Extraordinary places. Creative lives.
Arts
& Culture.
Colour caught in glass. Stories held in objects. The hush before the curtain rises. Discover the Fens through the things we make, share and remember.
Find your inspirationA different way to see the Fens
Look closer.
Listen longer.
Leave inspired.
A place reveals itself through its creative life.
In the Fens, that might mean a luminous piece of stained glass, an unexpected museum collection or a theatre tucked into a historic street. Each offers another way into the landscape and the lives shaped by it.
Take time for the small details. Follow a story that catches your imagination. Then see what happens when the lights go down and the performance begins.
Open the door to something different
Remarkable collections.
Memorable encounters.
Start with these cultural places, from the galleries above Ely Cathedral to the theatre streets of Boston. Every destination link opens its Discover the Fens profile.
Ely · The Stained Glass Museum
A whole world
held in
light and colour.
Inside Ely Cathedral, discover stained glass at eye level. Medieval panels and modern works reveal an art form that brings together drawing, colour, craftsmanship and storytelling.
The museum’s collection traces stained glass from the thirteenth century to the present. Its workshops offer another way to discover the skill behind the finished pieces.
Explore the Stained Glass MuseumThe gallery is reached by a spiral staircase. Check access information when planning your visit.
Boston · Theatre & performance
Blackfriars Theatre
& Arts Centre
A historic building with a life on stage. Discover Boston’s theatre and arts centre, where performances and a foyer gallery bring different kinds of creativity under one roof.
Discover Blackfriars
Wisbech · Art, objects & ideas
Wisbech &
Fenland Museum
Step into a Victorian museum with collections that range from paintings and decorative arts to archaeology and natural history. Come for one interest and leave with several new ones.
Explore the museum
Ely · People & place
Ely Museum
Discover the everyday culture of the Fens through the people who lived here. Eel fishing, fen skating and changing ways of life connect objects in the galleries with the landscape outside.
Discover Ely MuseumSpalding · Another door to open
Ayscoughfee Hall
Museum & Gardens
Explore South Holland’s stories in a historic hall, then give yourself time in the gardens. A quieter cultural stop for anyone who enjoys discovering a place through its buildings, collections and surroundings.
Explore Ayscoughfee HallLet curiosity become something more
See it.
Try it.
Make it your own.
You don’t have to be an expert to enjoy the arts. Take a workshop, discover an exhibition or spend a little longer with something that catches your eye.
Meet the craft.
Look beyond the finished object to the work behind it. The Stained Glass Museum runs practical workshops in glass techniques, with different sessions for different interests and experience levels.
Discover glass workshopsFollow a new interest.
A painting, a piece of pottery or a curious object can be the beginning of a much bigger story. Let the collections at Wisbech & Fenland Museum take your visit in an unexpected direction.
Look a little closerFind your next night out.
Make room for live performance. Explore Blackfriars’ programme and choose something that appeals to you, whether it’s a familiar favourite or a first encounter with a different kind of show.
Explore BlackfriarsExhibitions, workshops and performances change throughout the year. Follow the venue profiles for current programmes, booking and access information.
When the day becomes an evening
Stay for
the sound.
Music is part of the life of Ely Cathedral. Concerts and recitals offer a chance to experience this extraordinary building in another way, with sound filling the space beneath its great arches.
Build a visit around a performance, leave time for something to eat and let the evening become part of the adventure.
Discover Ely CathedralTake the scenic route through culture
A little less rushing.
A little more discovery.
Choose one place as your starting point. Leave time to explore its neighbourhood, enjoy a meal and follow whatever catches your attention.
Ely · Light, life & music
Make a day of Ely.
Begin with stained glass or the city’s museum. Add a wander through Ely, then build in a cathedral concert if the programme fits your visit.
Start with stained glass
Wisbech · Collections & townscapes
Let the details lead.
Spend time with the museum’s collections, then look afresh at the streets and riverside buildings. The town itself gives you plenty more to notice.
Begin in WisbechBoston · A night at the theatre
Stay beyond the afternoon.
Choose a Blackfriars performance and make it the centre of your plans. Allow time for the town, a meal and the simple pleasure of an evening out.
Plan a Boston visitCome for the place. Stay for the feeling.
Find something
that stays with you.
A favourite detail. A new interest. A performance you keep thinking about. There’s more to discover beneath these big skies.
Photography credits
Hero performance, Wisbech riverside, Blackfriars Theatre, Ely Museum and Ely Cathedral photographs supplied through Discover the Fens.
Stained Glass Museum, Ely by The wub, CC0 1.0.
Wisbech & Fenland Museum by Richard Humphrey / Geograph, CC BY-SA 2.0. Cropped for this layout; the same licence applies to the crop.
