Hereward Way: Wansford to Peterborough

Wansford

Wansford (properly known as Wansford-in-England) is a small village situated right beside the A1 to the west of Peterborough. Like many villages in the area, the buildings are mostly of local limestone and topped with roofs of Collyweston slate or thatch. The village arose as a coaching stop beside the ancient bridge over the River Nene - some arches of the current bridge date back as far as 1571, although they have been much altered over time.

One of the hotels in the town, The Haycock, is based on a seventeenth-Century coaching inn. There is also a pub, the Cross Keys.

The Nene Valley Railway

The Nene Valley Railway is a preserved railway based on the eastern end of the old Northampton to Peterborough line, first opened in 1845. The line closed in 1972, but was soon bought by the Peterborough Development Corporation. This foresight led to the creation of one of Britain's premiere preserved railways. A decision was made to convert the line to the continental Berne loading gauge, allowing the wider European locomotives to use the line. Trains now regularly run between Yarwell Junction, to the southwest of Wansford, and Peterborough. This part of the line is coincident with both the Nene and Hereward Ways, and could therefore be used as a novel return journey to a short walk along the river.

The River Nene

The River Nene is a long river that flows from Arbury Hill in Northamptonshire to the sea at the southern edge of the Wash. On the way it flows through many towns and cities, including Northampton, Wellingborough and Peterborough.

The stretches of the river downstream of Peterborough have been much altered during the draining of the Fens, the new course being far straighter. Originally the river was tidal past Peterborough, but a sea lock in the city and later a sluice at Dog-in-a-Doublet barred the tides.

Although hardly one of Britain's best-known rivers, there is much to see and do along its entire course. A long-distance footpath, the Nene Way, follows the river for 110 miles from Badby in Northamptonshire to near its outfall downstream of Sutton Bridge in Lincolnshire.

Castor Mills and Durobrivae Roman Town

A small lane leading down to the Nene from the village of Castor ends at the site of the early nineteenth-Century water mill called Castor Mill. The building is still extant and is grade-II listed, but has been converted into a house. A prominent stream called Back Dike appears to have been the mill stream.

Nearby is the stump tower of a windmill that sits in a field right beside the Hereward and Nene Ways.

On the other side of the river is the Durobrivae Roman Town, which is trapped between the river and the A1(T). This was a fortified garrison situated at the point where Ermine Street, the roman road between London and York, crossed the River Nene. The banks of the town and even the layout of some roads are clearly visible as crop marks on Google Earth. A treasure horde, the Water Newton Treasure, was found nearby in February 1975. It includes what is possibly the oldest church silver plate in existence, and is of such importance that it was claimed by the British Museum.

Peterborough rowing lake

Next to the Nene on the western outskirts of Peterborough is the 1,000-metre long Thorpe Meadows Rowing Lake. This is run by Peterborough City Rowing Club; the Nene and Hereward Ways pass very close to the southwestern end of the lake, allowing good views along it.

Peterborough

Peterborough is a city located in the northwestern corner of Cambridgeshire. It grew up as a settlement near the old roman road, Ermine Street, which ran between London and York. The city lies at the western edge of the Fens, and the dry land has always attracted people. This can be seen in the form of Flag Fen, a well-preserved Bronze-age settlement situated to the east of the city.

A monastery grew up in the area in early Saxon times, and this was later expanded into the abbey complex that formed Peterborough Cathedral. Many religious institutions were built up in the Fens, including Ramsey and Thorney Abbeys, but of these only Peterborough and Ely remain, possibly due to their better links with the outside world.

The town grew with the coming of the railway in the 1840s, especially when the main line between London and Edinburgh passed through. The combination of railways and large local clay deposits led to the creation of a many brickworks in the immediate area of the city. Another large industry in the city is the Perkins industrial engine maker.

The population of the city has more than tripled since the Second World War, and has grown by successive waves of immigrants including Italians who worked at the brickworks, Indians and Pakistanis and more recently Eastern Europeans. This gives a very cosmopolitan atmosphere to large parts of the outskirts of the city; sadly on a few occasions there have been clashes between different groups of youngsters.

Despite its growth and the presence of the Fens, Peterborough has plenty of green spaces both within and without. The city is surrounded by a 45-mile long cycle path called the Peterborough Green Wheel. Additionally, the River Nene provides a green route through the city.

The East Coast Main Line

The East Coast Main Line is one of the two main railway lines that connect London with Scotland. The southern stretch of what is now the ECML was opened by the Great Northern Railway in 1850 and within twenty years had been extended by allied companies all the way to Edinburgh. In 1923 these were amalgamated to form the London and North Eastern Railway. The LNER's express trains became famous around the world, and none more so than the Flying Scotsman that first ran in 1862.

Diesel gave way to steam in the early 1960s, when the well-regarded Deltic locomotives took over the route. In the 1980s they were replaced by the HST 125 diesels before the entire route was electrified in the late 1980s.

Settlements around the route grew massively during the Victorian period due to the good links with both capitals, and places like Peterborough and Doncaster owe much of their success to the railway.

Peterborough Cathedral

Peterborough Cathedral is situated right in the middle of the city, yet the simply magnificent Early English Gothic west facade is not spoilt by the surrounding buildings. To stand in front if it is to take in one of the most superb cathedral views in Britain. Every walker should try to make time to visit the cathedral, and if possible to take a walk around.

A church was first built on the site in the seventh century, and this was refounded in late Saxon times, along with the nearby monasteries of Ramsey and Ely; it seems like the remoteness and sheer inaccessibility of the Fens appealed to the ascetic monks.

A potentially interesting fact: it is alleged that Peterborough Cathedral can be seen from Ely Cathedral, 25 miles to the southeast. If you are following the Hereward Way then you will feel every mile of that view.

The Peterborough Chronicles, part of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles and an invaluable source of information on early Norman times, were written at the cathedral.