The web site for information about the Cathedral City of Ely in the U.K.

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BBC Countryfile In Ely: Wicken Fen

Published Sunday, March 25th, 2007 by Karl Bedingfield

Earlier in the week we published video of Ely Cathedral from BBC’s popular rural program Countryfile, that was based in Ely recently. As promised here is the second segment featuring the wetland reserve at Wicken Fen.

Four hundred years ago the cathedral city of Ely was an island surrounded by wetlands but all that changed when the fens were drained to create farm land. Now the National Trust is hoping to reverse that trend by acquiring agricultural land to extend Wicken Fen and thus restore this traditional habitat.

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Wicken Fen is one of the last remaining undrained fenlands in East Anglia. The reedbeds, fen meadows, sedge fields and scrub offer a superb range of habitats for the 7000 species that live here. A visit to the Fen Cottage takes you back to the turn of the 20th Century. There is a 3/4 mile boardwalk for easy year round access and a raised dipping pond for wheelchair users and toddlers.

For more information visit the Wicken Fen website or the National Trust.

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