Bedinghams Farm

Tick a bucket-list site off with a visit to spectacular Ely Cathedral (20 minutes’ drive) to see the ornate stone carvings in the Lady Chapel and admire views over the fens from the top of the West Tower. Learn more about fenland heritage at Ely Museum, housed in a former jail, or tour the carefully renovated Victorian mill and schoolroom at Burwell Museum and Windmill (40 minutes). A trip to Cambridge (55 minutes) may also be on the cards for a nose around ancient seats of learning like Kings and Jesus colleges; there are also ancient Egyptian artefacts to check out at the Fitzwilliam Museum, and modern-art exhibitions at Kettle’s Yard. If you’d rather be out in the fresh air, birders should take binoculars to the marshland hides at RSPB Ouse Washes Nature Reserve (half an hour), where herons, merlins and overwintering waterfowl are often spotted. If you fancy messing about on the fenland waterways, head for Brandon Creek (35 minutes) to hire a cruiser or a narrowboat for the day.