Meres, rivers, and vast treacherous fens...

As you cycle south towards the village of Farcet you'll learn about the old course of the River Nene where you can imagine what Whittlesey Mere would have looked like when it was once one of the largest lakes in England!

From the Key Theatre, cycle east along the river embankment before taking the left hand fork to gently climb up to the Frank Perkins Parkway and turning right over the River Nene. Coming off the bridge turn left under the Parkway past the Church then right into Church Street. Continuing south you join South Street leading into Whittlesey Road at the roundabout. Keeping off road on the cycle lane this leads to an underpass and you emerge on the Peterborough Road to Farcet.

Join the carriageway, cycle for approximately 1 mile into the village of Farcet and turn left down St Mary's Street. At the bottom of the hill the road turns sharp right and becomes Cross Street. At this bend turn left off the road onto the Green Wheel cycle route and follow the cycle path along to the Old Course of the River Nene.

The Green Wheel cycle route near Farcet

The story of Fenland drainage is long and complex. One important chapter serves to illustrate the huge changes that reclamation brought to local people and the environment. Whittlesey Mere, south-east of Yaxley, was once one of the largest lakes in England (at up to around 1,200 hectares in extent). Never more than a few feet deep and fringed by expansive reed beds, it supported important fisheries that yielded huge catches for the abbeys of Peterborough, Thorney, and Ramsey. Sailing regattas and skating matches were regularly held on the mere until its drainage by steam pump in the 1850s. Whittlesey Mere is now rich arable land. There are now tractors and combine harvesters where once there were leisure boats, trading lighters, and wildfowlers' punts.

The Old Nene once ran through Whittlesey Mere on its meandering course across the fens to Ramsey, March, Wisbech, and the sea. Neither the course of this river, or its successor, our modern day ruler-straight River Nene reflect the shifting tree-like drainage pattern of the prehistoric fenland rivers and creeks.