Natural beauty evaluation table for: Great Ouse Valley and Washes (GOV&W)
Factor
Example sub-factor
Landscape Intactness of the
quality
landscape in visual,
functional and
ecological
perspectives
Example Indicator
Comments
The Great Ouse Valley & Washes area is
Characteristic natural and
man-made elements are well composed of several different Landscape
Character Types, each linked by the influence of
represented throughout
water which considered together form a unique
and singular landscape in the UK. The
predominantly flat land, much of which varies little
more than a few metres above or below sea-level,
contains large, flood-plain meadows and washland
(wet grassland), immense networks of wetland
habitats (rivers, backwaters, lakes, drains, ditches,
reed-bed and carr), with fringes of woodland and
arable fen fields.
The large-scale, open landform is so visually intact
that it is seemingly unending. This is the area’s
dominant characteristic. The combination of wide,
towering skies and extensive vistas to level
horizons make for an immensely powerful
landscape that can be both physically and
intellectually challenging.
Almost all the landscape is intact per se because,
although it is a constantly managed landscape,
man is marginalised here; the area continues to be
defined by the reach of the floods. Thus habitation
is set back around the edges of the landscape and
much of it is empty of roads – the roads travel
around the valley and washes, not through them,
and the river crossings are limited.
The main, constant feature is the River Great Ouse,
its varying form being representative of the differing
nature of the landscape along its route. The
braiding of the river and backwaters between St
Ives and Offord is evidence of diversions and leats
References
2013, Ouse Washes Landscape Character
Assessment; SheilsFlynn.
(N.B. This Assessment covers the area
from Downham Market to the eastern edge
of St Ives.
The area from St Ives to Paxton – part of
the Ouse Valley – is yet to be assessed)
Natural England, NCA 46: The Fens
NCA 88: The Bedfordshire &
Cambridgeshire Claylands
Factor
Example sub-factor
Example Indicator
Comments
References
for the medieval watermills. At the trading
settlements of Godmanchester and St Ives the river
was widened and shaped to create a ‘port basin’.
Beyond Earith are the myriad man-made drainage
channels, the largest and most strategically
important being the17th century Old and New
Bedford Rivers with their embankments.
In the valley, the vast, open areas of flood-plain
meadows dominate the landscape and provide
strong visual cohesion. The meadows are
traditionally maintained and protect the surrounding
settlements and arable land from flooding.
The 32km corridor of the washland between the
Bedford Rivers is a remnant of historic fen and is
now managed for nature conservation.
conservation alongside its function as a flood relief
basin.
The large clusters of lakes created by sand and
gravel extraction are now a distinct entity and will
increase by up to a further 700ha over the next 20
years. The ‘Great Ouse Wetland’ network of lakes
with surrounding wet grassland and wet woodland,
and the washlands, totals more than 3000ha. This
will also increase as sites of arable land alongside
the Bedford Rivers are converted to wet grassland
to compensate for sea inundation and erosion on
the East Anglian coast. Together these habitats will
comprise the largest inland wetland area in the UK.
The continuous, contiguous nature of these wellrepresented features provides functional and
ecological connectivity and intactness.
The nearby Great Fen Project and Wicken Vision,
two expanding wet fen restoration initiatives, further
complement and raise the importance of the
functional and ecological connections of the area.
An estimate of the flood-plain meadow area
is 2800ha
An estimate of the washland area is
2500ha
An estimate of the current lakes area is
1300ha, with an additional 700ha to be
created
English Heritage, Environment Agency,
Natural England, RSPB, Wildlife Trust
(2008): A 50 year Vision for Wetlands
RSPB, (2009-10) : The Great Ouse
Wetland - Space for Nature, Land for Life
Fens for the Future (2012), A Strategic
Plan for Fenland: A Proposal for an
Enhanced Ecological Network
Factor
Example sub-factor
Example Indicator
Comments
The condition of the
landscape’s features
and elements
Landscape elements are in
good condition
The main landscape features of the Ouse Valley
are largely either in good condition (the river and
some meadows), or in such condition that they are
Doody, Patrick J: Lowland Floodplain
relatively easily restored (e.g. grasslands with
meadow report
fertiliser and herbicide management), or in the
process of being created, evolving and maturing
(lakes and reed-bed). The fact that so much of the
proposed area is considered worthy of local,
national and international conservation
designations supports this.
The Ouse Washes area is an intensively managed
landscape for conservation, most of which (with the
exception of the Washes themselves) bears little
relation to the former natural environment. Much of
the land is vulnerable, being below sea-level, and
relies on pumped drainage and the control of
sluices.
The influence of
incongruous features
or elements (whether
man-made or natural)
on the perceived
natural beauty of the
area
Incongruous elements are
not present to a significant
degree, and are not visually
intrusive, have only localised
influence or are temporary in
nature.
The 8 wind turbines at Graveley can be seen in the
distance from the southern Ouse Valley from
Huntingdon, but the majority of the area is largely
free from visually intrusive pylons and turbines.
