Venturing out from Cambridge, from miles away the initial view towards Ely is of an island in the flat fens, dominated by the splendour of the cathedral. Of course it has been like this for centuries, but the image became recognised world wide when framed by two large metallic faces on the cover of the 1994 Pink Floyd album ‘The Division Bell’. So it was no surprise to see a large print of this picture on the wall of this unassuming freehouse, just out of the centre of this small city.
Adnams beers dominate the bar, including some of their newer ‘craft’ offerings. My beer of choice was the pleasant 3.7% copper coloured Southwold bitter. The pub interior is a mix of old (wooden floor of varying contour) and newer (many framed prints of country scenes, group photos of the neighbouring Kings School, cathedral pictures and much more). You can sit on a choice of church chairs with hymnbook holding sections, 1930s dining chairs and even a dentist chair(!?). There is a newspaper on the bar, board games and relaxed locals with large docile dogs….
It is all very comfortable and calming and the multiple covers showing inclusion of the pub in past CAMRA good beer guides displayed in the window shows that its timeless qualities are well appreciated.
cambridgepubreviews 