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The sunken village of Leash Fen

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Today I had a walk out on to Leash Fen. This is the first time I have been to this desolate place since it was made accessible by CROW. You really have to watch yourself because most of it is just marsh. The recent weather hasnt helped walking much. I wanted to visit it since I read about the sunken village there. I had not heard this story before. Having now been there perhaps this story is true. Has anyone else got any experience of it.

 

http://themockbeggar.blogspot.com/

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Never heard of Leash Fen. Where is it, somewhere in Cambridgeshire?

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If I am correct in my geographical knowledge, it's near Baslow isn't it, thecyclist?

 

I have never walked around there and wasn't even aware of stories of a sunken village. Sounds pretty interesting and I certainly will be reading up on this story. By the way, I had a look at your blog. There is some good material on there, keep it up :)

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This is the bit of info i found out about leash fen and the sunken village

 

Sunken town of Leash Fen

 

Leash Fen stretches low and boggy, a great sodden expanse of heather, gorse and coarse grass tussocks. Frogs, dragonflies, kingfishers and water voles thrive in this kingdom of damp. Is there more to sedgy, secretive Leash Fen than meets the eye? Legends persist of a sunken town lying beneath the fen; pottery and pieces of carved oak have surfaced during drainage work. Perhaps the mysterious old rhyme is rooted in truth:

 

When Chesterfield was gorse and broom,

Leash Fen was a market town;

Now Chesterfield's a market town,

Leash Fen is but gorse and broom.

 

· Off A619 west of Chesterfield, Derbyshire

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You've got it Agent Orange. Until recent times access was denied, but since CROW you can, if you have the stamina wander at will. A word of warning though. Do not go on to the fen alone. There are some very, very deep bogs. It is standard to be up to your knees. Some years ago the Duke of Rutland had drainage ditches cut across the fen and they found fragments of pottery and what looked like bits of buildings. So the story and may be true.

 

Thanks for the kind comments on the blog

 

http://themockbeggar.blogspot.com/

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This is the bit of info i found out about leash fen and the sunken village

 

Sunken town of Leash Fen

 

Leash Fen stretches low and boggy, a great sodden expanse of heather, gorse and coarse grass tussocks. Frogs, dragonflies, kingfishers and water voles thrive in this kingdom of damp. Is there more to sedgy, secretive Leash Fen than meets the eye? Legends persist of a sunken town lying beneath the fen; pottery and pieces of carved oak have surfaced during drainage work. Perhaps the mysterious old rhyme is rooted in truth:

 

When Chesterfield was gorse and broom,

Leash Fen was a market town;

Now Chesterfield's a market town,

Leash Fen is but gorse and broom.

 

 

That is fascinating. Sounds like a place for welly wearing to me.

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You've got it Agent Orange. Until recent times access was denied, but since CROW you can, if you have the stamina wander at will. A word of warning though. Do not go on to the fen alone. There are some very, very deep bogs. It is standard to be up to your knees. Some years ago the Duke of Rutland had drainage ditches cut across the fen and they found fragments of pottery and what looked like bits of buildings. So the story and may be true.

 

Thanks for the kind comments on the blog

 

http://themockbeggar.blogspot.com/

 

Thanks for the further information. I will definitely be walking up there soon as it sounds very much like my kind of walk :)

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Leash Fen. Rather you than me. A place for river fishing type waders rather than wellies.

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Leash Fen. Rather you than me. A place for river fishing type waders rather than wellies.

 

It won't the first time that I've been stuck in a bog :D

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There are many folks who would prefer you to keep off there, even though access is permissable. Why, because of some of the rare species to be found on that area

i.e. Bitterns, a bird which will not tolerate any form of human intervention.

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Quite right runningman. Fortunately this time of year is out of season for most wild life on the fen. The terrain itself puts most people off from venturing out there and the lack of knowledge about its existence. However, I do take your point, and will make a note to modify my posts to include a request for people to take care and respect the countryside. I had much the same feelings when someone posted about the wallabies.

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Wandered into Leash Fen earlier, oblivious to all this and how wet it is.

 

A bird was circling me for a while. Thin-bodied; short, pointed wings that made an incredible sound as it dived. Anyone know what it might be?

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