for refreshment and a railway station. railway a and refreshment for Whooper swans from Iceland. The washes are washes The Iceland. from swans Whooper

sky welcomes walkers with many opportunities many with walkers welcomes sky here including Bewick swans from Russia and Russia from swans Bewick including here

St Mary’ Church rising 150 feet into the fenland the into feet 150 rising Church Mary’ St wildlife. Important numbers of wildfowl winter wildfowl of numbers Important wildlife.

through the clay to divert the river. river. the divert to clay the through

The market town of Whittlesey with the spire of spire the with Whittlesey of town market The the wetness make the Washes a great place for place great a Washes the make wetness the

while to enjoy the delight of this Cathedral City. Cathedral this of delight the enjoy to while

international conventions. international cut was channel new a town the into boats

in crop patterns. crop in the sea outfall at in . in Bridge Sutton at outfall sea the . The combination of grassland and grassland of combination The Nene. River

the weary traveller. We recommend you stay a stay you recommend We traveller. weary the

sites in Europe the Washes are protected under protected are Washes the Europe in sites carry could it that ensure to but island, clay the

on bundles of brushwood and can still be traced be still can and brushwood of bundles on becomes a tidal river though still 20 miles from miles 20 still though river tidal a becomes land serves as the flood storage area for the for area storage flood the as serves land

to Hereward and today gives a warm welcome to welcome warm a gives today and Hereward to

to breed. As one of the most important wetland important most the of one As breed. to around flowed originally river The Square. Market

This Roman route through was carried was Fens the through route Roman This . Beyond the sluice gates the Nene the gates sluice the Beyond Peterborough. agriculture in the 17th and18th centuries. The centuries. and18th 17th the in agriculture rights of way which run alongside watercourses alongside run which way of rights

Hereward Way. Ely, a former island, gave refuge gave island, former a Ely, Way. Hereward

black-tailed Godwit, Snipe and Redshank come in come Redshank and Snipe Godwit, black-tailed the in Tower Clock the to up End West along

roughly following the line of the Fen Causeway. Fen the of line the following roughly sluice controls the flow of water to and from and to water of flow the controls sluice drainage of the surrounding fenland for fenland surrounding the of drainage into and between the towns. Many of the public the of Many towns. the between and into

end of the section of the of section Cambridgeshire the of end

floodwater recedes in the spring waders such as such waders spring the in recedes floodwater houses fenland traditional past river the follows

marsh between meandering streams and rivers. and streams meandering between marsh

From March the goes easterly goes Way Hereward the March From crosses the washland south into Whittlesey. The Whittlesey. into south washland the crosses area of open land created as a result of the of result a as created land open of area passes were important in transporting produce transporting in important were passes

Ely Cathedral, the ‘Ship of the Fens’, marks the marks Fens’, the of ‘Ship the Cathedral, Ely Swans aswell as many species of duck. As duck. of species many as aswell Swans Way Hereward The March. of town market the

waterways, travellers would use stilts to cross the cross to stilts use would travellers waterways,

At the Dog in a Doublet sluice the Hereward Way Hereward the sluice Doublet a in Dog the At Whittlesey, the Nene Washes comprise a large a comprise Washes Nene the Whittlesey, landscape through which the Hereward Way Hereward the which through landscape

importance. migratory birds, especially Bewick and Whooper and Bewick especially birds, migratory is fens the in island clay its on resolutely Sitting

time, before the construction of these artificial these of construction the before time,

on the land. the on

are seen in the distance. Lying to the north of north the to Lying distance. the in seen are The rivers and waterways which dominate the dominate which waterways and rivers The

butter or wool crosses as trading grew in grew trading as crosses wool or butter filled with lush and colourful wetland plants. wetland colourful and lush with filled internationally important wintering site for site wintering important internationally

because of their original widths). In Hereward’s In widths). original their of because

spanning hundreds of year of man’s involvement man’s of year of hundreds spanning

the old fenland way of life. of way fenland old the

and Moreton’s Leam (dug in the 15th century) 15th the in (dug Leam Moreton’s and

preaching stone. These were usually replaced by replaced usually were These stone. preaching cattle and herons amongst meadows and ditches and meadows amongst herons and cattle walkway to allow water to flow underneath. flow to water allow to walkway The flooding produced in the winter creates an creates winter the in produced flooding The

