Wicken Fen
View allAll Photos Tagged wicken
Wicken Fen in Cambridgeshire is one of England’s very few remaining pieces of original fenland. It is a protected wetland site of international standing. The wind pump here, a smock mill, was originally at nearby Adventurer’s Fen and is the last survivor of the many thousands that once dotted the fenlands.
A fen is a waterlogged place with reeds and other plants growing in standing water, beneath which are peats and, nearer the sea, marine silts. These flat wetlands were interspersed by islands (like Ely) carrying villages and small towns. Transport was by boat.
That was the original Fenland. Much of what is now called the Fens in eastern England is a modern landscape. The original fenland was drained from 1629 onwards by Dutch engineers to give very rich farmland.
An unexpected long-term result was that the underlying peat beds dried out and shrank. Fields sank by 2m or so and became lower than the drainage channels and rivers! Continuous pumping was then needed - first by wind pumps like this survivor at Wicken. Eventually the picturesque windpumps were replaced by steam power, then by diesel or electrically driven pumps.
Wicken Fen in Cambridgeshire is one of England’s very few remaining pieces of original fenland. It is a protected wetland site of international standing. The wind pump here, a smock mill, was originally at nearby Adventurer’s Fen and is the last survivor of the many thousands that once dotted the fenlands.
A fen is a waterlogged place with reeds and other plants growing in standing water, beneath which are peats and, nearer the sea, marine silts. These flat wetlands were interspersed by islands (like Ely) carrying villages and small towns. Transport was by boat.
That was the original Fenland. Much of what is now called the Fens in eastern England is a modern landscape. The original fenland was drained from 1629 onwards by Dutch engineers to give very rich farmland.
An unexpected long-term result was that the underlying peat beds dried out and shrank. Fields sank by 2m or so and became lower than the drainage channels and rivers! Continuous pumping was then needed - first by wind pumps like this survivor at Wicken. Eventually the picturesque windpumps were replaced by steam power, then by diesel or electrically driven pumps.
Wicken Fen in Cambridgeshire is one of England’s very few remaining pieces of original fenland. It is a protected wetland site of international standing. The wind pump here, a smock mill, was originally at nearby Adventurer’s Fen and is the last survivor of the many thousands that once dotted the fenlands.
A fen is a waterlogged place with reeds and other plants growing in standing water, beneath which are peats and, nearer the sea, marine silts. These flat wetlands were interspersed by islands (like Ely) carrying villages and small towns. Transport was by boat.
That was the original Fenland. Much of what is now called the Fens in eastern England is a modern landscape. The original fenland was drained from 1629 onwards by Dutch engineers to give very rich farmland.
An unexpected long-term result was that the underlying peat beds dried out and shrank. Fields sank by 2m or so and became lower than the drainage channels and rivers! Continuous pumping was then needed - first by wind pumps like this survivor at Wicken. Eventually the picturesque windpumps were replaced by steam power, then by diesel or electrically driven pumps.
Wicken Fen in Cambridgeshire is one of England’s very few remaining pieces of original fenland. The wind pump here, a smock mill, was originally at nearby Adventurer’s Fen and is the last survivor of the many thousands that once dotted the fenlands.
A fen is a waterlogged place with reeds and other plants growing in standing water, beneath which are peats and, nearer the sea, marine silts. These flat wetlands were interspersed by islands (like Ely) carrying villages and small towns. Transport was by boat.
That was the original Fenland. Much of what is now called the Fens in eastern England is a modern landscape. The original fenland was drained from 1629 onwards by Dutch engineers to give very rich farmland.
An unexpected long-term result was that the underlying peat beds dried out and shrank. Fields sank by 2m or so and became lower than the drainage channels and rivers! Continuous pumping was then needed - first by wind pumps like this survivor at Wicken. Eventually the picturesque windpumps were replaced by steam power, then by diesel or electrically driven pumps.
Wicken Fen:
www.flickr.com/photos/lesc/albums/72177720300900318
Windmills and pumps:
Wicken fen
A boggy fenland ride in October. Taken at Wicken Fen nature reserve in Cambridgeshire, England. It is one of my favourite places, full of big skies and huge, wide open space
Taken for the group "Smile on Saturday" - Nature is an artist. The reflections, light and shade of the picture is the work of nature all set up to enable me to take this image.
A female reed bunting (I think) seen at Wicken Fen Nature Reserve near Cambridge... but after a suggestion from Philip Male I think it could well be a whinchat...
HFF!
Sorry it was a rather dull day when we visited.
Wicken Fen's iconic windpump stands on the edge of Sedge Fen, a reminder of the former peat digging industry which was once widespread in the Fens.
Before the advent of steam and diesel pumping engines, windpumps were the main method used to drain turf pits and fields.
Originally located near Harrison's Drove on the edge of Adventurers' Fen, the windpump was one of six used to drain the turf pits in the later part of the nineteenth century.
With the collapse of the turf digging industry it fell into disrepair, but was rescued from dilapidation, dismantled, extensively restored, and moved to its current location in 1956. Much of the restoration was paid for by Lord Fairhaven, the former owner of nearby Anglesey Abbey, and carried out by local wheelwright, C.J.Ison.
We've recently undertaken a major project to conserve the pumps waterwheel. Over the years the wood had deterioted in the wet environment and needed replacing. Experts from Dorothea Restorations removed the wheel and salvaged the original metal work fittings.
A new wheel was constructed, the original metal fittings attached, and then re-installed in the windpump. The project cost approximately £13,000, and will secure the long-term operational future of this iconic windpump.
Instead of draining water from the fen, today the windpump is set up to pump water from a nearby ditch onto Sedge Fen.
Wicken Fen
Walking on a sunnny day in the Wicken Fen National Trust lands in Cambridgeshire, England, I took this picture of one of the many rush bordered streams, its surface a mirror for the beautiful day,
Wicken Fen is a large expanse of fenland managed by the National Trust to keep it as true fenland. In the background is one of the old windpumps that was used to drain the area. The highland cow in the foreground is one of a small herd that grazes the fields and tolerates the cold winds that blow across the flat land.
The 19th Century wind pump in the distance has recently been restored by the National Trust. It is what was used before the steam or diesel pumps to drain the fens to enable peat to be dug for heating. Whilst not in constant use today it is in action sometimes during the summer, providing it is windy enough.