Bury St. Edmonds

Mmm... European Bakeries...

We'll get back to that in just a bit. It was another gorgeous Saturday here in England, and so another little trip, this time to the town of Bury St. Edmonds...

We were just a bit nervous about parking here... can it be this bad? No need to fear, the car was just as we left it upon our return.

The cathedral here is named in honor of Saint Edmonds, who died a martyr when he refused to deny his Christian faith. This was the location where they "buried Saint Edmonds," thus the name of the town: Bury St. Edmonds.

A depiction of how the town once looked before parts of the cathedral grounds were destroyed in wars:

The grounds are now a beautiful park/garden, packed with locals and tourists both:

And the ruins around the grounds? They're part of the children's rock-climbing walls. I just can't believe that they're ok with letting folks climb on thousand year old ruins (we didn't climb on them!).

This cathedral is very impressive both inside and out. The cathedral definitely is effective in making you look heavenward... the girls couldn't stop looking up!

Next was exploring the cute shops downtown. Folks were sitting in various cafes outside enjoying the weather and taking a mid-afternoon break with a pastry and a coffee... after passing several bakeries, we found the one we wanted to try... can a little bakery get any more quaint than this?

We left with full bellies and warm hearts!