Today, Holme Fen is the largest lowland Once the Mere had been 3 The gamekeeper’s plantation drained, over half the silver birch woodland in England, but it has After the drainage, Holme Fen was not farmed had a very different history. wildlife recorded in the area became extinct here. because it was still too wet and boggy. As it One example was the dried out, Holme Fen turned from reeds to 1 Whittlesea Mere and the Holme Posts Swallowtail butterfly raised bog and then to birch woodland. Swallowtail butterfly. by Matt Berry The ground beneath your feet was once level with 2 Disappearing houses Earlier this century, this area was used for the top of the Holme Posts. At that time, game. In the gamekeeper’s plantation (also One of the most dramatic changes here has been Whittlesea Mere was a short distance away to the know as ‘Ballard’s Covert’) you will see a mix of the drop in ground levels following the drainage, as east. At three miles across, it was a spectacular different trees including oak, birch, and alder. the peat dried out and eroded. Tony Redhead, sight - the largest lake in lowland England. whose family grew up here, remembers some of The variety of trees makes it a good place to You might have come to the effects: hear and see woodland birds, such as Blackcaps, take part in one of the "There was one house, in the 1950s, that had to Woodpeckers and Redpolls. Holme Fen was famous ice skating races be pulled down because you could walk bought for the nation in 1952. (right), or you may have underneath it. The house was up in the air!” come to catch fish or wildfowl to feed your family. Skating race on the Whittlesea Mere Whittlesea Mere was 4 5 one of the last parts of the Fens to be drained. Appold’s Pump (right), 3 the most powerful steam pump of the time was used. It was 2 brought here from the Appold’s Pump 1 6 Great Exhibition in 1851. P “The wind, which of autumn of 1851 was curling the blue water of the lake, in the autumn of 1853 was blowing the same place over fields of yellow corn.” Skertchy (1877) Just before the Mere was drained, the original Holme Post was dug into the ground to measure the effects of drainage on the peat. 4 The charcoal bin Over 99% of the ancient The charcoal bin here was wild fens have been lost used to make charcoal for to drainage because gunpowder during WWII. farming on the peat soils A large part of the wood was very productive. Charcoal burning, was cleared, and as it However, the peat is Young people on a visit by Richard Allen re-grew Nightingales disappearing and in to the Great Fen could sometimes be heard in some places has been the spring. lost forever. By connecting two of 5 Fabulous fungi the last fragments of ancient fen - Holme Fen and As you explore, look out Woodwalton Fen - the Great Fen will protect the for some of the 500 remaining peat and create a stunning area for different types of fungi in people and wildlife. Holme Fen. They do so Holme Fen is a National Nature Reserve and is well here because the managed by Natural England. birches have a short life Discover more trails, local stories, photos and Fly Agaric, span of around 80 film on the Great Fen website, or please get in by Terry Brignall years, so there are Photo: Post c1920, Holme courtesy of Huntingdon Archive touch with the team. many decaying trees. 6 The future Great Fen team If you take a look at the Tel: 01487 710420 Discovery Trail: drain, you can see how Email: [email protected] The Lost Lake and other low the water is. This The Wildlife Trust Countryside Centre, Chapel poses problems for the Road, Ramsey Heights, PE26 2RS. (usually staffed Holme Histories ancient fen species 9am-4pm Mon-Fri). Ancient fen plants that survive here, Website www.greatfen.org.uk are drying out Holme Fen National which rely on moist peat soils. For any enquiries directly relating to the Nature Reserve Holme Fen has been literally ‘high and dry’, National Nature Reserve please contact Natural Distance: 1.7 Km (1 mile) because the surrounding farmland has been England: 01487 812363. getting lower and lower each year, as more peat is Approx: 1 hour lost due to exposure with the air. This trail guide is also available in large print on the Great Fen website. This trail is Heritage Lottery Funded www.greatfen.org.uk .