East Anglia: Pastoral and Idyllic
We live in the country: Feltwell, the nearest village is 3 miles South and the next is Southery, about 5 miles North. They are both small villages with one petrol station, a post office, a pub or two and a small grocery. It is a beautiful area made verdant by the deep, black soil of these ancient fens.
Today, while on our way to work on the bungalow at 1 Church Farm (this is a reference to a nearby church built in 1905 on the farm that was, and still is, there), we crossed the bridge over the Little Ouse river. The scene was one of those you see in the English movies. You will want to click on this picture and then click again on View Full Size (upper right corner of the picture you will soon see) so you can get a much better look.
Also of interest here is the high banks of the Little Ouse. This ancient river has been elevated several feet so that it will function as a drainage channel for the draining of the fens. The deep ditches around the farm fields (fields are about 10 feet below sea level) gather the ground water and it is pumped up into the Little Ouse. The surface of the water in this picture is approximately sea level. This water will be lifted again before reaching The Wash, a large natural shallow bay North of Kings Lynn, Norfolk.
