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Cambridgeshire Ponds and Water Life
Roswell Pits, Ely

Roswell pits is a delightful location of great interest to the walker, botanist, biologist, naturalist, bird-watcher and angler. The pits are old clay workings set in wetlands alongside the River Great Ouse, to the south of Ely city.

A book I have, Water Plants, by Agnes Arber, written around 1920, refers to these pits as the Roslyn pits: whether this is the old name or an error, I do not know.

Through the pits runs the main railway from London, via Cambridge to Peterborough and the north. To the south east of the pits there are factories - some with rail access, so there is something of a railway marshalling yard to the east.

The Fen Rivers Way goes through the pits, though it is but one of several paths there. The pits themselves are very picturesque, but for the botanist the wetlands must hold pride of place. At map reference 553 808 there is a field containing a ditch and a shallow pond: I did not do a study of the plants there, but I do not recall seeing a more diverse collection of water plants, including water dropwort.

I accessed the pits from the Prickwillow Road, out of Ely. At map reference 552 807 runs a track through the Environment Agency depot: the track is a private road so no vehicles are allowed, but it is also a footpath and there is a small amount of parking on the roadside at the top. Alternatively there is access over a footbridge across the Great Ouse at map reference 562 804 and across Cuckoo Bridge, which spans part of the pits.

Photographs

To follow: please ask!

Species

On 28th June 2003 I found: