Outwell

Outwell is not a village of big hotels, and that is part of its charm — this is genuine Fenland countryside, quiet and unhurried, where accommodation tends to be small-scale and personal. A handful of local guest houses and pubs with rooms serve the village and its immediate area, often making a good base for exploring Well Creek, the surrounding drove roads and the wetland reserves nearby. Self-catering cottages are also available in and around Outwell and neighbouring Upwell, well suited to visitors who want a peaceful base for walking, cycling or birdwatching rather than a lively town centre.

For a wider choice of hotels, guest houses and bed and breakfasts, Wisbech is only a few miles away and offers a good range of options within its handsome Georgian streets, while King’s Lynn, around 13 miles distant, has a larger selection still, including options closer to the coast and the wider West Norfolk countryside. Both towns make sensible bases if you want easy access to Outwell’s waterways alongside a broader choice of places to eat, shop and stay, and both sit within easy reach of the Ouse Washes and Welney Wetland Centre for anyone visiting the area for its wildlife.

Outwell rewards visitors who enjoy quiet water, big skies and a slower pace, with plenty of worthwhile detours nearby.

• Well Creek — the waterway that shaped the village, popular with anglers, walkers and boaters, with mooring available close to the centre.
• St Clement’s Church, Outwell — a striking waterside church with a history stretching back centuries, one of the two parish churches (alongside St Peter’s in Upwell) that anchor the twin villages.
• Outwell and Upwell village trail — the two villages run into one another along the creek, making for an easy, level walk past cottages, bridges and old wharves.
• WWT Welney Wetland Centre — a short drive away on the Ouse Washes, this internationally important wetland reserve is home to thousands of wintering swans and wildfowl, with hides and a visitor centre.
• Wisbech — the elegant Georgian market town a few miles north-west, worth visiting for its Georgian streetscape along the River Nene and its museum.
• Ouse Washes — one of the most important wetland habitats in Britain, a vast man-made flood plain running along the Cambridgeshire-Norfolk border, superb for birdwatching in winter.

The Crown is Outwell’s well-known riverside pub, sitting right on Well Creek with a large garden, private mooring for visiting boats, and a reputation for a lively atmosphere with live music. The Crown Lodge offers a more formal dining option nearby, known for its roast dinners and locally sourced breakfasts. For a wider choice of pubs, cafes and restaurants, Wisbech and the neighbouring village of Upwell (home to the Globe and the Five Bells) are both close at hand.

Outwell sits deep in the Cambridgeshire and Norfolk Fens, a landscape of drained marshland, drove roads and long waterways that feels a world away from Britain’s hillier camping country — but that flat, open character has its own quiet appeal for campers who enjoy big skies and reed-fringed water. As with anywhere in England, wild camping without the landowner’s permission is not legal here, so a proper site is the way to go, and the fen countryside around Outwell has a scattering of caravan and camping sites, many taking advantage of the network of drainage channels and rivers for coarse fishing and mooring alongside pitches.

The terrain is famously level, which makes the area easy going for cyclists and walkers moving between sites, though it also means there is little natural shelter from wind sweeping in off the fens, so a sturdy tent and decent pegs are worth having for anything other than the calmest summer weekends. Spring through early autumn tends to be the most comfortable season for camping here, with the ground drier underfoot and long evening light over the fields; the depths of winter can bring standing water and biting fen winds, though it is also when the Ouse Washes and nearby Welney Wetland Centre are at their most spectacular for wildlife watching, drawing tens of thousands of wintering swans and wildfowl within easy reach of the village.

For those who prefer a roof over their heads without giving up the outdoor feel, glamping options in the wider Fenland area range from static caravans to more characterful conversions, including at least one former pub in the district now let out as a group stay. Combined with the flat cycling country, the birdlife of the Ouse Washes, and the quiet waterside walking along Well Creek itself, Outwell and its surrounding villages make a peaceful, low-cost base for a Fenland camping trip, provided you come prepared for open, exposed ground rather than sheltered woodland pitches.