Wicken Fen Nature Reserve

Address: Lode Lane, Wicken, Ely, Cambridgeshire, CB7 5XP

Parking: Reasonable Quantity – £3.20 all day, free for National Trust members

Difficulty: Autumn/Winter – Amber Spring/Summer – Green. We went in January and one or two of the paths were very muddy and slippery, although many were solid and mine.

Wicken Fen is a National Trust run site and is said to be one of Europe’s most diverse wetlands. The reserve supports a wild abundance of wildlife throughout the reserve. Over 10,000 different species have been recorded across the reserve which is made up of a number of individual fens. The include a diverse array of birds, plants and dradonflies.

Wicken Fen was the National Trust’s first nature reserve when they purchased an initial 2 acres of land back in 1899. Since then they have made many more acquisitions. And now the total reserve stands at over 2000 acres of stunning fenland.

We also when we were there opted to do the boardwalk on Sedge Fen. This is a fully accessible 3/4 route that can be accessed through the visitor centre. There is a cost attached to doing this and the woodland walk, which is £10 per adult currently. As part of this there is also a summer nature walk around Sedge Fen included. This additional route runs to a total of 2.25 miles and is great for wildflowers.

This area was originally popular for peat extraction. And you can still see evidence of this today in it’s waterways which have a distinctive peaty look.

The walk round Sedge Fen also means you get to see the windpump. Originally used for draining the land it still runs occasionally today.

Today the fenland is normally pumped by a more modern version, and this was in operation when we visited. Set against a moody looking sky it made quite the impression and I couldn’t resist taking a video.

Lots to see at Wicken Fen

The reality of it is, there is an awful lot to see and do at Wicken Fen. We spent several hours here and covered just over 5 miles. However, there remains large parts of the reserve that we have not seen. We would also merrily come back and see the highland cows that were grazing again. They were adorable!

Facilities

As you would expect with this being a National Trust facilities the site has a good standard of facilities. There are two toilet blocks available for visitors to use. With the one by the visitor centre also including an accessible toilet. Both blocks were clean and well kept.

There is a shop in the visitor centre which sells a variety of items including a number of dog accessories for the well behaved four legged visitor.

The Docky Hut cafe is located next to the visitor centre. This offers a variety of hot and cold drinks, as well as snacks and light meals. There is both indoor and outdoor seating here and they also offer a takeaway facility.

Overall we had a very nice day and would not hesitate to come back again later in the year.