Bevill’s Leam, or the Twenty Foot River (so-called River Foot Twenty the or Leam, Bevill’s

fens are all about, bringing alive a history a alive bringing about, all are fens

its restaurant, has an interesting display about display interesting an has restaurant, its

views across the washland between the Nene the between washland the across views

1450. It was probably used by friars as a as friars by used probably was It 1450. In summer the washland is populated by grazing by populated is washland the summer In pedestrians. Gaps have to be left in the raised the in left be to have Gaps pedestrians.

the Whittlesey Dyke or Sixteen Foot River and River Foot Sixteen or Dyke Whittlesey the

section of the walk really illustrates what the what illustrates really walk the of section

seen at the Washes at Welney. at Washes the at seen to walkers welcoming as aswell centre, Welney continues along raised embankments. Good embankments. raised along continues

you will pass a stone cross dating from about from dating cross stone a pass will you

bank with duck-board bridges is provided for provided is bridges duck-board with bank

Anglebridge, the route crosses two waterways, two crosses route the Anglebridge,

1830 and in the distance. This distance. the in Cathedral Ely and 1830

popular area for ice skating. skating. ice for area popular not contained between the massive floodbanks massive the between contained not Trust Wetland and Wildfowl the at centre visitor Beyond Peterborough, the Hereward Way Hereward the Peterborough, Beyond

Wendreda stands. On the way to St Wendreda’s St to way the On stands. Wendreda

occasionally floods and for this reason a raised a reason this for and floods occasionally

gates can be seen. To the east of the town, at town, the of east the To seen. be can gates

intensive arable fen, a pumping station built in built station pumping a fen, arable intensive

snipe. When the floodwaters freeze, this is a is this freeze, floodwaters the When snipe. out to sea and would flood all the fens if it were it if fens the all flood would and sea to out The land. tranquil and remote a still is fen the

river where the 15th century church of St of church century 15th the where river

large areas of fenland marsh in Hereward’s time. time. Hereward’s in marsh fenland of areas large Dog in a Doublet sluice across the washland the across sluice Doublet a in Dog

Briggate River, where a handsome pair of lock of pair handsome a where River, Briggate

here you can see the unique landscape, the landscape, unique the see can you here

the country’s nesting black-tailed godwit and godwit black-tailed nesting country’s the landscape mean that water cannot flow quickly flow cannot water that mean landscape today, of farming specialised the with replaced

The oldest part of March lies to the south of the of south the to lies March of part oldest The

tolerate wet conditions and would have covered have would and conditions wet tolerate approach roads to the town. The road from the from road The town. the to roads approach

In Whittlesey the Hereward Way follows the follows Way Hereward the Whittlesey In

the flood banks from Welney towards Ely. From Ely. towards Welney from banks flood the and support a significant proportion of proportion significant a support and England level. The very shallow gradients of this of gradients shallow very The level. been has and gone has life of way unique this

and are native to this area. Willow and alder both alder and Willow area. this to native are and Lines of willows can again be seen on the on seen be again can willows of Lines

horses towing barges of goods across the fens. the across goods of barges towing horses

The Hereward Way continues along the top of top the along continues Way Hereward The some of the best floodplain meadows left in left meadows floodplain best the of some winter, holding water from land at or below sea below or at land from water holding winter, Although birds. the disturbing without beds reed

occur frequently over the 43 miles of the route the of miles 43 the over frequently occur

owe their origins to the use of the tow paths by paths tow the of use the to origins their owe

in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Anglo-Saxon the in rivers, act as a huge inland reservoir in the in reservoir inland huge a as act rivers, between easily slide Punts marsh. the in wildfowl

The willows which line the banks in Peterborough in banks the line which willows The

Causeway).The town is mentioned, as Whitesig, as mentioned, is town Causeway).The The Washes, the land between the two Bedford two the between land the Washes, The hunt to ) in seen those as (such

