Three Holes

Three Holes itself has no hotels, so anyone wanting a proper bed for the night will base themselves in one of the nearby Fenland or West Norfolk towns rather than the hamlet. Wisbech, the self-styled "capital of the Fens", is the largest nearby town and has the widest choice, from independent B&Bs to small hotels, many within walking distance of the Georgian townhouses of North Brink and the National Trust's Peckover House. Downham Market and Ely, both a short drive away and both on the King's Lynn to Cambridge railway line, offer further options and are useful if you're arriving by train rather than car.

Away from the towns, the villages of Upwell and Outwell, which straddle the Norfolk-Cambridgeshire border just north of Three Holes, have a handful of guest houses and pub rooms, including at the Crown Lodge Hotel, putting you close to the Middle Level waterways and within easy striking distance of Welney Wetland Centre. Wherever you stay, distances across the Fens are flat and quick to cover by car, so a base in any of these towns keeps the whole area, including Three Holes, Wisbech, Ely and the Ouse Washes, comfortably within a short drive.

There isn't much to do in Three Holes itself, but it sits within easy reach of some of the best of the Cambridgeshire and West Norfolk Fens.

• WWT Welney Wetland Centre - one of the country's best wetland reserves, on the Ouse Washes around 20 minutes away, famous for its winter gatherings of thousands of whooper and Bewick's swans.
• Peckover House and Garden - a National Trust Georgian merchant's house on Wisbech's North Brink, with a two-acre walled garden hidden behind its elegant facade.
• Elgood's Brewery and Gardens - a family-run Wisbech brewery dating from 1795, with four acres of gardens open to visitors alongside brewery tours and tastings.
• Middle Level Navigations - nearly 100 miles of navigable Fenland waterway with only a handful of locks, popular for boating, paddling and towpath walks.
• Wisbech and Fenland Museum - one of England's oldest purpose-built museums, with collections covering the history of the Fens and the town's trading past.
• Ely Cathedral - the "Ship of the Fens" is visible for miles across the flat landscape and is one of the great Norman cathedrals of England, around 30 minutes from Three Holes.

The closest options are in neighbouring Outwell and Upwell, just over the county line - The Crown in Outwell is a traditional riverside local, while the Crown Lodge Hotel in Outwell has a longstanding reputation locally for its restaurant. Wisbech, a short drive away, has a wider choice of cafes, pubs and restaurants, including those around the historic North Brink near Peckover House and Elgood's Brewery.

The flat, open farmland around Three Holes is classic Fenland: big skies, dead-straight droves and quiet back roads, but it is also intensively farmed, privately owned and criss-crossed by drains and pumping stations, so wild camping here is not an option - as across England, it is illegal without the landowner's explicit permission, and there is little truly open access land in this part of the Fens in any case. Anyone wanting to camp near Three Holes should look to established campsites and small farm-based sites in the surrounding villages and market towns, several of which welcome tents, campervans and touring caravans and make good bases for exploring the Middle Level waterways, Welney Wetland Centre and Wisbech.

The terrain itself is entirely flat, low-lying and criss-crossed by drainage channels, so pitches tend to be level and easy, though the ground can be soft and prone to standing water after heavy rain given how much of the surrounding land relies on active pumping to stay dry. Late spring through to early autumn is the most reliable window for camping in this part of the Fens, when the ground is firmer and the long summer evenings suit the wide-open landscape, while the exposed, breezy nature of the Fens means shelter and decent kit matter more here than in more sheltered parts of the country. Winter camping is a harder sell given the wet ground and short days, though it does coincide with the spectacular gathering of wintering swans and wildfowl on the Ouse Washes near Welney.

For those who prefer a roof without giving up the outdoor feel, glamping options such as shepherd's huts, pods and static caravans can be found scattered across the wider Fenland countryside around Wisbech, Upwell and Outwell, offering a comfortable way to enjoy the area's waterways, birdlife and vast horizons without pitching a tent on ground that's often wetter than it looks.