20 Attractions to Explore Near Holme Fen National Nature Reserve

The Great Fen is a vast fenland landscape between Peterborough and Huntingdon. It is one of the largest restoration projects in the country, and aims to create a 3,700 hectare wetland and aims to connect Woodwalton Fen National Nature Reserve.

Hamerton Zoo Park is an animal park set in 25 acres of beautiful Cambridgeshire countryside. The zoo has a conservation sanctuary that has a collection of nearly 100 different species including rare/endangered animals and birds. One of the iconic attraction where you can spend some nice time in the middle of nature and wildlife.

Elton Hall was built in 1666, on the site of a medieval house, and there have been many additions. A compartment garden was made in the 1670s. The house has been the home of the Proby family since 1660, although previous generations held land at Elton from the time of Elizabeth I. The Victorian gardens have been skillfully restored in recent years and contain a knot garden, a new rose, and herbaceous garden, fine hedges, and a Gothic orangery built to celebrate the Millennium.

Fotheringhay Castle was a motte-and-bailey fortification raised in the early twelfth century by the Earl of Northampton. It was subsequently owned by various Scottish Princes before being incorporated into the Dukedom of York. In 1587 the castle was chosen to host the trial and execution of Mary, Queen of Scots. The castle was dismantled in the 1630s and most of the masonry was removed, leaving only the earthworks. The site is protected as a Scheduled Monument and is open to the public.

Barnwell Castle is a strongly fortified manorial residence built during the period of the Second Baron’s War (1264-1267), which was at the forefront of medieval military architecture in Britain; It is quadrilateral in shape with cylinder towers on the northeast, northwest and southwest corners. On the southeast corner is a twin-towered gatehouse. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building, and is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

Oundle Museum is an award winning Accredited Museum located in the former Courthouse of the beautiful stone built Market Town in Northamptonshire. The history of the town is evident from many of the current houses over 300 years old yet Oundle dates back to the Iron Age and can boast a rich history throughout the ages which are reflected in the Museum.

​Barnwell Country Park comprises 37 acres of lakes, riverbank and meadows to explore, situated close to the historic market town of Oundle.There is a range of walks around the park and you can download or pick up maps to help you find your way around. The walks are waymarked along the way. There is a nature trail and an orienteering map. Plus activity packs for kids and scavenger hunts. The park has a woodland adventure play area and a hobbit garden for toddlers.

The Cromwell Museum in Huntingdon, England, is a museum containing collections exploring the life of Oliver Cromwell and to a lesser extent his son Richard Cromwell. It can offer fun and engaging learning experiences for all ages, satisfying many different areas of interest.

Hinchingbrooke House is an English stately home in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, now part of Hinchingbrooke School. This Tudor country house built around an early 13th-century nunnery. Located in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire it has now a stunning wedding and events venue. With its historical features and exclusive use of the extensive grounds and rooms it is the perfect place for all of life’s celebrations.

The Hills and Holes is one of Britain’s most important wildlife sites. Covering an area of just 50 acres, the grassy slopes are home to a profusion of wild flowers. This type of meadowland is now all too rare; half of the surviving limestone grassland in Cambridgeshire is found here. In 2002 it was designated as a Special Area of Conservation, to protect the orchid rich grassland as part of the Natura 2000 network of sites throughout the European Union.

Houghton Mill is the last surviving mill on the River Great Ouse able to produce stone ground flour from a water-powered wheel. The present building was probably built in the 17th century, and was extended in the 19th century. In the 1930s, the mill was decommissioned. Local residents bought the building and it was given to the National Trust.

Brampton Wood SSSI is a 133-hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Cambridgeshire, owned and managed by The Wildlife Trusts for Beds, Cambs & Northants as a nature reserve. You can spend many hours roaming the trails and verdant spaces here at Brampton Reserve. One of the peaceful area which offers a natural living in the centre of woods.

Titchmarsh Nature Reserve is a 72.7 hectare Local Nature Reserve north of Thrapston in East Northamptonshire. The River Nene runs through this site, which also has large areas of open water and grassland. There are nationally important numbers of goosanders, wigeons and gadwalls in winter, and banded demoiselle damselflies nest on nettles along the river bank. It is owned and managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. It is part of the Upper Nene Valley

The Manor is a house in the village of Hemingford Grey, Cambridgeshire. It was built in the 1130s and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited houses in this area. The house is surrounded by four acres of garden and is renowned for its collection of over 200 old roses and a collection of irises.

Crowland Abbey, is a place of prayer and worship in the town of Crowland, Lincolnshire. It was founded in memory of St. Guthlac early in the eighth century by Ethelbald, King of Mercia, but was entirely destroyed and the community slaughtered by the Danes in 866. Crowland is well known to historians as the probable home of the Croyland Chronicle of Pseudo-Ingulf, begun by one of its monks and continued by several other hands.

The Norris Museum tells the stories of Huntingdonshire from 160 million years ago to the present day. It collects and displays the history of Huntingdonshire from the earliest times to the present day. The collections range from the fossilized bones of the giant reptiles that lived here in the time of the dinosaurs 160 million years ago through remains from the Stone Age and the Roman period up to more recent history.

Saint Guthlac's Church, Market Deeping is a parish church of the Church of England in Market Deeping, Lincolnshire, England. The church is in the Diocese of Lincoln in the Deanery of Elloe West. St Guthlac's is a member of the Deepings Churches Together, a local organisation of churches within The Deepings, and a member of the St Guthlac fellowship. As of 2020 the rector is the Reverend Georgina Holding.

A beautiful and small lake which was created in 1965 to provide people with drinking water and was immediately colonized by wildlife. The nature reserve surrounds the western side of the reservoir and contains ancient and plantation woodlands, grasslands, and wetland habitats such as reedbeds, willow, and open water. It is also one of the prime bird-watching sites in the county, with rarer visitors such as osprey and the occasional Slavonian grebe and so more.

The National Trust's Lyveden New Bield, Northamptonshire, is an incomplete Elizabethan lodge and moated garden. It is a wonderful survivor of the Elizabethan age and a rare example of late Tudor landscape design. There are tranquil moats, viewing terraces and an Elizabethan orchard to explore, as well as an enigmatic garden lodge covered in religious symbols. The exterior of the building is decorated by friezes of a religious nature. The metopes contain the emblems and motifs found also at the