The Fens Attractions

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 Later came steam-driven pumps and these in turn have now been superseded by electric power.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.