Great Fen

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The Great Fen is a vast fenland landscape between Peterborough and Huntingdon with a dramatic and fascinating history. It’s home to two National Nature Reserves, protected for their unique habitat and the varied wildlife they support, and open for walks and guided activities.

This activity is good for wellbeing because

  • Being out in nature, you can enjoy peace and quiet, escaping the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
  • Children can build confidence in interacting with the natural world.
  • Volunteers get to meet like-minded people while doing something positive for nature and the local community.

How to contact

Where to go

Wildlife Trust Countryside Centre
Chapel Rd
Ramsey
Huntingdon PE26 2RS

Woodwalton Fen
Chapel Rd
Ramsey
Huntingdon PE26 2RS
UK

New Decoy
Holme Rd
Peterborough PE7 3PW
UK

The Great Fen is currently benefiting from one of the largest restoration projects of its type in Europe, and the landscape is being restored and transformed for the benefit both of wildlife and of people. Volunteers are key to this vital work.

An exciting new ground-breaking 5-year project (2023-2027) is ‘Peatland Progress – A New Vision for the Fens’, which brings together the two halves of the Great Fen, an area of land between Peterborough (Holme Fen) and Huntingdon (Wood Walton Fen) and addresses major issues: climate change, the loss of biodiversity, how to get people closer to nature, and health & wellbeing, particularly the mental health of young people. Find out more, including how you can get involved, on this page.

The reserves and two additional sites have a variety of great walks and opportunities to see wildlife, and the Wildlife Trust Countryside Centre has regular events and family activities, learning opportunities for schools and youth groups, and group visits, walks, talks and films, among other things!

You can find out specific activities available at:

Youth Rangers of the Fens
Regular sessions for young people (aged 11-17) to take part in practical conservation tasks and surveys to help wildlife. They meet once every two months on a weekend during term-time, with mid-week sessions in school holidays. Sessions take place at Wildlife Trust sites in Peterborough and the the Great Fen. For more information, please contact Laura Allen on [email protected]

Self-guided walks and wildlife watching are free and open at any time. Some of the trails and activity ideas for children have leaflets available at the visitor centre and printable PDFs online.

At the Centre, there is a mobility scooter – The Tramper – that gets around most of the site, and is free to hire with advance booking.

Volunteers are key to all the work done in the Great Fen. You are always welcome to come and do gardening, restoration, help with activities, and more, with weekly groups or individually when you have time. Find out more on their ‘Volunteer with us’ webpage.

Some activities have a fee to cover costs. These are usually reduced for Wildlife Trust members.

Activities that are subject to a fee include:

  • Workshops
  • Family events
  • Little Bug groups

Contact them direct to find out more, and see what upcoming events are here.

See how to get from the carpark in to the lesson rooms and offices:

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