Whittlesey

Whittlesey sits in the Fenland district of Cambridgeshire beside the River Nene. The town occupies low-lying peat and silt soils and is threaded by drains, ditches and pumping stations that manage water for surrounding arable land. Where open water once lay, the site of the former Whittlesey Mere is now farmland, reflecting the long history of drainage and reclamation that shaped the local landscape. A weekly market and small industrial areas serve local farms and businesses.

Local history appears in building lines, the market and a volunteer-run museum that collects finds from the fen. Community rhythms include harvest work and river activity, and in January the Straw Bear procession still moves through the streets, a person clad in straw accompanied by musicians and dancers. That custom links present-day Whittlesey to older seasonal practices rooted in the fenlands, and it remains a regular focus for visitors and residents who come for the market, the museum and the surrounding farmland.