FINDING FENS, FIELDS & FAIRHAVENS
Cathedrals, a Napoleonic prison and a plesiosaurus… Victor Charles finds Cambridgeshire a curious delight
Cambridgeshire is a county of many delights – dramatic architecture, stunning waterways and wonderful countryside. We enjoyed a summer break at Fields End Water Caravan Park in Doddington, an adults-only site with a small shop, good facilities and excellent fishing lakes.
On our first afternoon there, we decided to visit RSPB Ouse Washes Nature Reserve, where bird hides look out over wetlands. Grebes, herons, cormorants, swans and exotic breeds of duck were clearly enjoying the warm weather.
We heard a bittern booming and saw reed warblers, blue tits, dragonflies and damselflies. (Note that there is a 2.1m height barrier at the car park, so those with taller motorhomes will need to park elsewhere.)
Peterborough and Flag Fen
Next day, we headed into Peterborough – motorhome parking is available at the Brook Street Car Park – to visit the great cathedral, which was built in the 12th century, in the Romanesque style.
The monastic community, founded in the seventh century, came to an end in 1539, when Henry VIII’s Dissolution closed down the monasteries. The abbot, John Chambers, was keen to see the buildings saved, so he cooperated with the process to gain the king’s favour. Two years later, Henry made John a bishop and the abbey church became a cathedral.
Catherine of Aragon and Mary Queen of Scots were both buried there, although Mary’s body was moved to Westminster Abbey in 1612 at the behest of her son, James I. The cathedral boasts gorgeous architecture, and is free to enter.
Our next stop was Peterborough Museum, which surprised us with its scale and diversity, with exhibits from prehistory to modern times.
The displays cover war, the Ice Age, natural history, the progress of surgery (looking back to the days when the building was a hospital), the Napoleonic prisoner of war camp, new industries and the modern world.
For more intriguing local history, just a few miles outside the city is the prehistoric site of Flag Fen, where a Bronze Age causeway was discovered, along with a trove of archaeological finds revealing a great deal about the area.
On the day that we were visiting, a medieval re-enactment event was in full swing, with dozens of tents, and people working on crafts from embroidery to basket-weaving, while others played
