This morning was dry so we set off at 10am on the journey into Wicken Fen, just two miles away. Wicken Fen is a nature reserve of many years standing going back into Victorian times now run by the National Trust. It provides one of the last remaining examples of the Fens as they were before intensive farming took over.
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| Cruising along Wicken Lode |
Just down the Cam from our mooring we turned right then through a lock onto Reach Lode, a narrow navigable drainage channel. A half mile further on we turned left onto Wicken Lode, an even narrower channel which took us to moorings in the centre of the Fen at a speed of less than 2 mph, limited by the extensive vegetation and the shallowness and narrowness of the watercourse.
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| Lizard at Wicken Fen |
After lunch on board we walked around the fen's reed beds hoping to see its most famous residents - the very rare marsh harrier and bittern. Unfortunately both were keeping their heads down today, but we were pleased to see a range of other birds, a few orchids and a lizard.
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| Densie at the moorings |
We will spend the night here in fairly splendid isolation apart from another narrowboat which arrived shortly after us..
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