Fenland's Big Skies

A landscape that is as flat and bare as the Fens may seem a dull and uninteresting prospect for a walk, but in fact there is much more to this unique place than first meets the eye, and what you see now isn't the way it looked in the distant past. Ancient tree trunks known as bog oaks are periodically uncovered from the peaty soil, proving that this apparently tree-less country once presented a totally different scene.

Until 400 years ago the Fens remained an unwelcoming swampy and impenetrable landscape which local outlaws and tribesmen such as Hereward the Wake, who led his rebels against the invading Normans, could make their own. Small communities such as Manea developed on the pockets of higher ground - the 'ea' suffix is derived from the Anglo-Saxon 'ig' meaning island.

Systematic draining did not begin until the 17th century, when the 4th Earl of Bedford turned to Dutch engineer Cornelius Vermuyden to repeat his successful work in the Netherlands. The result was a direct, 20-mile (32km) cut known as the Old Bedford River, which sliced through the lands south and east of Manea taking the winter floodwaters out to the Wash. A rapidly expanding series of drains and dykes followed, gradually turning the ancient bog and swamp into fertile agricultural land, with many of these artificial rivers named after their original width (the New Bedford River is also known as the Hundred Foot Drain, for instance).

But not everyone agreed with the draining of the Fens, however, and there was determined opposition from the 'Fen Tigers', those wildfowlers and marshmen whose livelihoods depended on the traditional Fenland way of life. Even after the drains and dykes became permanent fixtures there were still, until quite recently, occasional throwbacks to another era. When transport and communication proved difficult, particularly for remote communities during the winter floods, the so-called Floating Church would go from hamlet to village providing religious services. The converted barge was still in use into the early years of the 20th century, when it spent two years tied up at Welches Dam, near Manea, which you visit on this walk.

An early supporter of the ambitious drainage scheme was King Charles I, who owned 12,000 acres (4,860ha) of wetland surrounding Manea. He backed the enterprise of the early speculators to such an extent that he even took the lead in designing a new capital for the Fens. Complete with a royal palace for himself, it was to be sited near Manea and would be called Charlemont. Alas, he lost his head before the dream was realised.

Where to eat and drink

The Rose and Crown pub on Manea's High Street generally serves food lunchtime and evening, and there's a fish and chip shop on Station Road. At the time of writing the Ship Inn at Purls Bridge was up for sale and its opening times subject to change. Beer connoisseurs should visit the Rose and Crown in nearby March, which has sold over 800 different real ales to date.

What to look for

The area around Manea is sometimes known as the Black Fens, because of its dark-coloured soils which are chiefly derived from peat. The high-yielding land means that intensive arable farming dominates, with very little livestock. As you walk through the vast, hedgeless fields look about you - depending on the time of year you may see huge fields of onions, potatoes, cereals, sugar beet, carrots or oilseed rape.

While you're there

The Wisbech and Fenland Museum in the centre of Wisbech has a fascinating display exploring the landscape and history of the Fens. The museum, housed in a purpose-built Victorian building with many of its period fixtures and fittings, has other wide-ranging displays and exhibits that include the original manuscript of Charles Dickens's Great Expectations and an ivory chess set that once belonged to Louis XIV.