Ouse Washes
The
Ouse Washes are an area in
the Fens of
Cambridgeshire and
Norfolk,
England. They cover the area between two diversion channels of the
River Great Ouse: the
Old Bedford River and the
New Bedford River (also known as the
Hundred Foot Drain).
In
1630, King
Charles I granted a drainage
charter to the
4th Earl of Bedford who engaged the Dutch engineer
Cornelius Vermuyden to construct the two Bedford rivers. The purpose of the new rivers was to facilitate drainage of the Great Ouse between
Earith and
Downham Market. The area between the rivers is 20 miles long and almost a mile wide and acts as
washland, i.e. a
floodplain during the winter and, increasingly, also in summer. When they are flooded this causes a 30 mile detour for local residents.
The Washes are now of international importance and are designated a
Special Protection Area for their
wildfowl; there are
nature reserves at WWT Welney and RSPB Ouse Washes. The washes are the largest area of frequently flooded (for an average of 22 days per year) grazing marsh in Britain. It is a
Ramsar site, a
Special Protection Area (SPA) and a
Special Area of Conservation (SAC), as well as the Ouse Washes SSSI - a
Site of Special Scientific Interest. With the advent of
global warming, the washes now experience summer flooding also, and many birds are prevented from breeding in the area.
It is of national importance for
Bewick's Swan and
Whooper Swan. It also attracts wintering
birds of prey, including
Hen Harrier,
Merlin,
Peregrine Falcon and
Short-eared Owl.
Redshanks,
Lapwings and
Snipe breed on the Washes in spring.
There are ten birdwatching hides (six RSPB and four wildlife trusts) one of which is wheelchair accessible.
;RSPB Ouse WashesRSPB Ouse Washes is a nature reserve, managed by the
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds at Welches Dam. It is signposted from
Manea village which is 6 miles east of
Chatteris on the
A142/
A141 between
Ely and March. The visitor centre is open 9am to 5pm daily except Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
;WWT WelneyWWT Welney is one of nine wildfowl and wetland reserves managed by the
Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust. The reserve is at
Welney in
Norfolk, 12 miles north of
Ely, 26 miles north of
Cambridge and 33 miles east of
Peterborough.
*
RSPB Ouse Washes*
WWT Welney*
SPA designation