The bridge of the Ely to Peterborough railway
across the Washes, the embankment of the East
Coast railway line at the edge of Portholme, the
A14 viaduct across the Ouse and the East Coast
mainline railway alongside the river at the Offords
all interrupt the landscape, but are of a localised
nature.
A guided busway, running between St Ives and
Cambridge on the route of an abandoned railway
line, crosses the river near St Ives and runs
through part of the lakes’ area. This quiet, new
transport system also provides a cycle route and
pathway which accesses the nature Reserves and
References
Factor
Example sub-factor
Example Indicator
Comments
is seen as a very positive attribute to the area. It is
an unobtrusive feature with very few buildings or
signs associated with it.
As a result of man’s continuing intervention, the
intensive drainage and erosion of the peat, the
rivers that cross the fens are now perched high
above the level of the surrounding farmland and
are enclosed by steep embankments. Here, in
striking symmetry, there is beauty in form and
function. The enclosed, parallel Bedford Rivers are
man-made elements in the landscape but yet, they
are also the defining elements of a landscape,
without which it would not exist.
Scenic
quality
A distinctive sense of Landscape character lends a The area is unique. It is distinctive. There is an
place
clear and recognisable sense unquestionably strong sense of place.
of place
Overall it is a low-lying landscape of great
expanses of wet grassland and lakes, connected
by the thread of the River Great Ouse and Bedford
Rivers.
This is a marginal land, constantly maintained by
complex modern and historic drainage systems that
have determined its form and use.
The landscape is immediately recognisable as East
Anglian. Horizons seem limitless and huge skies
reach down to the open stretches of flat lands and
take over from where hills might be. But without
intervening hills, the sunrises and sunsets are
spectacular as are the broad, dark night skies
mostly distant from the artificial light sources of
towns and cities. Huge skies reach down to the
open stretches of flat lands and take over from
where hills might be.
References
Factor
Example sub-factor
Striking landform
Example Indicator
Comments
Landform shows a strong
sense of scale or contrast
This is a horizontal and linear landscape – not
vertical.
The land stretches in wide, flat meadows; the
embankments are long and straight.
The only hills that interrupt the expanses of level
land are: in the Washes area, the adjacent Fen
isles (barely 20m above sea level), and, in the
Ouse Valley, Houghton Hill (30m above sea-level).
Such a vast expanse of flat, low-lying landscape is
striking, almost surreal. It seems nearer to the sea
than to the land – which in fact it is, despite the
geographical distance.
There are striking landform
types or coastal
configurations
Visual interest in
Land cover and vegetation
patterns of land cover types form an appealing
pattern or composition in
The River Great Ouse and its floodplains provide
the most significant and prolific landform in the
area. The extent of the sequence and scale of the
flood-plain meadows in the Ouse valley is striking.
The 20 mile long Washes are the largest area of
frequently flooded (an average of 22 days per year)
grazing land in Britain.
The area already boasts a vastness of water
greater than the Norfolk Broads (1300ha c.f.
915ha) – and this is still increasing as new
wetlands are created from the gravel extractions
sites.
But during winter, the boundaries and contrast
between water and land diminish as the flood
waters engulf the meadows – and then they too are
of a striking scale. The winter floods never cease to
cause amazement from visitors who wonder how
people can live here.
In the absence of hills, an overview from the air is
needed to comprehend the vast quantity of
wetland, made up of the river, the linear drainage
systems, the new lakes and the swathes of winter
References
Factor
Example sub-factor
Appeal to the senses
Example Indicator
relation to each other and/or
to landform which may be
appreciated from either a
vantage point or as one
travels through a landscape
Comments
References
Strong aesthetic qualities,
reflecting factors such as
scale and form, degree of
openness or enclosure,
colours and textures,
simplicity or diversity, and
ephemeral or seasonal
interest
Overall this is a strong landscape that requires a
strong emotional response. Much of it does not fit
the usual conventions of beauty - rugged and
It is said that any fool can love mountains,
mountainous, or soft and pretty. It is an open and
but that flat lands require a connoisseur
dramatic landscape made even flatter by an
overwhelming sky supplying an ever-changing
background to the wide vistas.
The remoteness and isolation of the open
landscape, particularly the Washes, can be uplifting
and provide a sense of escape from ordinary life
and its pressures. It can also be daunting. There is
a spirit of this place imbued in its inhabitants who
live close to the land – a resilience, vigilance and
independence.
floods.
Travelling through the area on foot, or by boat,
bicycle or horse one can appreciate various
juxtapositions: the vegetation of the wet landscape
with that of the dry - the reed and rush fringes of
the river and backwaters encircling the flower-filled
flood-plain meadows; the large area of ridge and
furrow on Godmanchester Eastside Common and
its adjacent hay meadows and wild hedges; shelter
belts of trees and pockets of woodland and also the
groupings of mature and specimen trees around
the settlements: traditional osier beds, the carrs
around the lakes and willows along the river and on
its islands.
The area around St Ives, Houghton and the
Hemingfords has more enclosed edges to the flood
plain. Here the scenery is quite picturesque. The
woodlands and hay meadows along the river and
the Thicket path are quintessentially ‘old England’;
this is one the best-loved walks in the County.
