Wicken Fen Boathouse Conservation

Work has recently begun on the conservation of the Wicken Fen Boathouse which had developed a marked tilt in recent years as the wooden piles on which the boathouse stands had rotted and collapsed.

In a highly skilfully operation two cranes delicately lifted the thatched boathouse roof enabling piling work to proceed. The old rotten piles will now be replaced by steel piles driven into the bedrock underneath the surrounding peat soils.

For much of the 20th Century the Fen Keepers later known as Wardens used a traditional horse drawn Fen Lighter to transport the sedge harvest from the Fen, ready for sale to local Thatcher's. Boats of a similar design were also used to carry peat blocks cut from Adventurer's Fen for drying in warehouses along Lode Lane.

Today horse power has been replaced by electricity. In the summer months visitors can experience the unique beauty of Wicken Fen on boat trips along Wicken Lode which runs through the heart of the Wicken Fen nature reserve. Drifting silently along the Lode visitors may can see yellow and white lilies, water violets, nesting Reed Warblers acting as unwitting parents to cuckoo chicks, Kingfishers and if exceptionally lucky Otters,who returned to Wicken Fen in 1999 after an absence of 60 years.

The conservation work on the boathouse is being undertaken on behalf of the National Trust by Carters of Cambridge.

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