The Stained Glass Museum

Ely's stained glass collection is housed in a space that takes you properly inside the craftsman's mind - you're not just looking at coloured light through a pane, you're learning how it's made and why medieval glaziers gave a damn about the stuff. The museum sits right in the cathedral precinct, which means if you've come to see the Octagon or climb the tower, you're already here anyway.

The collection spans centuries. Medieval fragments sit alongside Victorian revival pieces and contemporary work. It's the kind of place where you genuinely find yourself standing in front of a single panel for five minutes, watching how the light changes. Not everyone's cup of tea, admittedly - if your lot expects dragons and gift shops, they might fidget. But for anyone interested in how light becomes story, how colour was engineered centuries before electric light, this is exactly right.

Historians and craftspeople absolutely love it. School groups studying art or design get real value. Photographers often arrive during late afternoon when the sun hits certain angles. Two hours is realistic; you could do it faster, but you'd miss the detail. The location - a stone's throw from Ely Cathedral - makes it brilliant paired with a wider exploration of the city.

Staying at Heatherbield Lodge or Hatters Meadows puts you within easy reach, both less than three miles away. You can knock this out as part of a proper cathedral day without travel aggravation.