The great spread of the flood-plain meadows gives
Factor
Example sub-factor
Example Indicator
Comments
References
an immediate sense of bounty – a beauty in natural
magnificence.
Seasonal variation is stunning. Floods sweep
through and create vast lakes filled with migratory
swans, ducks and geese. In May the meadows
transform into a golden carpet of buttercups and
everywhere the song of the skylark. Summer is full
of the buzz of pollinators, then autumn comes
drenched in low mists and cobwebs.
Memorable or unusual views
and eye-catching features or
landmarks
The Fen Isles form a backdrop to views across the
fens and there are dramatic long views from the
embanked roads where for example an iconic view
of the ‘ship of the Fens’ - Ely Cathedral - may be
seen or its smaller cousin, the Parish Church at
Sutton in the Isle, may be seen.
The seemingly unending long lines of the Bedford
Rivers and their embankments concentrate one’s
understanding of the drained landscape.
Smith, Bridget (2007): The Great Meadow,
The views of dramatic, large meadows such as
Portholme and the Hemingford meadows are iconic the History of Hemingford Grey Meadow
of this river valley; similar places of such scale are
highly unusual in the UK.
Characteristic cognitive and
sensory stimuli (e.g. sounds,
quality of light, characteristic
smells, characteristics of the
weather)
Daily exposure to big skies, big fields, [big
beaches] does something fantastic to your mind.
New eyes and ears are needed to appreciate this
unique landscape, however both residents and
visitors are agreed on the beauty of the big skies.
The tranquillity and peacefulness of so much space
can be seen as eerie but it is broken by a
cacophony of natural sounds - especially that of the
insects and birds
The characteristic smell of fens and wet woodlands
India Knight – The Sunday Times 20th July,
2014
Ouse Washes Landscape Project:
Audience and Access Survey, 2013
Factor
Example sub-factor
Example Indicator
Comments
permeates and excites the senses.
There is more weather here – sunsets are bigger,
clouds are higher, inverted mists cling for miles,
and the wind is everywhere. With no intervening
hills, the sight of great storms tracking across the
skies is awesome.
The light is complex; it can be glorious, huge,
uplifting, of such clear quality as to be appreciated
by artists and photographers, but equally it can lour
and be grey.
At night, well away from the lights of cities and
towns, the huge, starlit dome of the sky is
amazing.
Relative
wildness
A sense of
remoteness
Relatively few roads or other
transport routes
The area does not easily reveal itself: it is hidden,
because it is largely remote from roads. Roads skirt
around the area, not through it, because of flood
levels.
The main way of appreciating the area is on foot,
cycle, horse and, of course, by boat. Man is
marginalised in this landscape because of the
water, leaving the natural heritage dominant.
Only four roads cross the 20 mile length of the
Ouse Washes; three of these are regularly closed
due to flooding during the winter months. Bridges
across the Great Ouse are limited to St Ives,
Huntingdon and Offord.
The East Coast railway line travels through the
valley from Huntingdon to Paxton. The visual
intrusion of the wires is worse than the noise of the
trains.
The Guided Busway from St Ives to Cambridge, on
a redundant railway line, is a quiet, scenic route
through the lakes area and facilitates access to Fen
Drayton Lakes.
References
Factor
Example sub-factor
Example Indicator
Comments
The Sustrans national cycle network and longdistance walks provide main routes in conjunction
with many small local routes.
The River Ouse and its tributaries are recreational
routes for boating, which are served by several
marinas, and rowing boat and punt hire stations.
There are few commercial flights over this area.
A relative lack of
human influence
Distant from or perceived as
distant from significant
habitation
From Earith to the north, the map shows this to be
an empty place; the area is largely devoid of
settlements, although there is a scattering of small,
isolated rural communities on the periphery which
act as ‘gateways’ to the central landscape. The
distance between the farms, hamlets and villages is
often considerable, and seems magnified by the
openness.
Further south, along the River Great Ouse, the
prosperity of the river brought the development of
villages abutting north and south of the river and
the market towns of St Ives and Huntingdon, the
edges of the latter just touching the proposed area.
All the habitation is on the gravel terraces above
the flood plain and, thus, set back from the lowland
landscape.
The vast areas of lakes are remote from habitation.
They are new wildernesses - more given over to
nature than man. A rarity in the UK today.
Extensive areas of seminatural vegetation
Within the Washes and the Ouse Valley there is
very little arable land. (Beyond the embankments of
the Washes there is the arable Fen).
The most common vegetation is semi-natural,
lowland wet grassland, most receiving little or no
fertiliser and herbicide, and traditionally managed
for hay and grazing. There are examples of
traditional breeds being used for grazing e.g.
Lincoln Reds.
References
Factor
Example sub-factor
Example Indicator
Comments
Areas of semi-natural and wild vegetation surround
the lakes with the areas of woodland and carr with
willow, alder. The planned extent of the reedbeds
will be internationally significant.
Uninterrupted tracts of land
with few built features and
few overt industrial or urban
influences
One of the main features of this place is the
uninterrupted tracts of land with few built features.
Across much of the area, the expansive horizon is
only occasionally interrupted by the glimpse of a
church spire.
