West Dereham And Wretton

   I was happy last week to visit two more new fen villages on my list, West Dereham and Wretton. The villages are neighbouring so I was fortunate to have enough time to visit both on the same cycle, a round trip of just over 40 miles.

   West Dereham.

   The village sign of West Dereham shows a coprolite carter for once the parish was rich in such material along with chalk.

   The tiny village of West Dereham is situated 4 miles east of Downham Market. The village has only a small Village Hall and a petrol garage, no shops, public houses or indeed a village school. West Dereham is split into two areas, the main area containing the parish church and cemetery. The church of St Andrew is a typical Norfolk round-tower church dating from the Norman period.

   The porch is elegant and characterful, with one of those Dutch-style gables beloved of the 17th century. The tower is one of Norfolks fattest and is over a meter thick in places, it is crowned by an octagonal bell stage which was added on the eve of the Reformation.

   Wretton

   The village sign is one of the best I've seen on my journey around the fens, the beautifully carved sign shows among other things the Will of Jane Forby, a local widow and woman of fortune. She left provision for the poor of the parish with land for pasture and fuel. Now there is a street named after her in the village.

   The Parish Church of All Saints was built in the 13th century with later restoration including the roof by the Victorians. The church has an amazing crowned tower and is built mainly from Carstone and Flint.

   The church inside is small but there are objects of interest including the wonderful stone carved Font. The windows are of clear plain glass which I must say helps fill this small house of worship with lots of light.

 
 

Two More Villages Ticked Off

   In the last week or two, the weather has been warm and the days long which was ideal for me to explore a few more fen villages on my "To visit" list. The following two villages were the first of these and like many hidden here in the fens they both hold some interesting history.

   Wiggenhall St Mary Magdalen
   This small marshland village sits on the banks of the River Great Ouse and is famous for the tidal bore or wave which can form on the river. Free swimmers, canoers and spectators will often be drawn to experience the spectacle.

   The splendid parish church of St Mary Magdalen stands in the centre of the village. Parts of the church date from the 13th century and there is documentary evidence of the nuns from nearby Crabhouse Priory taking refuge at the church from the flood in the early 13th century. The church is not in the best of conditions but still a great addition to this small parish.

   The Cock Inn public house is located next to the river and would be a welcome rest point for those travelling through the village.

   Watlington

   After passing through Wiggenhall St Mary Magdalen I travelled onto the village of Watlington. This village is rather unusual in that it has a modern railway station. You feel that the village is sitting lost in the marshlands miles from anywhere and then there in front of you is a small modern railway station complete with platforms, ticket machines etc, quite surreal.

   The Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul is medieval with Norman origins and is almost entirely built of Carstone. Luckily this like a lot of fen churches was open and so I had a few minutes exploring the wonderful interior.

   At the centre of the village is the village green opposite which is "The Angel" public house. The village store and post office is also close by.

Emneth

   Just three miles from Wisbech sits the village of Emneth a village I cycle through a lot on my fen travels. The village is stretched out over a long distance and includes Emneth Hungate.

   The parish church of Saint Edmund sits on the main street and a fine example it is too. The chancel date to the 13th century and of course like many other churches in this area it features angel carvings upon the great roof hammerbeams.

   The Rev Wilbert Awdry, the author of "The RailwaySeries" books and creator of "Thomas the Tank Engine" was vicar of Emneth in the 1950s and '60s. Many of his books were written in the old vicarage. There is a modern stained glass window inside the church celebrating his work.
   The village has two village stores, a wonderful family butchers shop and a few other amenities including a nice primary school. On one of my cycles, I noticed a beautiful old Dovecote hidden behind some modern housing on the main village road.

    Every summer the village holds the scarecrow weekend when lots of families decorate their front gardens and cottages with homemade scarecrows, all of which are judged.

   So in all the village of Emneth is well worth a visit and seems to me like a very friendly place like most fen villages I had found.

Outwell

   The fen village of Outwell is really a twin to Upwell, they are joined and are more like one very large parish. Like Upwell, Outwell has a good selection of shops and other amenities.

