Record Breaking Year for Wicken Fen

Wicken Fen National Nature Reserve has reported a record breaking year with visitor numbers 36% up on the previous year.

The Trust's beautiful historic reserve near Ely welcomed 35,846 visitors during the summer season from March to September. The Learning Team were also busy hosting 3317 school children on educational visits linked to the national curriculum, an increase of 44% on 2008.

Visitors to the Fen have clearly had a fantastic experience. 78 % of visitors rated their visit 'Very Enjoyable,' placing Wicken Fen joint top for National Trust properties in the East of England and 22nd in the overall league of 177 Trust properties nationwide.

Speaking on the results Chris Soans, Wicken Fen Property Manager said:

"The record breaking visitor numbers and satisfaction scores are a fantastic result and are a reflection on the hard work and dedication shown by Wicken's team of staff and volunteers. We try to put the visitor first in everything we do to ensure they have a fantastic day out.

"We held organised activities, boat trips or self guided trails everyday throughout the summer holiday period and introduced the new sport of stand-up paddleboarding, which proved be extremely popular. The new Dragonfly Centre which opened in July also attracted lots of interest."

Preparations are already in hand for 2010 with new activities such as geocaching, stand-up paddleboarding safaris and the opening of a new Butterfly Trail planned for next Spring.