As detailed earlier, the urban influences are limited
to the fringes of St Ives and Huntingdon.
The main industrial influence is the sand and gravel
extraction which is creating the future new wild
habitats; this is an agreed process for the next
twenty years. The other industrial influence is the
water management – the system of pumps and
sluices etc, necessary for the land’s existence.
A sense of openness
and exposure
Open, exposed to the
elements and expansive in
character
The openness and isolation of these flat lands and
lakes is emotionally very powerful, and can be
unsettling to those unfamiliar with its scale. The sun
can be seen to rise and set on the horizon, just like
a seascape. In a flat land the proportion of sky
above it becomes vast, and the configuration of
clouds enormous.
The weather and wind sweep unchecked across
the land. In a dry spring a ‘Fen blow’ can lift the soil
in an orange cloud that fills the sky. Cycling is
tough, for although there are no hills, there always
seems to be a head-wind!
A sense of enclosure
and isolation
Sense of enclosure provided
by (eg) woodland, landform
that offers a feeling of
This is a predominantly open landscape and
isolation is far more readily found than enclosure.
Due to the limited vehicular access to much of the
area a feeling of isolation is easily generated; one
References
Factor
Example sub-factor
Example Indicator
isolation
Comments
may be the sole occupant of a vast meadow or
lakeside.
Yet there are intimate areas, notably the river and
backwaters - narrow and fringed with tall
vegetation. Other examples include the areas west
of St Ives, as described earlier, and the northern
end of the Washes area where the relatively small
fields, paddocks, commons and orchards near
Denver provide a sense of enclosure. Within the
Washes the embanked rivers create local
enclosures.
Scattered tree belts and pockets of trees around
farms and along droves provide a subtle ‘layered’
sense of enclosure in the wide open views.
The tree margins surround and contain the lakes
and, likewise, the village trees on the edges of the
valley frame the meadows.
A sense of the
Absence or apparent
passing of time and a absence of active human
return to nature
intervention
There is constant human intervention here – the
water management is fundamental to the land, but
its activity is largely unobtrusive.
The lake areas are being created and managed so
as to allow them to return to nature.
The timeless, traditional management of the
meadows and Washes results in very little active
‘farming’ of these grasslands, and so they appear
almost natural.
The emptiness and isolation makes much of the
area seem an old-fashioned place, away from the
modern world. The remnant water mills, ports,
moorings and old, associated trading buildings, the
church spires and the ancient bridges all add a
sense of continuum to the landscape.
Presence and/or perceptions This is a rural area far distant from conurbations. It
has no major settlements and no industrial sites. It
References
Factor
Example sub-factor
Relative
Contributors to
tranquillity tranquillity
Detractors from
tranquillity
Example Indicator
of natural landscape,
birdsong, peace and quiet,
natural-looking woodland,
stars at night, stream, sea,
natural sounds and similar
influences
Comments
Presence and/or perceptions
of traffic noise, large numbers
of people, urban
development, overhead light
pollution, low flying aircraft,
power lines and similar
influences
The main population centres which abut the area
are Downham Market (pop. 10,000), St Ives
(16,000) and Huntingdon (22,600) – only small
parts of all of which are within the proposed AONB.
The market towns of Downham and St Ives
contribute positively to the character of the area.
However the edges of the more urban Huntingdon
bring the localised intrusions of the A14 and the
East Coast railway line.
The Peterborough to Ely railway line crosses the
Bedford Rivers.
is relatively ‘unknown’. Most of the area enjoys rare
tranquillity - away from the intrusions of lots of
people, roads, trains, aeroplanes and the
associated noise and light pollution.
But Nature is extremely populous and voluble; for
example, with the extent of bird song – rook
colonies, jackdaw and crow roosts, great flocks of
feeding wildfowl, skeins of migrating swans, geese
and ducks the meadow skies full of skylarks, a
zestful dawn chorus in spring, the churr of reed and
sedge warblers, the explosive song of cettis’s
warbler, the chatter of swallows and martins and
bands of screaming swifts.
The singular sounds of nature are amplified in the
expansive landscape of meadow, water and fen –
the sounds of wind in the reeds, a cuckoo calling,
the murmuration of starlings, the evening
nightingales and owls.
Water characterises the landscape, and in its
varying seasonal forms is the essence of the
naturalness of the place, whether it be the tranquil
river for summer boating or the vast sea of winter
floods of which to beware.
References
Factor
Natural
heritage
features
Example sub-factor
Example Indicator
Comments
Geological and geomorphological
features
Visible expression of geology The Great Ouse Valley was scoured by glaciation,
and the floodplain meadows derive from alluvial
in distinctive sense of place
deposits often overlying glacial deposits presently
and other aspects of scenic
exploited for sand and gravel. The floodplain
quality
meadows are still shaped and scoured by seasonal
floods and the deposits from upstream erosion and
agricultural run-off.
As the old river reaches the blanket silts and peats
of the flat lands of the Fens, its natural, historic
course was to fan out, being unconstrained by
higher land. However, as part of the progressive
draining of the Fens, the river was engineered and
constrained in its new courses by man-made banks
to prevent flooding.