   Well Creek runs through the middle of the village as it does in Upwell and there too you can sit and watch the leisure boats in the summer months. In Outwell standing close to the old tram depot office is a specially crafted memento to commemorate that famous tram that ran through both Upwell and Outwell.

   The 13th-century parish church of Saint Clement like its fellow church in Upwell has angels carved into the roof timbers and also boasts some stunning medieval stained glass windows. While walking around the church I found some interesting grinning gargoyles.

   The village has a number of Flemish design bridges that cross the Well Creek canal that follows alongside the main road, the expansion of the village dates from the time of the draining of the fens by Dutch engineers. All in all a very laid back relaxing village with plenty of stopping places for those who wish to visit.

Upwell

   For the last 17 years, we have lived here in Upwell, a large village on the Cambridgeshire Norfolk border, a village with a great mix of history and modern, a village occupied still by a large number of Upwell families. To me it reminds me of how my own village in Hertfordshire used to be in the '70s and '80s, the people are friendly, the village has great amenities and when saying "good morning" to folk they answer and smile, sadly not always the case these days.

   For those cycling through Upwell there are some interesting buildings to look at along with the beauty of Well Creek running through the village with banks full of spring bulbs and leisure boats that pass through every summer.

   The 14th-century parish church of St Peter is one that like others in this area boasts an amazing angel timber ceiling with what can only be called the most wonderful angel carvings. The church also has many unusual features such as the Alms slot found in the back wall and the many stone carved gargoyles.

Upwell is also well known for its tramway that took passengers and agricultural produce into Wisbech, the track ran through the centre of both Upwell and Outwell before heading off towards the capital of the fens where produce was sold or dispersed to further locations such as March.
It is said that the Reverend Wilbert Awdry, vicar of neighbouring village Emneth based his famous "Thomas the Tank Engine" books on the Upwell tramway.
So if you are cycling through the village, please remember there are many resting places along the river at which to take a break and to take in a little of the wonderful rural atmosphere that fills this great fen village.

April Brings Summer

   With the arrival of April and the longer evenings at last here I feel really upbeat about the summer ahead and the cycling trips I hope to enjoy. This last week was perfect weather for cycling with the morning sunshine and the hedgerows now alive with birdsong and beautiful blossom, yet after a full week hitting the droves the week before I was stuck inside working and suffering a Spring cold and cough. But with last night being the first night's sleep for a week I feel far better and the cough is easing off every day. So I'll give it a day or two then I'll be out there putting in the miles.

   I've been planning this summers trips starting of course with some nice easy local routes and building up to some nice long rides in June, July and Aug. I have a long list of fen and marshland villages that I wish to visit this year including Ramsey, Sutton, Haddenham and Terrington St Clement and a few towns like Chatteris and Ely.
   In the meantime, I've been reminded I haven't written a post on Upwell the village in which I live so I'll be working on that over the next couple of days along with one on Outwell too.

March Winds

   So the Ides of March as past(15th) and we are told this could be the last day of the non-stop winds we have experienced so far this month, but to be honest I wouldn't hold my breath. I think in these first two weeks of the month I have managed just four cycle trips, with the rains and strong winds really battering the fens of East Anglia.
   I'm hoping Monday will be the start of a long stretch of cycling and the weather will start to look and feel more like the spring we expect.
   While waiting for the weather to turn I've been sorting photographs from the trips of last year, the raw fen farmland, the villages often very small and hidden from sight and the churches that stand tall above the land of marshes and fens. While looking through and editing many many pictures some interesting subjects came to mind. One is the huge and often very elaborately decorated timber church doors, often oak and wearing what can only be described as the most amazing ironwork, in most cases made centuries ago. It's funny, as I've mentioned before I visit these great stone houses not because I'm a religious man, in fact like a lot of people normally I would only enter a church for family weddings or funerals, but because I adore the craftsmanship on display. In the case of these beautiful doors, I often think of those who made them, the carpenters who used saw, chisels and hand plane to work the planks and carve the elaborate frames and the blacksmiths who formed the great bolts, handles and hinges plus the huge rose-head nails that give the timbers their strength.
   Maybe next time you walk past your village church you will just take a few minutes to look at the hard work that went into building them, all by craftsmen who were paid a pittance for their efforts.