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Welney Wetlands Centre

9.01 miles (14.5 km)

Ordnance Survey Map Open Streetmap Enjoy waterside footpaths along the New Bedford River on this easy circular walk at the Welney Wetland Centre.
It's a unique place with freshwater grazing marshland and a huge variety of birdlife to look out for. The area is known as the Ouse Washes covering the area between two diversion channels of the River Great Ouse: the Old Bedford River and the New Bedford River. There's nice grassy paths and boardwalks making it a great place for walkers as well as wildlife enthusiasts.
You can start your walk from the car park and visitor centre on Station Road. Then pick up the trails heading west along the New Bedford River. The walk then crosses the bridge to the village of Welney and picks up the trail along the Old Bedford River. You cross again before returning to the car park.
The area is fantastic for bird watching so be sure to bring your binoculars. Birds you may see include Grey heron, Little egret, Black-tailed godwit, Lapwing, Avocet, Oystercatcher, Coot and Moorhen.
The Hereward Way long distance trail crosses the reserve so you can pick up the trail to extend your walk. Heading south west will take you along the river towards Little Downham. Heading north west takes you towards March.
Heading north east along the river will take you towards Downham Market where you can pick up the Fen Rivers Way and enjoy a walk along the River Great Ouse.

Postcode

PE14 9TN - Please note: Postcode may be approximate for some rural locations

Please click here for more information

Welney WWT OS Map Ordnance survey map - Mobile GPS OS Map with Location tracking

Welney WWT Open Street Map Open Streetmap - Mobile GPS Map with Location tracking

Cycle Routes and Walking Routes Nearby

Photos

Welney Wetland Centre - geograph.org.uk - 1894786

Welney Wetland Centre

Welney scrape - geograph.org.uk - 2186454

Welney scrape

Welney, looking down the Old Bedford River to Welney Sluice - geograph.org.uk - 2533283

Looking down the Old Bedford River to Welney Sluice

Welney, River Delph - geograph.org.uk - 2533286

River Delph

Ouse Washes at Welney - geograph.org.uk - 688580

Ouse Washes at Welney. The A1101 is often closed during the winter between the village and Suspension Bridge. The road often floods to a depth of five or six feet, as can be seen by the detritus left on fences.

Welney Gate - geograph.org.uk - 590100

Welney Gate. This sluice gate on the Old Bedford River is managed, like the river itself, by the Environment Agency.

Bridleway along Ouse Washes - geograph.org.uk - 2727979

Bridleway along Ouse Washes

Welmore Lake Sluice - geograph.org.uk - 2728061

Welmore Lake Sluice

Video

GPS Files

GPX File

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

Memory Map Route

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