National Character Area 46
The Fens - Summary and Headline Statements of Environmental Opportunity
Summary
The Fens National Character Area (NCA) is a distinctive, historic and human-influenced wetland landscape lying to the west of the Wash estuary, which formerly constituted the largest wetland area in England. The area is notable for its large-scale, flat, open landscape with extensive vistas to level horizons. The level, open topography shapes the impression of huge skies which convey a strong sense of place, tranquillity and inspiration. One per cent of the NCA falls within the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
It is a large, low-lying, flat landscape with many drainage ditches, dykes and rivers that slowly drain towards the Wash, England’s largest tidal estuary. The single obvious factor uniting the Fens is the low-lying, level terrain reflecting its geological past. With the exception of the Isle of Ely, which reaches above 20 m, elevations rarely pass the 10 m contour, and typically vary by little more than one or two metres over long distances. Much of the land is below sea level, relying on pumped drainage and the control of sluices at high and low tides to maintain its agricultural viability. The level horizons and the huge scale of the landscape create a strong sense of isolation and tranquillity, and a distinctive sense of place. There are, typically, large open panoramas and enormous skies, whose changing weather patterns have a strong influence on the observer. Four major rivers drain into the Wash: the Witham, Welland, Nene and Great Ouse. All rivers now have artificial canalised courses that run straight for long distances and are bounded by high banks to contain the watercourse from the lower adjacent fields.
The Fens are the bread basket of Britain. The drainage of this area from the 17th century onwards presented valuable soils which provide excellent conditions for large-scale cultivation of arable and horticultural crops; holdings of more than 100 ha make up 77 per cent of farmed land. As cultivation techniques have become more intensive, however, the soil resource is increasingly diminished through desiccation and erosion. Clays and silts laid down by marine incursions dominate the area abutting the Wash and extend inland along the rivers, forming the fertile horticultural soils of the silt fens. This area is now marginally higher in altitude than the inland peatlands which have ‘wasted’. The fertile peat soils have been historically drained and managed to support national food production at the expense of other ecosystem services. Drained peat is more vulnerable to loss, particularly where the deposits are deep and the water table is kept artificially low. Peat wastage through shrinkage, oxidation and wind erosion is a long-term issue affecting the ecosystem services of the Fens.
The Wash includes salt marsh and mudflats that support large, internationally important populations of seals, waders and wildfowl, including pink-footed and Brent geese, shelduck, knots, oystercatchers, common terns and various plover species. It is accordingly designated a Ramsar site, a Special Area of Conservation (SAC), a Special Protection Area (SPA), a European Marine Site (EMS), a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), a National Nature Reserve (NNR) and a Local Nature Reserve (LNR). Other important wetland habitats include areas of relic old fen, washland, rivers, drains and a network of lesser drainage channels known locally as ditches, dykes or sewers.
Several SSSI in the Fens are designated for their buried interest – a geological record contained in the sediments of the Wash basin and fenland – making an important contribution towards our understanding of the effects of climate and environmental change over millions of years. Also, the Oxford Clay and Kings Dyke brick pit have been very important for palaeontology, with major Jurassic reptiles including the pliosaur Pachycostasaurus dawnii unearthed here. Leedsichthys, the world’s largest fish, was discovered in these sediments and is still being unearthed from them.
There is a long history of human occupation here, accounts of which can be found in the Historic Environment Records for Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and Lincolnshire. Early prehistoric sites are mostly deeply buried beneath the fen sediments or occur on the low slopes of the higher fen ‘islands’. Scheduled Ancient Monuments of prehistoric to post-medieval date are located across the fens and many undesignated sites and monuments are known, again mainly from the fen edges and islands. However, Flag Fen is a site of international importance – a preserved, wooden, bronze-age platform and causeway crossing the marsh to the east of the Peterborough fen edge, off which votive deposits (symbolising a wish, desire or prayer) of bronze and iron tools, weapons and decorative items were thrown into the marsh.
Ancient remains of settlements or task sites are increasingly being discovered as the peat dries out across the fenland area, or through development – for example eight log boats were found in an ancient river channel along with associated riverside settlements at Whittlesey, and numerous artefact scatters of prehistoric to Roman sites are annually ploughed up where the peat is thinnest on the gravel island edges and emerging crests. The impressive Ely Cathedral is a major landmark dominating the Cambridgeshire peat fen from its location atop the Isle of Ely, as is ‘Boston Stump’ (St Botolph’s Church, Boston) in the Lincolnshire silt fen, while similar island-top locations were also used for monastic and secular establishments across the fenland region (such as Ramsey, Thorney, Crowland and Chatteris). Lodes, slades and canals historically formed the early transport opportunities across the fens, commencing after the Roman conquest of Britain but increasingly in the late Saxon and medieval periods.
Authors Sir Harry Godwin and H.C. Darby have written major works on the Fens, and Rex Sly has chronicled the history of the Fens from Roman times until the present and written about fenland families and life in a series of three books published in the 2000s. Chris Gerrard has authored a book of work by fenland artists showcasing the landscapes and biodiversity of the Fens.
Although many of the Fens waterways are heavily embanked, limiting views across the landscape, water-based recreation is a popular pastime with a focus at Ely marina. Angling is popular here.
Headline Statements of Environmental Opportunity (SEO)
See the Statements of Environmental Opportunity section for more details on the headlines listed below.
SEO 1
Manage the agricultural landscape and soils which allow the Fens to be a major provider of food and horticultural produce, while seeking to enhance opportunities for biodiversity.
SEO 2
Manage the core wetland complexes and increase their connectivity by enhancing the main rivers, waterways and their associated riparian habitats and improve recreational access opportunities to the Fens.
SEO 3
Plan for the creation of new coastal landscapes in the Wash area that are adapted and resilient to the impact of climate change, for the benefit of people and wildlife.
SEO 4
Conserve, manage and enhance the Fens landscape and increase educational opportunities to access its geodiversity, archaeology and cultural heritage to enhance enjoyment and understanding for those who live and work in and visit the Fens.
