Cambridgeshire

Wicken Fen boardwalk trail

A lady and a boy walk along the boardwalk at Wicken Fen, beside the windpump — A family enjoying the Wicken Fen boardwalk | © National Trust Images/ James Beck

Take a short walk around the boardwalk at Wicken's ancient Sedge Fen, a unique remnant of undrained fenland, and you could spot hen harriers in winter, rare fen flowers in spring and summer, and amazing fenland sunsets year-round.

Near to

Wicken Fen National Nature Reserve

Start point

Wicken Fen visitor centre, Lode Lane, Wicken, Ely, Cambridgeshire CB7 5XP. Grid ref: TL563705.

Trail information

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Difficulty*

Accessibility**

Full trail

DistanceMiles: 0.7 (km: 1.12)

Duration 50 mins

Dog friendly***

*Suitable for wheelchairs, buggies and pushchairs. Can get wet and muddy. For further details, please see Terrain section.
**Suitable for buggies, mobility scooters and wheelchairs. For further details, please see section marked Access.
***Assistance dogs only. For further details, please see section marked Facilities.

Address
Wicken Fen National Nature Reserve, Lode Lane, Wicken, Cambridgeshire CB7 5XP.
Directions via Google Maps
By train
Ely train station (9 miles or 15km from Wicken Fen).
By bus
No.12 Cambridge–Ely: alight Soham High St, then 3 miles (5km) on footpaths to Wicken.
Cycling
NCN 11 from Ely, NCN 51 from Cambridge connecting with NCN 11 (Lodes Way) at Bottisham.
By road
South of Wicken (A1123), 3 miles west of Soham (A142), 9 miles south of Ely, 17 miles northeast of Cambridge via A10.
Total stages: 5
Total stages: 5
Start point
Wicken Fen visitor centre, Lode Lane, Wicken, Ely, Cambridgeshire CB7 5XP. Grid ref: TL563705.
Stage 1
Starting from the visitor centre, turn right onto the boardwalk trail, heading towards the windpump.
Birdwatching at sunset at Wicken Fen, Cambs | © National Trust/Nick Palmer
Stage 2
Follow the boardwalk in the direction of the windpump. Before the advent of steam and diesel pumping engines, windpumps were the main method used to drain turf pits and fields.
Wooden windpump
This wooden windpump was originally located near Harrison's Drove on the edge of Adventurers' Fen, and was one of six used to drain the turf pits in the latter part of the 19th century, where it was used to drain peat workings. It was moved here in 1956, and restored in the 1960s. Lord Fairhaven of nearby Anglesey Abbey paid for much of the restoration. Today it is the last working wooden windpump in the fens.
Reeds and windpump beyond at Wicken Fen | © National Trust Images/Arnhel de Serra
Stage 3
From the windpump continue on the boardwalk and then turn left through the carr (a wet woodland of mainly willow and alder, the name deriving from the old Norse 'kjarr', meaning a swamp), and then eventually crossing the vast open expanse of Sedge Fen.
Stage 4
Take a moment to pop into the Boardwalk Hide, up the path to your right. From here you can look out over sedge fields, cut every four years, as well as beyond towards Verrall's Fen in the distance. There is lots of information in the hide about the different habitats at the Fen. As you continue on the Boardwalk, you cross over one of the many ditches on the Sedge Fen. Look out for the top of the Tower Hide visible in the distance over the sedge fields to your right. It is thatched with sedge.
Stage 5
When you get to the lode bank, you can turn right to look out across Wicken Lode's junction with Monk's Lode. You can sense that the Sedge Fen where you are is on higher ground than the land on the other side of the lodes, where drainage has resulted in the peat shrinking. Turn to the left to follow the boardwalk back to the visitor centre. In summer when the summer nature trail is open (red dashed path on the map) you can turn right along the grass path to visit the Tower Hide. (The grass path and the Tower Hide are not accessible.) Alternatively, turn left to follow the boardwalk back to the Visitor Centre.
End point
Wicken Fen visitor centre, Lode Lane, Wicken, Ely, Cambridgeshire CB7 5XP. Grid ref: TL563705.
Trail map
Map route for Wicken Fen boardwalk trail walk | © © Crown copyright and database rights 2013 Ordnance Survey
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