Weekend Walks - Wicken Fen, Cambridgeshire

An early morning ramble around England's most famous fen

January may seem to some as a bleak month, the festivities of Christmas now a distant memory, and what seems like an age until the days grow longer and the promise of spring just a glimmer on the horizon. I must admit I love the quiet this month brings, and, never one to go full steam ahead into the new year, I like to embrace the call to hibernate and hunker down for as long as I can.

But when blessed with a gloriously bright and cold morning as I was today, I like nothing better than to get out for a walk in nature and one of my favourite places at this time of year is Wicken Fen. Located 17 miles north-east of Cambridge, it is the National Trust’s oldest nature reserve and an important habitat for thousands of species of wildlife.

Starting from the visitor centre, I decided to take the Four Lodes Trail, a 4 mile (6.4 km) trail following open waterways and reed beds. At other times of year this route can be muddy but recent temperatures below freezing overnight, and not getting much above during the day had solidified the mud and made for a pleasant terrain.

Give me the long straight road before me, a clear cold day with a nipping air,

Tall, bare trees to run on beside me, a heart that is light and free from care.

Then let me go! - I care not whither my feet may lead, for my spirit shall be

Free as the brook that flows to the river, free as the river that flows to the sea.

“Freedom” by Olive Runner

With Wicken Lode on my right I made my way along the path, past several bird hides and the beautiful reeds still covered in rimes of hoar frost, catching the watery winter sun. I passed a few other walkers but for the most part it was just me and my thoughts. I could hear the ice on the water shifting and cracking, a buzzard in the distance and the clear song of a nearby robin, asserting its territory.

A wooden footbridge stands at the junction of Wicken and Burwell Lodes, from here you can cross it and head right towards the village of Upware, but I turned left and followed the path with Burwell Lode on my right. Over on the other side of the water there are Konik ponies grazing. These originate from Poland but have been bred at Wicken Fen since 2003 and you might just about make them out on the picture below.

I followed the footpath down to Cockup Bridge (on which you can get a great view back down the Lode) and then joined a concrete path crossing Baker’s Fen and Adventurer’s Fen. A little more sheltered here, there are several more hides along the way and I was lucky enough to spot redwings and fieldfares, winter visitors from Northern Europe. I then took a right turn, and with The Mere to my left and Baker’s Fen on the right, made my way back towards the visitor centre and past the wind pump.

I started my walk just before 9 am and it took me about an hour and forty-five minutes. As it’s a vast area it never feels crowded which is great but it was beginning to get busy by the time I left. A beautiful walk on a beautiful day.

You can see where I walked here

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions but one thing I want to try and do this year is a nature walk every weekend and post about it here. Hope you enjoyed reading about my walk today.