Wicken Fen has been known since the 19th century as special place for wildlife, especially for rare plants and insects. Naturalists were originally drawn to Wicken because of its species richness and the presence of rarities. Wicken was one of the very few places in Britain where you could see swallowtail butterflies and marsh moths. From about 1860, Wicken Fen became a very important site for the study of natural history, and particularly entomology, because other fens in the area were drained at this time and began to lose many of their special fen species.

There are fascinating accounts of the visits of Victorian entomologists (people who liked to study and collect insects) to Wicken in the journals of that time. These accounts give an insight into the great efforts these people made to get to Wicken and study the insects. They also helped to support the local fenland people by staying at the pubs, paying for guides and for specimens of the insects they wanted.

Extract from the writings of Dr John Henry Salter, in a Natural History Diary, Volume 2 (1891), in the National Library of Wales and transcribed by Adrian Fowles.

"5 September 1891 - started at 7.30 for an excursion to Wicken Fen, reaching Soham at 9.24 … our field path brought us to Wicken Village. [On the Fen] … we sighted a native looking about as if caterpillar hunting, so bore down on him. He opens his collecting box - a ground coffee tin - and we get our first sight of a full-grown specimen of the longed for larva. The swallowtail was soon in our possession as the result of a small commercial transaction in which 3d changed hands. The man, whose name was Fuller, makes a living in the Fen during the summer months, first by bird nesting and then by caterpillar hunting. While we were lunching Fuller came along and when questioned as to his luck told us he had taken several. This proved to be 25 or 30. We bought three additional Machaon at 2d each. Fuller told us that he collected some thousands in the course of a summer, his season beginning at the end of June. At this time of year he has more orders than he can fill. He does not notice any increasing scarcity from year to year, never catches the adult butterfly itself except for a special order."

Russell E. James, Fellow of the Entomological Society.
Wicken re-visited - the Lepidoptera of Wicken Fen, etc.
The Entomologist's Record volume 20, p.294-300 (1908)

"Wicken once again! There is an attraction about the fens, and Wicken in particular, that after a few years absence, creates an irresistible longing to return and revisit old haunts ……. There is such a charm about the place itself."

"After the 12th [July 1907] the weather entered upon the worst week I have ever known on any holiday. It rained seven days and nights on end, with very few hours' exception; the sky never cleared once, and for most of the time it blew have a gale as well. The duck pond doubled in size."

"We left with many regrets, and already I think longingly of the weird fen with its lamps, sheet, and buzzing moths. The charms of the place have also appealed to my wife and her friend, so I hope it will not be so many years before we return."

Russell E. James, Fellow of the Entomological Society.
Old haunts re-visited - Wicken and the Deal Sandhills.
The Entomologist's Record vol 35, p.149-153 (1923)

"I was very anxious to see how Wicken Fen fared under the management of The National Trust, and I may say at once that the impression I brought away was entirely good. The fen growth appears to be well and intelligently controlled - the bushes allowed to remain and thicken near the main drove and kept clearer away back."

"Here there are large open reedy spaces in varying stages of growth where Milk Parsley flourishes and Papilio machaonlarvae [Swallowtail butterfly] abound in numbers far exceeding anything I have know in the past."

"…… Barnes, the fen watcher, gives one the impression that he is a watcher in a real sense and would allow no nonsense. He is also adamant in refusing access to the fen to anyone not provided with the official permit of The National Trust."