Nene out past the rowing course into the fens. the into course rowing the past out Nene

the marsh north of Whittlesey (the Fen (the Whittlesey of north marsh the water pumped out of the Cambridgeshire fens. Cambridgeshire the of out pumped water punts used Fenmen birds. and eels fish, of full

Theatre, the Hereward Way follows the River the follows Way Hereward the Theatre,

The Romans built a raised gravel road through road gravel raised a built Romans The Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire aswell as the as aswell Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire were meres and marsh The today. of that from

From the Old Customs House and the Key the and House Customs Old the From

can still be seen at the nearby centre). Fen Flag nearby the at seen be still can Bedford. The Levels receive floodwater from floodwater receive Levels The Bedford. different very was land the from got Hereward

making himself an outlaw and vagabond. and outlaw an himself making island and Peterborough island (remains of which of (remains island Peterborough and island group of investors headed by the Duke of Duke the by headed investors of group food the but productive been always has land

ground the old cathedral of Peterborough, thus Peterborough, of cathedral old the ground causeway across the marsh between Whittlesey between marsh the across causeway Cornelius Vermuyden who was contracted by a by contracted was who Vermuyden Cornelius This land. productive highly of acres of thousands

to have ransacked, robbed and burnt to the to burnt and robbed ransacked, have to age settlers built a kilometre-long timber kilometre-long a built settlers age the mid- seventeenth century by the Dutchman the by century seventeenth mid- the cultivates machinery Large England. in methods

associations with who is said is who Wake the Hereward with associations for ‘island’. The town has a long history. Bronze history. long a has town The ‘island’. for These two huge drainage channels were cut in cut were channels drainage huge two These farming mechanised highly more the of some see

the railway station. The City has strong has City The station. railway the deriving from Whittle’s Ea. Ea is the Anglo-Saxon the is Ea Ea. Whittle’s from deriving land drained by the Old and New Bedford rivers. Bedford New and Old the by drained land can you Here Fens. Cambridgeshire the of heart

T W W B

starts in Peterborough, only one mile from mile one only Peterborough, in starts ground surrounded by marshy fen, its name its fen, marshy by surrounded ground Levels, the generic name for the area of area the for name generic the Levels, the in is really walker the March, in Nene

he fenland section of the Hereward Way Hereward the of section fenland he hittlesey was historically an island of dry of island an historically was hittlesey elney marks the centre of the Bedford the of centre the marks elney River the rejoins Way Hereward the time the y

Welney to Ely to Welney Welney to March March to Whittlesey Peterborough to Whittlesey to Peterborough 12 miles 12 miles 12 miles 11 8 miles 8

