Mare Fen Local Nature Reserve

This 17 hectare site is a large expanse of permanent pasture lying in the floodplain of the River Great Ouse used for summer grazing for lifestock. 

Grassland like this was once common in the Ouse Valley, but the reserve is now one of the remaining precious fragments. The wet meadows contain a mosaic of grassland types complemented by reed fringed ditches and ponds.

The water levels are controlled using sluices and overflows. During the winter the sluices are open to allow the fen to flood and closed late spring for grazing.