The black peat of the Fens surrounding the
Washes gives a singular sense of place
References
Presence of striking or
memorable geomorphological features
A rare outcrop of Elsworth Rock forms the steep
slopes of Houghton Hill west of St Ives. This 30m
high ridge, directly above the river, and now
wooded, is a distinctive and extremely attractive
feature of the river valley
Presence of wildlife and/or
habitats that make a
particular contribution to
distinctive sense of place or
other aspects of scenic
quality
There is one Ramsar site – the Ouse Washes.
This is ‘one of the most extensive areas of
www.rspb.org.uk, www.wwt.org.uk
seasonally flooded washland of its type in Britain’. It
is important for its large waterfowl populations,
neutral grasslands and rich aquatic flora and fauna
associated with its watercourses.
Both Portholme Meadow and part of the Washes
have been designated as Special Area of
Conservation (SAC). Portholme is one of only five
lowland hay meadow sites identified as being of
international importance, it is the largest lowland
meadow in England.
Barraud, N, Burn-Murdoch, R & Friend, P
(2013): St Ives and the Great Ouse Valley
Doody, Patrick J ( 2007) Portholme
Meadow, Brampton: History, management
and Conservation
Factor
Example sub-factor
Example Indicator
Comments
The Ouse Washes are home to many endangered
birds and are designated as a Special Protection
Area (SPA). The SPA comprises 2447ha; it has
c64000 overwintering waterfowl annually.
There are 30 SSSIs totalling 2505ha and 31CWSs
– (the River Great Ouse being one of these)
References
Ouse Washes Landscape Partnership
Scheme :Conservation Action Plan, 2014
Cambs and Peterborough Environmental
Records Centre,
The most significant and wide-spread habitats
Ouse Washes Conservation Action Plan
within the area consist of flood-plain meadow,
(estimated to be 2800ha) reedbeds and fen. These
habitats and the surrounding farmland are
The Wildlife Trust, (2005):Ouse Valley Wet
Meadows and Wet Woodlands Project
connected by a series of wet ditches, carr, field
edges, hedgerows and pockets of woodland.
The ‘jewels in the crown’ which define the overall
sense of place are:
- the Ouse Washes, ( the WWT & RSPB reserves
host some of the most spectacular wildlife events in
the UK – the mass winter gatherings of thousands
of ducks, geese and swans).
- Portholme, the largest traditionally-managed
flood-plain meadow in the UK representing 7% of
the UK total
- the new lakes at Fen Drayton and Needingworth:
the creation of the new wetland includes planting
what will be the largest reed bed in the UK
- River Great Ouse, the slow meandering river
which supports scarce fish and invertebrate
species.
Presence of individual
species that contribute to
sense of place, relative
wildness or tranquillity
Overall, this area forms a nationally significant
wetland and wildlife area and a connectivity
network which is seen as crucial for the survival of
a large number of significant and rare flora and
fauna species.
The area supports many plant species such as
Lawton, J (2010): ‘Making Space for
Nature’
Fens for the Future Strategic Plan
Factor
Example sub-factor
Example Indicator
Comments
rushes, sedges, reed canary grass, wild celery,
meadowsweet, purple loosestrife and flowering
rush. Also, the wet woodlands are a notable
feature; the rare black poplar occurs.
Portholme, alone, has over 200 recorded plant
species including the rare and colourful snakes
head fritillary.
The lowland meadow habitats support numerous
insects such as butterflies and moths (more than
300 species have been recorded) as well as
dragonflies and damselflies. A ditch biodiversity
survey also highlighted that the ditches in the Ouse
Washes support many nationally scarce and nearthreatened aquatic Coleoptera species.
As the Ouse Washes is subject to seasonal
flooding in winter, a wide range of wildfowl and
wader bird species are present within the area. For
example: within the RSPB Ouse Washes and WWT
Welney reserves, Red Listed species such as
black-tailed godwit are found alongside Amber
Listed species such as garganey, snipe and
wigeon. The RSPB reserve at Needingworth
supports the Red Listed bittern, Amber Listed barn
owl, little egret, marsh harrier and reed bunting,
and the Green Listed great crested grebe. The
RSPB Fen Drayton Lakes reserve supports the
Red Listed lapwing, Amber Listed common tern
and gadwall, and Green Listed coot and the hobby.
Throughout the area, there are several UK BAP
species such as water vole, otters and bats.
Common seals are regularly encountered along the
tidal waters and many miles upstream in the Ouse.
The European protected species the spined loach
(Cobitis taenia) can be found in the area. The
critically endangered European eel is found
throughout the Great Ouse and the New Bedford
References
Doody, JP 2007 Portholme Meadow,
Brampton, History, Management and
Conservation
Ouse Washes Ditch Biodiversity Survey,
2013
Ouse Washes Conservation Action Plan
Factor
Example sub-factor
Example Indicator
Comments
References
rivers as are scarce fresh-water mussels. Water
bodies in the region support large populations of
stickleback, chub, bream and barbel populations,
as well as the rare river lamprey which have
returned to the Trout Stream at Houghton.