The Hereward Way 43 miles Extra information Access for all Based upon the Ordnance Survey mapping with The Cambridgeshire countryside is there to be Peterborough to Ely the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty’s enjoyed by EVERYONE. This route follows grassy Stationery Office © Crown. Unauthorised droves which although muddy in winter are firm if reproduction infringes Crown copyright and may uneven underfoot in summer. There are no stiles he Hereward Way Long Distance Footpath Hereward gathered together the English barons lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. and access to sections of the route from the Truns for 110 miles between Oakham in at Ely, protected by the surrounding marsh. He Cambridgeshire County Council Licence number road is good. More information about other and Thetford in . The fenland held out for eight years before the Normans LA 07649X Access for All walks is available on the section runs for 43 miles through some of the finally took his stronghold and Hereward Cambridgeshire County Council website at This leaflet is one of a series produced by lowest land in England, providing an unique vanished with his men into the marsh. www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/environment/ walking experience. Probably one of the most Cambridgeshire County Council to encourage the or always, from the foot of the wolds, the green flat stretched Today his name is given to a long-distance countrysideandrights engineered landscapes in the country, this area use and enjoyment of some of the many public footpath across the land he knew, following both F away, illimitable, to an horizon where, from the roundness of has an ancient and tangible history of flooding, rights of way in Cambridgeshire. We hope you The Hereward Way ancient track through the Cambridgeshire Fens. Come and enjoy it island communities, drainage and agricultural have enjoyed the walks and would appreciate the earth, the distant trees and islands were hulled down like ships The landscape is now quite different from that improvement. This walk is readily accessible by any comments you may have. A long-distance walking route using fenland rights of way Hereward knew, but is still an exhilarating at sea. public transport. Fenland towns offer good wilderness of big skies, beautiful sunsets and Public Rights of Way and Access, Box CC1305, How to get there linking the historic centres of Ely and Peterborough accommodation and refreshment for the traveller. absolute tranquillity. Environment Services, Cambridgeshire County The firm horse-fen lay, bright green, along the foot of the wold; By bus The route is signposted from the roadside, with Council, Castle Court, Castle Hill, Cambridge, Public footpaths link the Hereward Way from beyond it, the browner peat, or deep fen; and amongst that, dark all the signs bearing the logo or name ‘Hereward CB3 0AP Tel 0345 045 5212 Stagecoach in Peterborough 01733 554575 Peterborough to join the at Oakham, Way’. Changes of direction away from the road velvet alder beds, long line of reed-round, emerald in spring; and and from Ely to the southern end of the Peddars www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/environment/ Stagecoach in Cambridge 01223 423578 are marked with yellow waymarks. This leaflet Way near Thetford. The Hereward Way also countrysideandrights golden under autumn sun; shining ‘eas’ or river reaches; broad provides Ordnance Survey mapping of the whole By train links into two circular walks published by route at a scale of 1:25000, from Ordnance © Cambridgeshire County Council. Published XX metes dotted with a million fowl, while the cattle waded along their Cambridgeshire County Council, the Bishops Way Stations in Peterborough, Whittlesey, March Survey Explorer sheets 227 and 228 201X. 3rd Edition. Artwork by 2dgraphic.com at Ely and the Woodmans Way at March. Leaflets and Ely edges after the rich sedge-grass, or wallowed in the mire through Hereward the Wake was an outlawed English are available at libraries, TICs and at the County National Rail Inquiries 08457 484950 the hot summer’s day. nobleman who, in 1071, made a final stand Council website Follow the country code – why? against William the Conquerer on the . Inquiries www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/environment/ Here and there, too, upon the far horizon, rose a tall line of ashen As the Normans lay siege to the island, Because the countryside is a place to be countrysideandrights Cambridgeshire County Council Passenger enjoyed by all; do protect wildlife, plants and trees, marking some island of firm rich soil. In some of them the Transport Inquiries tel. 0345 045 0675 trees, don’t leave rubbish behind don’t disturb huge ashes had disappeared before the axes of the monks; and a others with unnecessary noise. minster tower rose over the fen, amid orchards, gardens, cornfields, Because the countryside is a place of work; do keep to paths and use stiles and gates to cross pastures, with here and there a tree left standing for shade. boundaries; don’t let your dogs disturb stock and don’t interfere with crops or machines. ‘Painted with flowers in the spring’ with ‘pleasant shores

Enjoying the countryside means respecting its embosemed in still lakes’ as the monk-chronicler of Ramsey has life and work. If you don’t, you won’t! it, those islands seemed to such as the monk terrestrial paradises. Overhead the arch of heaven spread more ample than elsewhere.

Hereward the Wake by Charles Kingsley www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk River Nene Peterborough

Peterborough Site of Cathedral lake settlement A605 Morton’s Leam A141 A1139

Whittlesey Twenty Foot River Sixteen Foot Drain Brickworks Christchurch

A605 Woodsman’s Way

A605 Turves A1101 Whittlesey Way March A1139 Welney A141

WWT Visitor Centre

Peterborough City Centre

The Hundred Foot Washes

Westgate Railway A1101 Station

Broadway Midgate Ely City Centre

Shopping Downham Road area To Little

Cowgate Downham Lynn Road Egremont A10

B Bridge Street o Street u ad rg Ro Little Downham e w s illo B kw o ric u P le va Shopping rd Bishops Road We st area Bishop’s Way Fe n R oad C Forehill am br idg Key e Roa Ely Rivergate Theatre d Palace Centre Green Ely Ely Cathedral Cathedral Barton Road Cawdle Way To Broad Street River Nene Whittlesey

A142 Riverside Back hill Barton Road River Ouse

Railway Station