CrockerTravellers 2015: The Fens

We had a rather slow start to the day and headed off for breakfast at a local cafe.

We packed up and then took off to spend a few days in Ramsey at Patrick and Margaret's house.

On our way we had a look at Huntington.

First we looked at the old bridge.

The town has long been an important bridgehead, with Ermine Street (connecting London to Lincoln and York), as well as various east-west trade routes, crossing the Great Ouse here. Ermine Street would have first crossed the river here via a ford, believed to be some way to the west of the present bridge. Edward the Elder built a wooden bridge in the early 10th century a few yards to the west of the current bridge, and also ordered the nearby Huntingdon Castle to be rebuilt. Until the 1107 construction of the first bridge in St Ives, it is believed that there was no bridge further downstream, and foreign trade would navigate the river as far upstream as Huntingdon.

Responsibility for the bridge's repair was for centuries a matter of dispute. In 1259 a court ruling finally ordered that the county should pay to keep it repaired in return for rendering the bridge toll-free. Nonetheless, the bridge remained in a poorly maintained state, and by 1329 was declared to be in severe danger of collapse.

The current bridge was constructed around 1332, with work starting on both banks or the river. The slight kink near the central pier was a result of the lack of alignment of the two halves. Consisting of six arches and faced with ashlar, the parapets which form recesses for pedestrians, are triangular in shape on the north side, and semi-hexagonal on the south.

We were walking back to the car when we noticed a road sign Castle road and then we were off searching for the castle. This is all that is left, a mound from the Mott and Bailey castle but it was still exciting.

The site was originally occupied by the Saxons. In 1068 a Norman motte and bailey castle was built for William the Conqueror. During the Anarchy the castle was held by David, King of Scotland through his marriage to Maud, 2nd Countess of Huntingdon. He supported Empress Matilda in a battle of succession and the castle was much damaged at this time. However, when the succession was settled, David's son Henry paid homage to King Stephen who in turn gave him the borough of Huntingdon in addition to the castle.

By 1173 the castle was still held by the kings of Scotland, at that time by William the Lion. He had sided with Henry, the rebel son of Henry II, during the Revolt of 1173–1174, and the castle was besieged by Richard de Luci. The siege was taken over by Simon de St. Lis but it did not end until Henry II (who had just performed penance at the tomb of Thomas Becket) arrived at Huntingdon. The siege ended the following day and Henry then ordered that the castle be dismantled.

Parts of the castle did remain, including the chapel, and its ownership passed through a number of hands. The castle was refortified during the Civil War. For a time it served as the county gaol and later a windmill stood on the castle mound. Nothing now remains of the castle itself although the site is a scheduled ancient monument.

We then called into a pub and had some lovely salads for lunch. Perfect temperature out in the garden. Quite idyllic.

Afterwards Margaret, Geoff and I had a look at the old church and houses.

We then drove to Patrick and Margaret's Ramsey house where we were staying for a few days. Time to chill out for a few hours and then off to see Holme Fen

These swans were sucking up the algae on the water very enthusiastically and noisily.

Holme Fen, a national nature reserve near Petersborough has sunk by about four metres since draining work began in the 1850s, leaving it about 2.75 m below sea level.

Now conservationists are hoping to buy up surrounding farmland and stop the drainage, to preserve the area as an important wildlife habitat. We went for a nice walk through the forest.