Whether it is the call of the cuckoo, the bittern
booming or the sound of the black poplars rustling
in the breeze, the individual species collectively
imbue the area with a sense that this is a very
special place indeed.
Cultural
heritage
Built environment,
Presence of settlements,
archaeology and
buildings or other structures
designed landscapes that make a particular
contribution to distinctive
sense of place or other
aspects of scenic quality
The entire built heritage is directly or indirectly
linked to the river and its waters. The river and its
valley are an ancient corridor of settlement, travel
and trade. (For example the internationally
important 11th and 12thC fair at St Ives). Until the
advent of rail, the river brought great wealth as
evidenced by the extraordinary quantity, quality and
concentration of ancient monuments and Listed
Buildings along its length. Many settlements now
have Conservation Areas to preserve their special
settings and historic buildings. Vernacular
architecture makes use of local materials, varying
throughout the area with thatch, gault brick and
brown carrstone
The built heritage is outstanding, not only for the
historic legacy but for its attractiveness. Examples
of notable buildings: St Ives is a fine market town
and inland port with quayside and warehouses;
Godmanchester has distinctive merchant and
gentry houses; Hemingford Grey has a Norman
House reputedly the 5th oldest domestic building in
the country; Holywell has a picturesque row of
thatched cottages fronting the river.
River and water crossings are distinctive to the
Moore, Ellen Wedermeyer (1985): The
Fairs of Medieval England.
Conservation Areas include:
Huntingdonshire District Council – Earith,
Fenstanton, Godmanchester, The
Hemingfords, Holywell, Houghton & Wyton,
Huntingdon, Offord Cluny, St Ives.
East Cambridgeshire DC; Littleport, Sutton
South Cambridgeshire DC: Swavesey, Fen
Ditton
Kings Lynn & West Norfolk DC; Downham
Market
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area – causeways were, and still are, as important
as bridges. Some notable examples of both are the
remains of Roman causeways in the Fens,
Turnpike causeways to the medieval bridges at St
Ives and Huntingdon, the redundant railway
embankment and wooden trestles across the
meadows and backwaters at Houghton, the
covered wooden foot bridge at Welney, and an
elegant modern road bridge and causeway at St
Ives. The early 15thC chapel on the bridge at St
Ives is probably the finest of the five remaining
bridge chapels in the UK.
A legacy of mills along the river includes the 17thC
wooden-built corn mill at Houghton (now owned by
the National Trust), 18thC corn mill at Brampton
and 19thC cloth mill at Godmanchester
The sequence of pumping stations, sluices, locks
on all the river and water channels is iconic of the
area. The pumping station at Pymoor has remains
of the steam and later diesel-driven pumps. The
John Martin Sluice at Welmore and the tidal sluice
at Denver at the confluence of 5 watercourses,
demonstrate the scale of modern drainage.
The mix of the architectural heritage with its
landscape setting creates views that stand
comparison with the very best – Houghton Mill from
its mill pool: Hemingford Grey Church and St Ives
Bridge and chapel from the river: Hemingford
Meadow and Houghton Hill from St Ives Bridge:
The Isle of Sutton across the fens: the cottages at
Sutton and Welches Dam tucked into the
embankment alongside the river, are just some
examples.
Presence of archaeological
The Ouse Washes area is of at least national
References
Flanagan, Bridget,(2005); The New
Bridges, The Causeway to St Ives Bridge
Burn-Murdoch, Bob (2001): St Ives Bridge
and Chapel
Hinde, KSG,(2006): Fenland Pumping
Stations
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remains, or designed
landscapes that provide
striking features in the
landscape
Comments
References
significance for its repository of well-preserved,
often waterlogged archaeological and palaeoenvironmental remains, many of which are under
threat as prehistoric deposits are being exposed
due to shrinking peat levels. The area contains
especially rich prehistoric and Roman archaeology,
as well as ancient ‘bog oaks’.
Also of national importance is the abundance of
Dawson, Mike, ed (2000): Prehistoric,
prehistoric remains in the Ouse Valley. They
Roman and Post-Roman Landscapes of
demonstrate clear evidence for a major ceremonial the Ouse Valley
landscape during the Neolithic and Bronze Age,
extending right across the floor of the Great Ouse
valley. The most sizeable complex was that at
Godmanchester. Current archaeological
exploration, ahead of the gravel extraction at Over,
is revealing a vast amount of exciting, additional
information.
The well-preserved Bulwark - a Civil War Fort – at
Earith is testament to the area’s strategic
involvement in the Civil War.
Also at Earith are the remains from 1970 of an
experimental track for the ‘Hovertrain’.
There are several designed landscapes in the
Cambridgeshire Gardens Trust (2012); The
Ouse Valley; the riverside gardens overlooking
Portholme of the 18thC Island Hall with its Chinese Gardens of Cambridgeshire
bridge, and 18thC Farm Hall with formal tree-lined
canal, both at Godmanchester; the grounds of the
Tudor Hinchingbrooke House, the mid 19thC
Hemingford Park, and the group of 19th and early
20thC gardens on the south facing slopes of
Houghton Hill.
