Woodwalton Fen


Woodwalton Fen is a 209 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in the parish of Woodwalton, west of Ramsey in Huntingdonshire, Cambridgeshire. It is a Ramsar wetland site of international importance, a National Nature Reserve, a Special Area of Conservation and a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I. The site is managed by Natural England.

History

One of the first nature reserves to be created in England, Woodwalton Fen was bought by Charles Rothschild in 1910. Rothschild intended to present the site to the National Trust, but they declined it, and it was kept initially as a private nature reserve with a bungalow for the owner to stay in.
The Fen View Heritage Centre opened in 2018.

Geography

The area used to be Great Britain maritime coastline.
The lowest land in Britain is located in the Fen.

Ecology

The site has one of the few remaining ranges of flora characteristic of the East Anglian Fens. There are rare fen plants such as fen wood-rush and fen violet, and ditches have uncommon aquatic plants including bladderwort and water violet.

Threats

As well as being a nature reserve, Woodwalton Fen is used to store winter flood water. There are issues relating to water quality. The flood water entering Woodwalton Fen has high silt and nutrient loads.

Relationship with other East Anglian fens

It is part of a Special Area of Conservation, Fenland SAC, which includes two other fragments of wild fenland in Cambridgeshire: Wicken Fen and Chippenham Fen.
As part of the Great Fen Project, Woodwalton Fen is being connected to Holme Fen via habitat restoration of land which has been under arable cultivation. The Great Fen Project started with the purchase of 82 hectares of land, to the north of Woodwalton Fen in 2002. The Cambridge Geological Society designed the Fen Edge Trail that runs along what used to be the maritime coast of England.

Access

There is access to the reserve from Chapel Road in Ramsey Heights village.