Often overlooked in favour of the showier wildlife sites of Norfolk and the coast, the City of Peterborough has an enviable position on the boundary between the low-lying Fens to the east and higher Oolitic limestone country to the west and has eight National Nature Reserves within half an hour’s drive.

This location means the city is surrounded by a surprising wealth of both wildlife and history, which are intimately and inextricably linked. This short break will provide an introduction to some of the exceptional wildlife and history to be found nearby.

During our holiday, we will explore the remnants of the former royal hunting park of Rockingham Forest, the limestone country that inspired local poet John Clare, and the last echoes of the once great wetland wilderness of the fens that now form the core of one of Britain’s most ambitious conservation projects, The Great Fen.

The trip has a mixed natural history focus with an emphasis on botany, invertebrates and the long interplay between human activity and semi-natural habitats in the region. We will visit a range of sites, including several National Nature Reserves, selected to cover a broad range of habitats including the most species rich ancient woodland in England, some spectacular flower-rich limestone grassland, lowland meadow with numerous butterflies and both calcareous and acid fen habitats, where Marsh Harriers quarter the reeds and dragonflies zip along the ditches and drains.