The collection of gardens running down to the river
and backwaters in St Ives, the Hemingfords and
Godmanchester is extremely attractive; they
contain a number of historic boathouses and
gazebos.
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Historic influence on
the landscape
Characteristic land
management
practices
Example Indicator
Comments
Visible presence of historic
landscape types or specific
landscape elements or
features that provide
evidence of time depth or
historic influence on the
landscape.
In order to live, travel and work in this landscape,
man has struggled incessantly to control and
manage the water. The complex historic and
continuing engineering efforts are generic of the
area. Each venture leaves its mark.
The trails of roddons in the shrinking peat are
evidence of the success of drainage, as are the rich
agricultural lands created out of marsh.
Many of the islands in the backwaters of the Ouse
were created by river diversions to facilitate the
mills.
Gravel extraction is forming new lakes and reedbed
where once were meadows.
Drained farmland is now being surrendered and
returned to wetland in order to restore habitats.
There is a diversity of field patterns across the area
ranging from the ancient semi-regular enclosure
with hedges to the engineered 18th century fields
of the open fens.
Drove roads and ancient pathways, often linked to
former ford or ferry crossings, travel across the
area as a reminder of where our ancestors trod.
Perceptions of a harmonious
balance between natural and
cultural elements in the
landscape that stretch back
over time
One of the most harmonious sights is the gentle
panorama of the spires of medieval churches built
along the backwaters of the Ouse; they rise from
the tree-lined edges of the valley landscape and
announce their villages from afar. Likewise from
their isles, the grander octagons of Sutton church
and Ely Cathedral, the Ship of the Fens, can be
seen for miles.
Existence of characteristic
land management practices,
industries or crafts which
The predominant, traditional, land management is
the growing and cutting of hay and aftermath
grazing on the wet grasslands of the flood-plain
meadows and washlands. This practice sustains
References
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contribute to natural beauty
Comments
References
the rich flora and the habitat for birds. It is
fundamental to the natural beauty of the area.
In places, such as Ingle Holt at St Ives, there is still
a worked osier bed. These once provided a huge,
barge-transported trade in withies for basket
making and traditional eel traps, but now are
Luxford, Nita (2000); A Working Life on the
maintained for ecological, educational and
Great Ouse
aesthetic reasons.
Rushes are still cut from the Great Ouse as they
have been from pre-history.
Water management is synonymous with land
management and flood prevention; they are
practised today as keenly as they were 350 years
ago in order for this place to exist and function.
Associations with
written descriptions
Availability of descriptions of
the landscape in notable
literature, topographical
writings or guide books, or
significant literature inspired
by the landscape.
Descriptions of the landscape are innumerable.
Some examples are:
Early 17thC writers, William Camden and Michael
Drayton both eulogised the magnificence of
Portholme.
Daniel Defoe also extolled the beauties of the
meadows. Here are the most beautiful meadows on
the banks of the River Ouse, that are to be seen in
any part of England,
And, likewise, William Cobbett: by far the most
beautiful, meadows that ever I saw in my life.
William Cowper’s dog heroically brought him the
admired water lily from the Ouse at Hemingford
Grey.
The essayist AC Benson romanced the river and
meadows in his celebrated essay ‘A Midsummer’s
Day’s Dream’.
For the Fens, Charles Kingsley’s novel ‘Hereward
the Wake’ described the doomed resistance to the
Norman invasion. He found the lands daunting, but
Camden, William,( 1607 ):Britannia .
Drayton, Michael (1612): Poly-Olbion XXII
Defoe, Daniel: Tour through England and
Wales, 1724-6
Cobbett, William (1822): Rural Rides
Cowper, William (1791): The Dog and the
Water-lily
Benson, Arthur Charles (1908): ‘At Large’,
A Midsummer Day’s Dream
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of the skies he wrote; Overhead the arch of heaven
spread more ample than elsewhere, as over the
open sea; and that vastness gave, and still gives,
such cloudlands, such sunrises, such sunsets, as
can be seen nowhere else within these isles
Dorothy L Sayers used a Fen setting for ‘The Nine
Tailors’.
Lucy Boston immortalised the riverside Manor at
Hemingford Grey with her series of ‘Green Knowe’
children’s books.
Waterland’ by Graham Swift, was set in the fenland
and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.
Kingsley, Charles (1866) Hereward the
Wake, The Last of the English
Guide books to the Ouse proliferated from the late
19thC onwards when the railways brought tourists
to the area. The Great Ouse area was discovered
by travel writers and acclaimed as a ‘beauty spot’,
and from then on the picturesque riverside villages
receive mention in almost every regional and
national guide-book. From the mid 20thC the
navigation was restored and improved to allow
cruising along the length of the river.
Associations with
artistic
representations
Depiction of the landscape in
art, other art forms such as
photography or film, through
language or folklore, or in
inspiring related music
From 1880 until about 1930 a colony of artists lived
and worked in the riverside villages around St Ives.
