Ely, Cambridgeshire...does anyone know it?

[Fio2]

An oppurtunity has arisen for us in Ely, but we havent got the foggiest what its like. Has anyone lived there? what was it like? What are the schools like? crime etc. Is there much to do there? I have been on rightmove and the houses seem reasonable price but just wondering about everything else.

And whats SN provision like there?

Good rail links to London & Cambridge but rubbish road links - the A10 is dangerous and slow.
Ely has just doubled or trebled in size with new housing but the developments look really nice.
It's a small town, so prices for everything there are less than Cambridge eg going to a cafe costs half Cambridge rates.
There is Planet Zoom (soft play) and bowling for kids, not sure what else but Cambridge is a big cultural centre. The cathedral is gorgeous and it's a very sweet town but Fenland can be austere...
That's probably all I'm qualified to report on!

Rural areas of Cambridgeshire have low policing levels which can be a problem and there are a lot of travellers sites which are causing problems - not sure how much this affects Ely specifically.

I agree with Scoobysnax regarding Ely, it is a nice little town and has all the appropriate/essential shops, close to Cambridge without being too crippled by the ridiculous prices.

I just hope you like your landscapes flat, really really flat! (although one bonus that you do get the most amazing skies to admire, gorgeous sunsets, sunrises, storms approaching etc!)

is Fenland nice or not? and travellers are a problem are they? wasnt aware of that. The only place I know in Cambrigeshire is papworth, but doesnt hold many nice memeories Im afraid

I'm in Cambs too but I suppose the SN provision will vary from town to town. All I know about Ely is that it has a cathedral!

thanks coppertop I had gathered it had a cathedral LOL

We were thinking about moving to Ely for a while. I looked at the info on Upmystreet, house prices, school performance tables... I thought it'd be ok, a bit sleepy but nicer than Cambridge itself in most ways. I think there's a posh secondary school there which kind of put me off. I reckon being such a small place, it may braindrain the bright kids from other schools. But my (& your) kids are a bit young to worry about that just yet.

Also, Cambridge gets such a bad rep for congestion, Ely is well out in the sticks, a lot more peaceful I imagine.

My favourite auntie lives in Ely

This is the main local state secondary . The private secondary is King's (also has primary) City of Ely Community College has the reputation of being a bit difficult to teach in - it may be fine to learn in, but I can only report the local teachers' grapevine! Ely itself has a market, Waitrose, swimming pool with aquanatal, active NCT and is only 20 minutes (not at rush hour )drive from Cambridge. It has some of the coldest winds in winter that I have ever felt (and I've lived in Scotland and Russia...) A nice folk festival in July. I live in Cambridge where the house prices are not reasonable, but can ask around if you want.

Fenland is love it or hate it countryside - you need to come and see it and see which way you feel! I second the points about both the winds and the skies!
Cottenham (quite near Ely) has been in the national press for witholding council tax because of traveller problems.
Some traveller sites are of course well integrated into the community and no trouble at all. Others are full of stolen property and treated as "no go areas" by local police. Others still have defied planning restrictions eg in Cottenham and imported 6,000 irish folk - more than the permanent population of Cottenham!
Ely is quite provincial but seems to be a nice place to live - people I know who live there sing its praises! Where are you moving from?

RE: Zebra's brain drain comment - King's Ely is not a brilliant school academically so I wouldn't think that was a problem - and it's not especially posh either!
There isn't much poshness in Ely at all!

I lived close to Ely for a while and really liked it.Beautiful cathedral, nice marina some lovely eating places (The Old Fire Engine House cafe in particular)quite a touristy feel in summer. Villages around not especially pretty, in fact some are grim. Close to Cambridge and also Bury St Edmunds which is lovely.Less than an hour from beautiful norfolk coastline.Go for it!

I used to live in the fens for a short while but north of Huntingdon. I think I found it rather isolated but we were in a village and only one car so although the people were friendly there wasn't much to do. All I can remember about Ely is the cathedral. Of all the places I've lived I think the fens are my least favourite and have no reason to go back there but maybe will sometime as 2 children born there. Overall I would say dull and i'm not exactly an urbanite.

I am Ely born and bred! Can't believe it has made it onto Mumsnet. I know nothing about the SN provision, but...

• it's great for littlies to grow up in (friendly, safe, nice playgrounds, great soft play, Brownies, Scouts etc) but desperately dull for teenagers (unless they can drive or get a railcard)
• very easy for shopping with small children (I prefer to shop there rather than in Cambridge where I live)
• a few new daycare centres have opened recently
• travellers are not a problem
• crime is mostly petty vandalism and distraction burglary
• parking in town is very tight

Oh dear, what else can I tell you? If you have any specific questions, please feel free to email me via Contact another talker. HTH

Oh posy, and there was me thinking I was posh

the other thing that I recall is that driving in the fens is not much fun as some of the roads are very bumpy and it seems to take ages to get anywhere driving past drainage ditches.

I worked there years ago (early 90's) - it didn't really appeal to me - but I will try to be objective !

It is called the City of Ely because of the cathedral - but it is really more like a market town. In those days market day was fascinating - all the locals from miles around used to flood in (and lets just say it was a very rural area and everyone was related to each other).

Probably by now it has its fair share of new estates and is a commuter town for Cambridge. Trains to Cambridge, Norwich and Peterborough fairly often. Main road (A10) to Cambridge is quite good.

Down by the river is lovely especially near the maltings. A big new Tesco was built when I worked there - first supermarket in the town.

I think the scholl was pretty good.

Wow- I didn't know there were so many MN-ers in and around Ely! I'm local to Ely too, I've lived here for a while now, and in Cambridge before that. I really like the area a lot, and I definitely think the landscape grows on you, I don't know about schools as DS only 7 months, but Ely is a lovely little town, though for major shopping sprees, Peterborough is not too long a trip. Ely only really has limited shopping. People are quite friendly and I wouldn't want to move!
How about an Ely meet-up anyone?

We relocated to a village near Ely a few years ago - and love living here. It's a great place to bring up a family. Many of the villages have active toddler groups and Ely itself is fine for day to day shopping with a Waitrose right in the middle The Fens are indeed very flat but then when you are pushing a buggy that can be very advantageous. Ely has changed quite a lot in the few years we have been here (ie it has got busier in town) - there are a lot of new houses being built as people are choosing to come here rather than central Cambridge. As has already been stated both Peterborough and Cambridge are handy for shopping - and the Norfolk coast is not too far for lovely beaches. There are some beautiful villages which are far from being grim!