Holme Fen is a biological

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

near Holme in

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

. It is also a National Nature Reserve and a

Nature Conservation Review ''A Nature Conservation Review'' is a two-volume work by Derek Ratcliffe, published by Cambridge University Press in 1977. It set out to identify the most important places for nature conservation in Great Britain. It is often known by the initial ...

site, Grade I. It is part of the Great Fen project, which aims to create a 3,700 wetland wildlife area including Holme Fen,

Woodwalton Fen Woodwalton Fen is a 209 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in the parish of Woodwalton, west of Ramsey in Huntingdonshire, Cambridgeshire, England. It is a Ramsar wetland site of international importance, a National Nature Res ...

and other areas. It is home to a variety of birds, including the

Eurasian siskin The Eurasian siskin (''Spinus spinus'') is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It is also called the European siskin, common siskin or just siskin. Other (archaic) names include ''black-headed goldfinch'', ''barley bird'' a ...

Nightingale The common nightingale, rufous nightingale or simply nightingale (''Luscinia megarhynchos''), is a small passerine bird best known for its powerful and beautiful song. It was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is no ...

and

Lesser redpoll The lesser redpoll (''Acanthis cabaret'') is a small passerine bird in the finch family, Fringillidae. It is the smallest, brownest, and most streaked of the redpolls. It is sometimes classified as a subspecies of the common redpoll (''Acanthis ...

, and around 450 species of

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

. Home Fen is described by

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...

as the finest example of birch woodland in lowland Britain. Part of it was a mere which was drained in the nineteenth century, and some relict wetland plants survive such as saw sedge and fen wood-rush. Two new lakes have been excavated. Holme Fen, specifically Holme Posts, is believed to be the lowest land point in Great Britain at below sea level.

History

In October 2015, archaeological work to recover a WW2 Spitfire, flown by Pilot Officer Harold Penketh, that crashed into Holme Fen on 22 November 1940, was undertaken. Led by

Oxford Archaeology Oxford Archaeology (OA, trading name of Oxford Archaeology Limited) is one of the largest and longest-established independent archaeology and heritage practices in Europe, operating from three permanent offices in Oxford, Lancaster and Cambridge, ...

East's project director Stephen Macauley, the teams located and recovered artefacts from the crash. A film of the excavation was shown at the Great Fen's Countryside Centre, Ramsey Heights on 27 September, 2019.

Access

The reserve is open to the public throughout the year. Several footpaths cross the site.

Management

Holme Fen is at the south-western edge of the former

Whittlesey Mere Whittlesea Mere was an area of open water in the Fenland area of the county of Huntingdonshire (now Cambridgeshire), England. The mere occupied the land southeast of Yaxley Fen, south of Farcet Fen and north of Holme Fen. The town of Whit ...

, which has been drained. The

Great Fen Project The Great Fen is a habitat restoration project being undertaken on The Fens in the county of Cambridgeshire in England. It is one of the largest restoration projects in the country, and aims to create a 3,700 hectare wetland and aims to connect ...

aims to reconnect Holme Fen with nearby

, another vestigial fragment of wild fenland. Holme approximately marks the south-western limit of Stage 2 of the Great Fen Project.

References

{{SSSIs Cambridgeshire Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cambridgeshire Nature Conservation Review sites National nature reserves in England