Fen Washes

   One of the great yearly occurrences here on the fens is the flooding of the fen washes and luckily I live only around ten miles away, so with winter here and the washes starting to flood I thought it was time I took some pictures and included them here on the blog.

   Firstly the Welney washes for me are a perfect distance for a short winter cycle, the roads are not too busy and there is an option of routs home. Secondly, Welney really is the home of fen tigers, those who lived their lives on the washes were hard people and I mean hard. If you go visit the Welney washes this time of year when the water meadows are looking more like a huge lake that covers mile after mile of land, you will get a sense of just how difficult it was for the fen folk of old to make a living there. We hear stories of the ice skaters who enjoyed the washes when frozen but we don't hear as much of those who lived there and had to feed themselves and in most cases their large families from the washes, laying flat in punts hunting wild foul with those fabulous long punt guns, trapping eels as well as fishing the deep drains and rivers and catching hare and rabbit for the pot along with the vegetables grown on their small pieces of land. I have spoken to fen tigers who were as children presented with sparrow pies on many occasions and would feed upon songbirds also.
   You hear of the tiny damp cottages in which they lived, many times flooded in winter, so much so their furniture was raised on blocks. And then let's remember those small homes being punched by the severe winds that are second to none and that includes those of many parts of the North of England.

   So if you get the chance why not visit the winter fen washes and think of those who struggled in the hard conditions many many years ago, you will I promise fully understand why these people were known as "Fen Tigers"