The Fens Attractions

There is a distinct difference between the fertile silt fens near to the coast (marsh) and the peat fens (moor) situated further inland.In the time of Hadrian there were large Roman settlements here engaged in growing corn and winning salt, and the process of draining the Fens was begun by the Romans. Large-scale drainage works were carried out between 1622 and 1656 by a Dutch engineer, Sir Cornelius Vermuyden, thus reclaiming large areas of land for agriculture; in consequence the Fens are now a fertile region growing wheat, sugar beet, vegetables, flowers and potatoes. The drainage system is based on a herringbone pattern of ditches with small channels leading into larger ones and these, in turn, leading into the even larger rivers. Over a period of time the draining off of the water resulted in the moor area sinking so that the peat fens are lower than the silt fens - an example of man changing the natural relief of the land. The water was formerly pumped into the main channels by windmills, as in Holland, and a few windmills can still be seen, for example, at Waltham, Heckington, Alford and Burgh-le-Marsh. Later came steam-driven pumps and these in turn have now been superseded by electric power.The halophyte-covered foreshore between the dike and the sea is now earmarked as a nature reserve. There is a visible break where the mudflats begin. To nature-lovers this tranquil green landscape stretching endlessly away to the horizon offers great attractions, with its rare birds, dragonflies, its grazing cattle and sheep, its wide fields and handsome farmhouses.