I’d been meaning to take a trip to the Great Fen for a while, so one day in July off I went.

There are a number of parts to the Great Fen, but the two main areas are Holme Fen and Woodwalton Fen. Holme Fen has been on TV a few times, showcasing the landscape restoration and the excavation of a Spitfire from a nearby farm. It also has pride of place as the lowest part of the UK sitting at 2.75m (9 ft) below sea level. This was my destination for the day.

I kicked off the day at Burnham’s Mere which is a lake a short walk from the carpark. As usual for summer time there wasn’t a lot of bird life about, a few swans and ducks, unexpectedly there were also cormorants in the trees on the far side of the lake. It’s always a bit of a strange sight seeing birds the size of Cormorants perched in trees, they never look like the tree could support them! I didn’t take any photos though since they were quite a way off and facing away from me.

After that I headed off into the area of Holme Fen that stretches around and behind Burnham’s Mere. This yielded a lot more wildlife. Lots of damselflies and dragonflies about, also hundreds of grasshoppers leaping about on and around the paths. At one point I also saw a deer jump of the trees in front of me, but it was off again before I could get a photo.

Photos from Holme Fen on July 14th 2016.

Common blue damselfly amongst leaf litter on the ground. Photos from Holme Fen on July 14th 2016.

One of hundreds of grasshopper nymphs that were hopping around the grass paths. Photos from Holme Fen on July 14th 2016.

Grasshopper having a nibble on a grass stem. Photos from Holme Fen on July 14th 2016.

One of the mown paths, gently curving round a meadow and back into the woodland. Photos from Holme Fen on July 14th 2016.

A Horse Hoof fungus, easy to see how it got its name. Photos from Holme Fen on July 14th 2016.

A Southern Hawker dragonfly, resting for a change. Photos from Holme Fen on July 14th 2016.

Another, much bigger, Horse Hoof fungus. Photos from Holme Fen on July 14th 2016.

Sunlight through the trees, lighting the path ahead. Photos from Holme Fen on July 14th 2016.

There were a lot of ringlet butterflies around the fen. Photos from Holme Fen on July 14th 2016.

During the morning I also paid a visit to the large and relatively new Trundle Mere Lookout hide that stands looking over Rymes Reedbed. There wasn’t much to see from here on the day, partly due to the time of year and partly because the reedbed is still being restored. I’ll have to go back there again when there’s likely to be more to see.

Trundle Mere Lookout birdhide looking over Rymes Reedbed. Photos from Holme Fen on July 14th 2016.

After lunch I went for a walk around the Discovery Trail. This starts at the Holme Posts and takes a route around the old gamekeeper’s plantation and back through silver birch woodland that grew on the fen after the land was drained.

One of the wildflowers I see practically everywhere, even in my own garden. But I still love the flowers. Photos from Holme Fen on July 14th 2016.

One of many on the bright yellow flowers of tormentil scattered throughout the woodland. Photos from Holme Fen on July 14th 2016.

Lots of worn tree roots exposed as the ground around them has dried out and shrunk. Photos from Holme Fen on July 14th 2016.

A Black and Yellow Longhorn beetle in amongst the brambles. Photos from Holme Fen on July 14th 2016.

A Red Admiral butterfly, sunbathing on the bridge by the Holme Fen posts. Photos from Holme Fen on July 14th 2016.

Sunlight and blueskies along Holme Lode drain, from the bridge by the Holme Fen posts. Photos from Holme Fen on July 14th 2016.

For the remainder of the afternoon I headed just round the corner to New Decoy Farm. This is an area of land which is being converted from farm land back into the wetlands that were there before. There is a walk around the site called the Dragonfly Trail, although on this occasion I actually saw more butterflies.

A small tortoiseshell butterfly in amoungst the long grass. Photos from New Decoy Farm on July 14th 2016.

Exposed roots on a tree, showing just how far the ground dropped as the fen dried out. Photos from New Decoy Farm on July 14th 2016.

Meadow Brown butterfly on a thistle flower. Photos from New Decoy Farm on July 14th 2016.

Lots of these tiny white flowers growing in the grass, I think it’s a chickweed. Photos from New Decoy Farm on July 14th 2016.

Common red soldier beetle preparing for take-off from a grasss stem. Photos from New Decoy Farm on July 14th 2016.

Marsh Woundwort growing in the recreated marshland. Photos from New Decoy Farm on July 14th 2016.

Bright yellow flowers of Perforate St John’s-wort. Photos from New Decoy Farm on July 14th 2016.

Tracks through this field of potatoes showing why the peat soiled fens are nicknamed The Black Fens. Photos from New Decoy Farm on July 14th 2016.

The tree with very exposed roots was quite interesting as it shows just how much the land has dropped since the tree started to grow. The potato field also caught my eye as a brilliant example of how the peat soil earned this area the nickname of the Black Fens.

All in another great day out, and I only actually visited a small fraction of the fen. Somewhere I will definitely be going back to in the future to explore more of!