Pymoor - Ouse Washes

The Ouse Washes is the name of the area of land between the Old and New Bedford Rivers.  The two artificial "rivers" were cut between 1630 and 1650 to drain the swampy land through which the Great Ouse flowed on its way to its outfall in the Wash.  These days this land, some 20,000 acres is managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

In winter, and particularly the early spring, as rain and melting snow spills into the natural rivers the washes become flooded, as you can see from the sunset scene above.  This is deliberate and is what they were designed to do back in the seventeenth century, as it saved the rest of the surrounding land from flooding and made it suitable for grazing sheep and cattle throughout the year.  This seasonal flooding makes the area ideal as the wintering quarters of many species of wild fowl.  The visitors centre five miles north of Pymoor at Welney is an internationally known venue for coming to watch the birds.

On 8 February 1999, while walking my dogs, I saw an otter in the 100 Foot River very close to the point where these photographs were taken.  I do not believe that this is a common sight and hope to get further confirmation from local experts.  Seeing seals is more common.  The last local sighting I am aware of was during the Easter holidays in 1998, when they were seen in this same stretch of water proceeding upstream.  Gordon Golding also remembers catching prawns near here.

In summer, the land is grazed by cattle.  This helps to keep it in an ideal state for the birds in winter, and is why it is the RSPB who pays for the "shepherd", who looks after the cows who are brought here for summer grazing from as far away as Wales.  (And, no! That is the photographer's labrador dog in the foreground, not a cow!)

The two views on this page were taken from almost the same postion on the banks of the Hundred Foot River near the Oxlode Fshing Lakes.  The photographs are the copyright of Liz Stevenson.  Reproduction of them is not permitted except as part of this web site.

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