The road to Ely and beyond

This post describes some of the villages, towns and sites along the A10 on the Cambridgeshire part of the Fen Rivers Way Walk which follows the course of the River Cam and then River Great Ouse on their way from Cambridge to King's Lynn in Norfolk (see appropriate posts in that Trip).

Heading north from Cambridge, we soon reach Waterbeach.  This is a designated new town and growing rapidly; there was originally an RAF Station and a British Army Barracks here, but they are both gone now.  There is a small common on the way to St John's Church.  Back at the recreation ground, there is a walk that takes you to part of the Car Dyke; this is Roman waterway / ditch that runs along the Western edge of the Fens and is traceable as far as Lincoln - it was interesting to walk along this short section, even though it was rather overgrown.  

Driving a little further up the A10, we reach Denny Abbey; it was founded in 1159 as a Benedictine monastery, in 1170 it was taken over by the Knights Templars before it became a convent of Franciscan nuns known as the Poor Clares. Following the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539 by Henry VIII, it became a farm and was in use until the late 1960s.  

Further on and only 4 miles south west of Ely is the village of Stretham.  The Stretham Old Engine is a steam-powered engine, just south of the village, was used to pump water from flood-affected areas of The Fens back into the River Great Ouse; it originally had a steam-powered pump to drain the fens - it is still in use today, although converted to electric power. It is one of only three surviving drainage engines in East Anglia, and is a Grade II* listed building.  Other notable buildings in Stretham include the 12th century St James' Church and the Stretham Windmill (now a private home).

Next is the large village of Littleport, 6 miles north east of Ely; it is famous / infamous for The Littleport Riots which broke out in 1816 after war-weary veterans from the Battle of Waterloo returned home, only to find they could get no work and grain prices had gone up - they took to the streets and smashed shops and other buildings until troops were brought in (there is now a Morris Dancing side called the Ely and Littleport Riot).  It is also known for the Harley-Davidson statue which was unveiled here in 2003 to commemorate the centenary of the motorcycle company -  William Harley, father of the company's co-founder William Sylvester Harley, had been born in Victoria Street, Littleport, in 1835 and emigrated to the United States in 1859.Read more