Riverside Island Marina

The marina sits right on the edge of Ely, where the Great Ouse winds through the Fens in that particular way that makes you realise how flat this part of England really is. Riverside Island Marina is the sort of place that works better if you're actually doing something - hiring a boat, grabbing a pint at the waterside pub, watching the narrowboats come and go - rather than turning up just to look at it. That said, if you're staying at Trelander Camping & Caravanning nearby, it's a decent evening stroll, especially on a warm day when the light hits the water properly.

The marina itself is working and unpretentious. You'll see proper river cruisers, day boats, the lot. Families with kids will find it calmer than some marinas - less glitzy, more functional. It's the kind of place where you can actually watch people messing about with boats rather than everything being cordoned off and polished. The waterside setting means there's often a breeze, which matters when you're this far into the Fens.

Worth half an hour of your time if you're nearby, longer if you're hiring a boat for the day. The real charm is that it feels genuinely local rather than built for tourists. On a quiet afternoon, you could spend a couple of hours here comfortably enough, but this isn't somewhere you'd schedule a whole trip around. It works best as part of exploring Ely itself and the surrounding wetlands.