Contents
Route map
Route details
Leaving Holywell, the path heads along a dry ridge which is clearly useful in this floodable area
and through the Pike & Eel Hotel and Marina, which is also an option for refreshments and overnighting.
The route carries on past the Browshill staunch and sluice, which is the first significant part of the water management system that has helped maintain the Fens as they are today. The path then heads to the village of Earith where we can now safely say, we are in the Fens. This is the point where managing water has been the No. 1 priority for the last 300 years.
While here, there’s a chance to look as the Civil War fortification, the Earith Bulwark, which is now a rabbit warren. It’s hard to make sense of the place and what it used to be like.
However, times of flood bring the bulwark back to life.
Courtesy of the BBC
The Fens were drained by creating two parallel drains, called the Old and New Bedford Rivers.
Old Bedford River
New Bedford River
The land between them, the Ouse Washes, acts as temporary resevoir during times of flood.
It’s a haven for birds and you can see for yourself by walking along either the Old or New Beford Rivers all the way to Denver. There is an RSPB site on the Old Bedford River and WWT Welney is situated on the New Bedford River. If you want to spend some time walking by the Ouse Washes, but also want to go to Ely, a route has been marked out.
Also, for a glimpse of how things used to be before the Dutch engineers arrived, you could visit the Ouse Fen Reserve.
Audio downloads
Citizen Scientists
Let's join Lucas Tatek who regularly tests the river checking for harmful bacteria at a popular paddling place.
find a citizen science group
Environment Agency
Watermilling
Keith Grimwade and Bridget Flannagan have done a deep dive into the history and geography of watermilling in the area and found some surprising things that will change how we see the landscape.
Book details
A lasting legacy
When avid collector Herbert Norris died in 1931, he left his collection of Huntingdonshire artifacts to St Ives. Richard Carter takes us on a guided tour and shows us how people today are learning about Huntingdonshire.
Norris Museum
RSBP Ouse Fen
A project is underway turning quarried land into a unique reserve, based on reedbeds. Let's talk to the wardens Richard Taylor and Ian Weller to find out more.
Website
Public transport
Public transport is not practical between Holywell and Earith.
Next leg: Earith to Ely
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