This months riverside dining visit was to Grand Central in Ely on the river Great Ouse.  The restaurant situated in Annesdale was once the boathouse for Fenland boatbuilding company Appleyard and Lincoln. This is where our company founder Charlie Fox worked as an apprentice boatbuilder in the 1950’s.  As the name now implies the theme of the restaurant is Grand Central Station, New York.

The sharing bowl as a starter came on a large platter and consisted of southern fried chicken tenders, garic bread, crinkle cut potato dippers drizzled with marinana sauce, Wall Street BBQ wings, onion rings and a bowl of cheesy nachos topped with fiery chilli £13.95

For mains we chose a beef steak fajita, seasoned slices of beef steak with a smokey sauce £13.95 and a BBQ pulled pork fajita £12.95.  Both dishes were served on a bed of sizzling onions and peppers with flour tortillas.  On the side was grated cheese, lettuce and classic Mexican sauces.

Our visit was on Saturday 9^th May 2015 as a 6pm Walk in.  The staff were friendly and attentative.

Would we go back? Yes

Paula and Gerald.

sharing bowl

Mexican sauces

pulled pork

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Gerald and Paula visited The Ship Inn at Brandon Creek on 11^th April.  They sat at a table looking down The Great Ouse river towards Denver and watched the early evening boats travel down stream towards Denver Lock. For starters they tried the Baked Wild Mushrooms in a cream sauce on homemade bread (£6), for mains Paula chose the Rosemary & Garlic Lamb Rump (£16) and Gerald opted for the 8oz Dry Aged Rib-eyed Steak (£17). They finished their meal with a Norfolk Cheese Board (£9) and can recommend the delicious Mrs Temples Binham Blue cheese.  The Ship Inn has moorings for patrons and the waiting staff were very helpful. The food arrived promptly and the chips were delicious.  Will they be going back?  It’s a definite YES!

Rosemary & Garlic Lamb Rump.   Rib-eyed Steak.

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London, of course, was the most popular city in terms of tourism, and the rest of the top 10 were Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Glasgow, Oxford, Bristol and Brighton. VisitBritain aims to encourage tourists to look beyond London, which attracted 16.7 million ‘staying’ visits last year.

Known for its university, beautiful architecture, students and so many bicycles, Cambridge is full of quirky English charm and history. Here are 3 essential things you must experience when visiting Cambridge by boat.

1) Heritage

Kings College Cambridge

When exploring the magnificent colleges of The University of Cambridge you’ll discover that some of them date back to the 13^th Century! Don’t miss the late Gothic architecture of Kings College Chapel which was started in 1446 by Henry VI and took over a century to build. Here you’ll see the largest fan vault in the world and some absolutely stunning medieval stained glass.X BoatingX CambridgeX cambridge universityX Craft shopX HeritageX PuntingX RiversideX Tourist cambridge

Wiki: Cambridge University

Image GNU attributed to: Sailko

2) Retail Therapy

glass making

You’ll find most of the main national shop names on the streets of Cambridge, but you’ll also discover the local charms and quaint architecture of craft workshops, antique centres, jewellers, and art galleries. Shopping in Cambridge is an unforgettable experience.

All Saints Garden – Arts Craft Market

Image: Licenced Shutterstock

3) Cruising the Rivers

river punting cambridge

If you’re visiting Cambridge you’ll want to try punting, but if you’re visiting on your own hired canal boat you can explore the waterways so much more. When deciding upon a relaxed route for your cruising holiday on the East Anglia waterways Cambridge is a consistently popular choice for our customers. On your way to Cambridge you’ll experience the beautiful British countryside and picturesque villages, discovering ancient churches, wildlife, wild flowers, traditional pubs and the history of the Fens.

Travelling at a leisurely pace, you decide where to moor and what you want to see first. It has to be the prettiest and most relaxing way to see Cambridge, and you can choose between a canal or a barge style of boat depending on your personal preference.

To find out more about boating in Cambridgeshire you may like to follow us on Facebook or Google+.

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