Their presence and work transformed both the local
and national appreciation of the place. Just as
Constable defined the appreciation of the
landscape around his home in the Dedham Vale,
the artists along the Ouse captured the essence of
the place and made it famous. They painted the
pretty village and river views around St Ives as well
as the wide vistas of the river as it enters the open
fen landscape beyond Holywell. The Norris
Museum at St Ives has a fine collection of these
paintings. The artistic interpretation of the Fens and
Sayers, Dorothy L, (1934); The Nine
Tailors
Boston, Lucy (1954-76) The Children of
Green Knowe, + 5 other volumes
Swift, Graham, (1983): Waterland
Foster, AJ, (1891); The Ouse
Farrar, CF (1921); Ouse’s Silent Tide
Hunter-Blair, Andrew (2006): The River
Great Ouse and Tributaries
Flanagan, Bridget, (2001) ‘Artists along the
Ouse, 1880-1930’
Lane, Charles, (2001) ‘The Fraser Family
of Artists’
Some names from the 50-60 resident
artists and the hundreds of visiting artists
are: Garden William Fraser (1856-1921),
Charles Whymper (1853-1941), William
Kay Blacklock (1872-1924), Frederick
George Cotman (1850-1920), Walter
Dendy Sadler (1854-1923), Ernest Morison
Wimperis (1835-1900), William Miller
Frazer (1864-1961), William Watt Milne
(1856-1949)
Robert Farren (1832-1912) and Robert
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Associations of the
landscape with
people, places or
events
Example Indicator
Evidence that the landscape
has associations with notable
people or events, cultural
traditions or beliefs
Comments
References
Washes has flourished in recent years.
In the 21stC new techniques of photography are
introducing the area to the wider public in the same
way as did the 19thC artists. The standard of
wildlife photography continues to amaze. Aerial
photography from micro-lights and kites reveals a
new beauty of this extraordinary landscape.
Archive documentary film of all aspects of farming,
cultural, sporting and social life of the area is held
by The Norris Museum, Ely Museum and the East
Anglian Film Archive.
More recently BBC Countryfile has featured skating
on Bury Fen, and Springwatch the WWT at Welney.
Walker Macbeth (1848-1910) were the
pioneers of Fen painting. Anthony Day,
Richard Bolton and Carry Akroyd are some
of the many artists working here today.
The eastern parts of the area, from St Ives and into
the Fens, have a long association with Nonconformism. This independence (a continuing
characteristic today) is strongly linked to the sense
of isolation from the rest of the England.
Oliver Cromwell is the most famous inhabitant of
the area; his family received Hinchingbrooke House
at Huntingdon at the time of the Dissolution.
Cromwell’s statue in the market place at St.Ives,
records his stay there as a farmer.
Samuel Pepys attended the same school as
Cromwell – the Grammar School in Huntingdon.
Pepys’ house, as it is still known, is on the edge of
the meadows at Brampton.
Cornelius Vermuyden was the Dutch engineer who
organised much of the reclamation of the Fens; his
ambitious schemes were financed by the
Adventurers, notably Francis Russell, 4th Earl of
Bedford. Apart from the drainage channels, the
Dutch influence can be seen in the stepped brick
gable ends of many 17th and 18thC houses
throughout the area.
Geoff Soden , Paramotors UK
Bill Blake, Kite Aerial Photography
The Cromwell Museum in Huntingdon is
housed in the old Grammar School
Wells, Samuel, (1830); The History of the
Drainage of the Great Level of the Fens,
called Bedford Level
Darby, HC,(1956); The Draining of the
Fens
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Less famous, but equally significant in shaping the
landscape, are the Prisoners of War: Scottish and
Dutch PoW dug the channels in the 17th century,
and German and Italians worked the land during
WWII.
Similarly, waves of migrants – continuing today with
eastern European agricultural workers - have all left
their mark and influenced the local heritage.
Folklore, local and agricultural traditions abound in
the area. Molly dancing was originally performed by
farm-workers on Plough Monday, the first Monday
after Epiphany, highlighting the start of the
agricultural year. Morris dancing groups herald May
Day, and many villages hold a summer Feast Week
either before or after harvest.
The isolated fens have spawned many local stories
about bog monsters, will o’the wisps and other
mysterious creatures.
Painful events such as the 1947 Floods or the
harsh treatment of 19thC agricultural ‘Swing’ rioters
by the establishment are engrained in the
communal consciousness of rural communities.
The ‘Enid Porter Project’ has folk artists currently
working in village schools to re-enact and revive
traditional songs, stories and poems of the area.
The river has a continuing heritage, now
recreational. The Angling Societies and Rowing
clubs have a proud tradition from the mid 19thC;
Hemingfords Regatta, begun in 1901 and still going
strong, is the oldest village regatta in the country.
The area is at the heart of the traditional Fen
skating country; the frozen flooded meadows
provide natural skating ‘rinks’. The sport was in its
hey-day in the 19thC with national and international
racing and heroes such as Turkey Smart and Gutta
Percha See.
Heathcote, JM (1876) Reminiscences of
Fen & Mere
Storey, Edward, (1995); Fen Country
Christmas
The Enid Porter Project; Cambridgeshire
County Council with HLF support
Goodman, Neville and Goodman, Albert
(1882): Handbook of Fen Skating
Heathcote, JM and Tebbutt, CG (1892):
Skating