Walks and Trails
Woodlands, meadows, lakes, the River Nene and miles of paths and trails make Nene Park a lovely place to walk.
Most of the paths in the central area of Ferry Meadows and at Orton Mere, Thorpe Meadows and Woodston Reach are surfaced and suitable for wheelchairs and pushchairs. Pick up a map from the Visitor Centre in Ferry Meadows and explore different length routes across the Park.
- Ham Mere Trail 2.5km (40 minutes)
- Wildflower Trail 2.5km (40 minutes)
- Bluebell Trail 4km (1 hour)
- Gunwade Trail 4km (1 hour)
Walking in Time – Heritage Trails
Walking in Time is a series of four self-guided walks exploring the heritage of Nene Park and the landscape of the lower Nene Valley, west of Peterborough. The trail leaflets are available to pick up from the Visitor Centre in Ferry Meadows and can be viewed digitally using the links below. There are also interactive maps to accompany each trail, provided in the links below.
The Emperors Trail is a circular walk starting and finishing in Ailsworth. The walk takes approximately 1.5-2 hours.
The trail explores the unique heritage and wildlife of the Nene Valley in and around the west of Nene Park, exploring Roman Roads and Victorian railways.
In this part of the Nene Valley, the Roman Empire left clear signs of its presence on the landscape. After two thousand years, the line of Ermine Street, the main route north connecting Roman London (Londinium) with York (Eboracum) is still visible. You will walk in the footsteps of Roman Emperors, discover the medieval village of Sutton, then pass under the Victorian-built Nene Valley railway before returning to Ailsworth along the river Nene.
View the interactive map online
Three Lakes Trail is a circular walk starting and finishing in Ferry Meadows. The walk takes approximately 50 minutes – 1 hour.
The trail explores the unique heritage and wildlife of the Nene Valley in and around Ferry Meadows, exploring settlements from Bronze Age to Iron Age and Roman. Then it looks at changes along the river when boat transport was superseded by rail. It also features the main land use changes in the 1970s from agriculture to mineral extraction, followed by leisure and recreation.
View the interactive map online
The Botolph Trail is a circular walk starting and finishing in Ferry Meadows. The walk takes approximately 3-3.5 hours.
The trail explores the unique heritage and wildlife of the Nene Valley in and around Ferry Meadows, exploring Bronze Age, Roman settlements, Edwardian landscapes and industry along the River Nene.
The walk begins by tracing the sites along the banks of the Nene, once used for leisure by the local landowner, the Fitzwilliam family. It then continues to the location of the medieval village of Botolph.
View the interactive map online
The Artis Trail is a circular walk starting and finishing in Castor. The walk takes approximately 1.5 hours.
The trail explores the unique heritage of the Nene Valley from the Bronze Age, the Roman period and up to World War II. The walk crosses the line of Ermine Street, the main route connecting the north and south of the Roman province, meanders along the River Nene passing a Bronze Age burial mound, encounters the remains of a Victorian station garden, cuts across the footprint of a sprawling Roman industrial estate and explores the remains of an impressive Roman praetorium building.
View the interactive map online
You can also now access our interactive Artis Trail app and enjoy creating your own Roman army, try on a virtual Roman helmet and step through a portal to view a Roman Praetorium.
Exploring Bluebell Wood
Bluebell Wood is an area on the north side of Ferry Meadows, packed with heritage and wildlife features with a stunning display of native bluebells in spring – hence the name! Explore some different highlights of this area below.
The boardwalk running along the river in Bluebell Wood, Ferry Meadows was created in 2019 with funding from the National Lottery Heriage Fund through the Nenescape Landscape Partnership scheme and with the hard work and dedication of our volunteers and Nene Park Trust staff.
Enjoy the river views, springtime bluebells, sounds of woodpeckers and the multitude of butterflies as you walk along this beautiful and accessible walkway.
This alternative path in Bluebell Wood was uncovered and restored in 2018. The black pine, Douglas fir, larch, box and yew along the avenue are approximately 170 years old, planted by the Fitzwilliam family. Follow the path and see these impressive trees from a different perspective.
The avenue is called ‘Sheep Wash Walk’ as it is believed the farmer and his sheep would have taken this route after a clean in the neighbouring sheep wash many years ago.
Sheep Wash Walk can be found next to Milton Ferry Bridge at the top of the map of Ferry Meadows.
In Bluebell Wood, Ferry Meadows, an unused area of bramble and willow was cleared in 2018 and a 100 metre willow tunnel was planted and weaved from willow stakes coppiced from Bluebell Wood’s osier beds by our volunteers. The tunnel changes through the seasons and will develop over the years.
The Willow Tunnel can be found at the end of the Bluebell Wood Boardwalk, at the top of the map of Ferry Meadows.
Why is there a selection of trees around 100 and 200 years old in Bluebell Wood? How old are the oaks of Bluebell Wood? Why are they there?
The history trail in Bluebell Wood encourages visitors to consider and explore this old woodland.
Three interpretation boards mark the entrance of Bluebell Wood.
Visitors can collect an accompanying leaflet from the Visitor Centre and use the ruler included to measure the tree girths and determine the ages of the old oaks.
This trail was created as part of Nene Park’s Moments with Trees, an award winning project (April 2017-March 2019) funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The project celebrated and raised the profile of trees through a variety of events and activities.
Discover our Native Tree Trail
Pick up a leaflet from the Ferry Meadows Visitor Centre and set out to discover an example of every native UK tree, planted in a trail that leads along the path towards Lynch Lake. All the trees have a plaque next to them with their name and a QR code to scan to find out more information. The leaflet is full of fun tree facts too, which can be cut out to make a game of tree top trumps!
The trees in this trail can be found using the TiCL geolocation site.
Join one of our Wellbeing Wanders
Twice a month we run free social walks on different routes around Ferry Meadows and the wider Nene Park estate. These walks are led by Nene Park Trust staff and volunteers and are a great way to get out in the fresh air, discover parts of the Park you didn’t know about and meet new people in a safe and welcome group.
Come on a History Walk around Ferry Meadows
Discover key history and heritage sites around Ferry Meadows in this virtual history walk video, presented by Conservation Manager Chris.
Sit back in the comfort of your own home and take a virtual walk around the Park, finding out about historical facts and stories you perhaps didn’t know about before. The video is 13:42 minutes long and has subtitles.
