Ouse Fen Walk

This walk starts at a "Guided Busway" bus stop in the middle of a wetland lakes Nature Reserve (a former Quarry), and heads towards Ouse Fen, a new wetland nature reserve being carefully created from a working Quarry. Ouse Fen is manicured wetland nature reserve, with what will be the largest area of reedbeds in the country, with lovely dry all weather paths, and slight raised viewpoints with seating. Although lowland, the area is very exposed, so not a walk for a windy day.

Ouse Fen itself is incredibly peaceful, with many birds and wildfowl on the lakes. The paths are lined with wetlands or canals to keep you on the straight and narrow. As more area of the reserve open, this walk will be refined.

The RSPB Ouse Fen website has a link to the current trail map of the reserve. As you can see from the map, only a fraction of the planned reserve, and a linking path along the Ouse, are currently open. But what's already open is still pretty special.

Use extreme caution if using the path adjacent to The Busway, there have been fatalities between cyclists, walkers and the (silent?) buses

Note there is no bridge from Fen Drayton lakes across the River Great Ouse to Holywell, and the Old Ferry Boat Inn

Drivers car park at Ouse Fen avoiding a long walk in from Fen Drayton

Once upon a time, East Anglia was mostly impassable tidal marches and fens, with people constrained to islands of higher ground like the "Isle of Ely".

Then, in 1630, The Earl of Beford, and later, the "Gentlemen Adventurers" (venture capitalists) used Dutch Engineers to design a system of dykes and canals to drain the fens, and create fertile peat farmland, and thus make their fortune.

All went as planned, but soon the fertile peat fields sunk as they dried out, making them marshy again

It wasn't until 1820's, with the Victorians, and steam engines, that the Fens were permanently drained. This radically changed the landscape.

Reclaimed land, the former fens, can be 4m (12 feet) below the level of adjacent drainage canals, and even below mean sea level. This can be clearly seen at the nearby NT Wicken Fen, with area of new fenland below river level.

A large quarry has been operational at what is now Ouse Fen for a number of years. As sand and gravel are extracted, a new bird friendly fenland / wetland nature reserve with footpaths is being created over the past 20 years of a multi-decade plan. Acres of reeds have been planted, and once finished, it will be the largest reed reserve in the country. A large area of new fenland and footpaths is now open. Ouse Fen now links to adjacent reserves and to Fen Drayton Lakes, on the Cambridge - St Ives - Huntingdon "Busway" (part bus on road, part bus on dedicated former railway track)

This walk will change as new areas of the reserve are opened.

By Train and Busway

Catch a train from London Kings Cross to Cambridge North, then change to The Busway to Fen Drayton. The Busway actually starts in Cambridge (which also has slower trains from London Liverpool Street), but its quicker to take the train to Cambridge North. About 1h 50m

Alternatively, take the train from Kings Cross to Huntingdon, and catch The Busway to Fen Drayton from the opposite direction. Slower, about 2h 20m

"The Busway" ( Cambridge Station - Cambridge North Station - Fen Drayton lakes - St Ives - Huntingdon Station) is part bus-on-road, part bus-on-dedicated-former-railway-track. The "Guided Busway" section is from Cambridge North to just beyond Fen Drayton. Tickets [2025] are £3 single.

By Car

There are several access points, the free car park at CB24 5LT is easiest, not far from the M11 Motorway.

After the walk, please leave a comment, it really helps. Thanks!

You can also upload photos to the SWC Group on Flickr (upload your photos) and videos to Youtube. This walk's tags are:

National Rail: 03457 48 49 50 • Traveline (bus times): 0871 200 22 33 (12p/min) • TFL (London) : 0343 222 1234

May-25 Andrew