as it welcomes back visitors with new tours and experiences!
Ely Cathedral has welcomed over 4500 visitors in the first two weeks of reopening to visitors.
Like many major attractions, Ely has been awarded Good To Go status which is the Visit Britain’s industry standard and means they have taken all the necessary steps to help ensure people’s safety in line with latest Government and Public Health guidance. It is a signal to anyone wishing to visit that they can be confident that every opportunity possible is taken to ensure visitors wellbeing.
Photo: James Billings
Sally Porter, Visitor Experience Manager is very pleased with the response. “The weather may not have been very welcoming to start with but we have been really encouraged by the steady flow of visitors. It is not our usual intake for this time of year but these are not usual times. We completely understand the public’s concerns around Covid-19 and have worked hard to create a safe and welcoming space. We are lucky the building is so specious and naturally generates such a calm and spiritual environment. Last week we were also able to restart the ever popular guided Tower Tours alongside some other exciting new specialist tour packages”.
The first of the specialist tours is ‘The Victorian Cathedral’ on June 11. This tour will transport you back to 1871, at the height of the Victorian restoration, bringing to life the personalities of those involved including the Dean, the clergy, architects, painters and metal workers, all of who helped create the Cathedral we recognise today. Further information and booking details about all the Specialist Tours, Tower Tours and the Monastic Tours with Tea is available on the website.
Throughout July the Cathedral will have on display a globally acclaimed work of art, Gaia. Created by Luke Jerram, this installation is a 7 meter replica of planet Earth, which will be suspended from high above Ely’s nave to awe and inspire. Gaia is part of a larger exhibition, ‘Heaven & Earth – The World in our Hands’’ which aims to address some of the very real issues affecting our world in the form of lectures and Ely’s first ever ‘Green Fair’.
Tickets for all events and activities taking place at Ely Cathedral plus visitor entry, must be booked online, in advance from the Cathedral website www.elycathedral.org
Photo: Timothy Selvage