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Fen Rivers Way

49.7 miles (80 km)

Ordnance Survey Map Open Streetmap This is a teriffic riverside walking route running from Cambridge to King's Lynn in Norfolk. The path runs alongside the River Cam and the River Great Ouse and passes a series of delightful riverside towns and villages including Ely, Littleport and Downham Market.
Highlights on the walk include Wicken Fen near Waterbeach in Cambridgeshire, the cathedral at Ely and the 18th century sluice at Denver.
This is a fairly flat easy walk with beautiful Fenland scenery to enjoy.

Fen Rivers Way OS Map Ordnance survey map - Mobile GPS OS Map with Location tracking

Fen Rivers Way Open Street Map Open Streetmap - Mobile GPS Map with Location tracking

Pubs/Cafes

The Bridge is in a delightful spot on the banks of the river in the pretty village of Waterbeach. There's a lovely garden area where you can sit outside and enjoy views across the water. It's the ideal place to stop for a drink on a warm summer day. They serve traditional pub food, tasty Sunday roasts and a wide range of wines and cask ales. You can find them at Clayhithe Rd with a postcode of CB25 9HZ for your sat navs.

Further Information and Other Local Ideas

The Lodes Way starts off at Wicken Fen. This circular walk or cycle follows National Cycle Route 11 through the Cambridgeshire Lodes, a series of ancient man made waterways created to link a series of Fenland villages to the River Cam. On the way it visits the Jacobean mansion of Anglesey Abbey. The historic site includes some beautiful gardens with ornate statues and herbaceous borders.
For more walking ideas in the area see the Cambridgeshire Walks and Norfolk Walks page.s

Photos

View south-west along the Fen Rivers Way - geograph.org.uk - 1390478

View south-west along the Fen Rivers Way near the village of Wiggenhall St Mary Magdalen. Magdalen Bridge can be seen in the background. The bridge carries Church Road over the River Great Ouse. The tower of St Mary Magdalen church can be glimpsed peeking over the roof of the building (at right). This view was taken from the trail which here leads along the east bank of the Ouse.

Fen Rivers Way to Ely - geograph.org.uk - 1627916

Here the long distance footpath crosses the Ely/Newmarket railway line which is carried over the River Great Ouse on Hawk Bridge a short distance to the east. The noteworthy bridge carries the railway line from Ely to Newmarket over the River Great Ouse. It replaces an older one which was severely damaged by a freight train in 2007: "Eleven wagons were left hanging over the Hawk Bridge on the River Ouse when the EWS freight train derailed between Ely Dock Junction and Soham on June 22, 2007. The railway line between Ely and Bury St Edmunds and the affected stretch of the river were closed to traffic for six months following the derailment."

Waterbeach - geograph.org.uk - 373665

Waterbeach. The attractive grounds of The Bridge Inn on the banks of the Cam in the pretty village. This is a nice place to stop for some refreshments on the route.

The Fen Rivers Walk - geograph.org.uk - 1618570

View from the trail towards houses alongside the B1382 in Queen Adelaide. The bell turret marks the former church of St Etheldreda amongst the adjoining dwelling houses.

The Fen Rivers Walk - geograph.org.uk - 1618519

View along the footpath, leading along the River Great Ouse south of the B1382. The buildings seen in the background belong to Potter Distribution Depot, a railfreight distribution centre located just to the east of Ely North railway junction where lines from Norwich, Kings Lynn and Peterborough converge.

Fen Rivers Way - geograph.org.uk - 525068

The trail at Downham Market.

Fen Rivers Way sign. - geograph.org.uk - 73110

A route information board on the East bank of River Great Ouse in Stowbridge.

Saint Edmund Kings Lynn on the mud of the River Great Ouse (geograph 5886542)

Saint Edmund on the mud of the River Great Ouse. This vessel is used to carry buoys to and from their positions in The Wash.

Video

GPS Files

GPX File

Fen Rivers Way.gpx (On Desktop:Right Click>Save As. On Ipad/Iphone:Click and hold>Download Linked File)

Memory Map Route

Fen Rivers Way.mmo (On Desktop:Right Click>Save As. On Ipad/Iphone:Click and hold >Download Linked File)