New Bridge Opens Up Cambridgeshire Fens for Exploration
Issued on: Thursday 2 September 2010
The National Trust are inviting walkers, cyclists and horse riders to a Community Picnic and BBQ to celebrate the official opening of the Reach Lode bridge and Burwell Fen cycleway on Sunday 12 September. The opening ceremony will be performed at 1pm by representatives of four local communities playing a giant game of Connect4, after which there will be an afternoon of fun and festivities including story telling, children's activities, nature walks and the opportunity to have a go at stand-up paddleboarding.
A guided cycle ride to the new Reach Lode Bridge will leave from Palace Green, Ely Cathedral at 11am. A guided walk will leave from Wicken Fen at 11.30am with cycle rides departing from Wicken Fen and Anglesey Abbey at 12 noon.
The new bridge across the historic Reach Lode, together with a 2 km cycleway across Burwell Fen form part of the Lodes Way, a 14 km cross country walking and cycling route being developed by the National Trust as part of the Wicken Fen Vision, a 100 year plan to create a landscape scale nature reserve and green lung for the Cambridgeshire and the East of England.
The Lodes Way runs from Bottisham, to the North East of Cambridge passing close to the Trust's Anglesey Abbey and Gardens and on to historic Wicken Fen, the first nature reserve owned by the National Trust. The Lodes Way forms part of National Cycle Network Route (NCN) 11 and has direct links to Ely and Cambridge via NCN 11 and 51 respectively.
The route is being developed in partnership with sustainable transport charity, Sustrans via a £50 million grant from the Big Lottery Fund's Living Landmarks: won as a result of The People's Millions public vote in 2007. The route is part of the Sustrans' Connect2 scheme, which is developing new walking and cycling routes throughout the UK. Funding for the Reach Lode Bridge was also assisted by a Higher Level Stewardship scheme capital grant of £167,000 from Natural England. Additional financial support for the Lodes Way has been received from Cambridgeshire County Council, Cambridgeshire Horizons, Department for Communities and Local Government and the Environment Agency.
Chris Soans, Property Operations Manager for Wicken Fen said: "We hope lots of walkers, cyclists and riders will come along and join us for the community celebration to mark the official opening of the bridge and cycleway"
"Creating and improving access to the countryside is a key element of the Wicken Fen Vision. The new bridge and cycleway will increase opportunities for local residents and visitors alike to explore the countryside for leisure and recreation, to get close to nature and enjoy the unique land and skyscapes of the fens"
Rohan Wilson, Scheme Manager for Sustrans said: "It's great that this new route and bridges are now open, providing an off-road link across the Fens north of Cambridge, and creating many new circular walking and cycling routes from the fenside villages. People will now be able to walk or cycle into Cambridge avoiding main roads, offering a far greater choice in how to make local journeys.
"In this era of concerns about the health of individuals and our environment, enabling more journeys to be made by foot and bike can only benefit our community and its visitors."
Alex Nichols, Team Leader for Natural England said: "The new bridge helps achieve the Higher Level Scheme objectives of increasing public access and plays a role in conserving wildlife by allowing the habitats created through Wicken Fen Vision to be more effectively managed."
The Lodes Way is named after the six historic manmade waterways that the route crosses connecting fen edge villages to the River Cam. Originally thought to have been dug by the Romans, it is now thought that were probably built by the monasteries at Ely and Ramsey in the late Saxon period to protect grazing land from excessive spring and summer water. Each of the waterways has a distinctive history and were used extensively for waterborne trade until the end of the 19thCentury. Today the peaceful Lodes are mainly used by recreational craft and for leisure activities.
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Notes to Editors
The Lodes Way is being developed as part of the Wicken Fen Vision, a 100 year plan by the National Trust to create a 5300 hectare landscape scale nature reserve and green lung for Cambridgeshire and the East of England www.wicken.org.uk
The National Trust is Europe's biggest conservation charity and looks after special places across England, Wales and Northern Ireland for ever, for everyone. People and places are at the heart of everything it does. 3.5 million members, 50,000 volunteers, 500,000 school children, and millions of visitors, donors and supporters help the Trust look after its 300 historic houses and gardens, 700 miles of coastline and 250,000 hectares of open countryside. www.nationaltrust.org.uk.
Sustrans is the UK's leading sustainable transport charity. Its vision is a world in which people choose to travel in ways that benefit their health and the environment. It is achieving this through innovative but practical solutions to the UK's transport challenges. www.sustrans.org.uk
Sustrans' Connect2 is a UK-wide project that will transform local travel in 79 communities by creating new bridges and crossings to overcome busy roads, rivers and railways, and linking these to networks of walking and cycling routes. As a result millions of people will be able to walk and cycle more for everyday journeys. www.sustransconnect2.org.uk
The Big Lottery Fund, the largest of the National Lottery good cause distributors, has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since its inception in June 2004. It was established by Parliament on 1 December 2006. Full details of Big Lottery Fund projects and grant awards are available at: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Natural England is the Governments' advisor on the Natural Environment, providing advice grounded in science, on how best to safeguard England's natural wealth for the benefit of everyone. Environmental Stewardship provides about £400 Million funding each year to farmers and other land managers in England who help to improve the quality of the countryside for wildlife and people. www.naturalengland.org.uk
Media representatives are invited to attend the Community celebrations to mark the opening of the Reach Lode Bridge / Burwell Fen cycleway. Photographs of the event will be available from Howard Cooper, Wicken Fen Communications Officer on 01353 720274 Mobile 07826 874133
Further Information
For further information please contact: Claire Graves, Communications Officer, National Trust East of England Region - Tel 01284 747557 Mobile 07770 645230 or e-mail claire.graves@nationaltrust.org.uk