Pymoor - Hereward Way

"The Hereward Way long distance footpath (Fenland Section) covers 43 miles of some of the lowest land in England, providing a unique walking experience.  Probably one of the most engineered landscapes in the country, this area has an ancient and very tangible history of flooding, island communities, drainage and agricultural improvement.  The walk is readily accessible by rail and links Fenland towns offering good accommodation and refreshment for the traveller."

So says the guide, published in 1989 and available from Cambridgeshire County Council.  For details of the leaflet and a more complete guide available from the Ramblers Association telephone the Rural Management Division of the County Council on +44 1223 717404.

The path takes its name from Hereward the Wake, an outlawed English nobleman who, in 1071, made a final stand against William the Conqueror on the Isle of Ely.  As the Norman's lay seige to the island, Hereward gathered together the English Barons at Ely, protected by the surrounding marsh.  He held out for eight years before the Normans finally took his stronghold and Hereward vanished with his men into the marsh.

Two sections of the path are shown on the sketch map.  The first is a short stretch, to the east of Frith Head Drove where the footpath from Little Downham terminates on Dunkirk Drove.  The longer length crosses the railway line and makes its way to Head Fen Farm before turning west.  It then follows the north bank of the Main Drain and turns by the Pumping Station, running northward along the Hundred Foot River and off the map.

Pymoor also has many local paths, some of which are shown on the sketch map.  There are photographs and more details available of Frith Head Drove and one which leads from the village to the Oxlode Fishing lakes.

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