ely Cathedral grew every larger on the horizon.  As you reach the end of the river footpath on the outskirts of Ely, the railway station is immediatley to your left.  I was very tempted to stop my run at that point, but I had only run a little way over 18 miles.  So I carried on along the river into the heart of Ely, turning away from the river to run through the Jubilee Gardens and up hill to the Cathedral.



Ely Cathedral

I then did a complete circuit of the outside of the Cathedral and then headed back to the railway station, resulting in a total distance run of about 19.5 miles.  Good enough for me.

Typically, trains weren't running to Cambridge today due to engineering works but I only had a short wait for the replacement bus service.  I had just enough time to buy a drink and flapjack, and have a stretch.  The bus journey back home was much slower than the train and, annoyingly, went within 100m of my front door, but the driver wasn't allowed to let anyone off until we reached Cambridge rail station.  I managed to get my legs to work again for the short 1.2 mile jog back to my house.  I'm now aware that the short stretch I had at Ely station wasn't perhaps enough.  My legs are complaining a little bit.  I think I'll be deligent and sign off now and do some more stretching, otherwise work could be tough tomorrow.