Blog article by, By Henry D. & James A.
Henry: For a blog about the Fenathlon I think you need to know what the Fenathlon really is. Well, the Fenathlon is a 36-mile challenge between two fens Woodwalton Fen and Wicken Fen via Ouse Fen. I had the idea to do the Fenathlon because I’ve always wanted to walk the Rothschild Way which is a 39 mile walk that links the 2 reserves. This would be too long for me to do in one day. So, to speed up we added a cycle leg, a kayak leg and called it the Fenathlon.
James: I think Henry first told me about his idea for the Fenathlon in January 2025. We went birdwatching together on a Saturday morning when hockey was cancelled because the ground was frozen. We went to Ouse Fen with our parents, and we were all excited to hear and see Bearded Tits! I thought that the idea sounded crazy, but I wanted to be part of the adventure, and I loved the idea of raising money for three great charities.
Henry: On Sunday, 25 May 2025 my alarm went off at 4.45am and I was so close to rolling back over to sleep and then I remembered it was the day of the Fenathlon! I jumped up with a sudden rush of energy, whipped my clothes on and headed downstairs. After last minute prep like getting the kayak in the car and putting the bikes on the roof I got in the car, and I had my first breakfast of the day. When we got to Woodwalton Fen James, probably like me, had a lot of energy and came bounding over to me. Then, we went off together down to the Rothschild Bungalow to do our opening video and get some photos ready for the start of the Fenathlon. It still felt really early even though we’d been up for over an hour and it was now 6.00am which was the perfect time for bird song. As I put my helmet on ready for the cycle, I was thinking about the day ahead. I was nervous about the kayak, the second leg, as it was the section we had practiced the least.
James: I got up earlier than Henry, but it didn’t feel early. My Dad woke me at 4.30am, I think. We were first to arrive at Woodwalton Fen. I felt excited. I was standing on the bridge looking out over the river whilst I waited for Henry to arrive when I saw a Kingfisher! It was sitting on a branch over the river and then it flew away from me down the river. I wrote this sighting on the information board at the entrance and saw that I was the only person to have seen a Kingfisher that week.
Henry: As we set off the first half of the cycle was quite hilly. It was hard going down the hills against the wind but when we caught a little bit of tailwind we zoomed along the roads. The worst bit was when we had to go uphill against the wind because we had two forces acting against us and a couple of times it got really hard. We had a full support crew ready to go at various points. The best one though was at the top of a big hill. We had been battling against the wind and my mum was stood there with a handful of bananas. These cheer points really lifted our spirits. The Thicket Path was the home straight of the cycle leg. It was wider here and James and I were cruising along but every so often we would have a little race against each other seeing who could go the fastest. When we arrived at St Ives Lock the support crew had set up our kayaks all ready to go. Oh, and a second breakfast! My favourite wildlife spot of the cycle ride was as we came round one the corners. It was a slight downhill and in a bush by the side of the road there was a family of Long-Tailed Tits nipping about on the different branches having their breakfast.
James: I knew in advance that the cycle leg was going to be my biggest challenge. Henry and his Dad shot off but I couldn’t get enough momentum to get started. After a couple of false starts, I was off! My Mum cycled just behind me for safety and she was really encouraging. We went up and down some hills. I was surprised at how hilly it was and I was unprepared. The ups were difficult. The downs were easier but we were still affected by a strong wind sometimes. The Thicket Path to St Ives was the best bit. It was the most fun because there was no traffic and no hills. We also got to see the River Ouse for the first time, which we would see a lot of for the rest of the day. On the Thicket Path Henry and I were finally able to ride side-by-side. As we passed Copley Scout Centre I saw my old Beaver Leader Georgie. I introduced Henry and told Georgie what we were doing. She was really impressed. She said encouraging things and made me feel really proud of what we were trying to achieve. My favourite wildlife sighting on the cycle leg was a Yellowhammer. We had heard them early on but eventually one showed itself by shooting out of one of the bushes.
Before we started kayaking, we had a second breakfast. It’s important to have energy when taking on a big physical challenge. I had some chocolate brioche and Henry’s Mum gave me a banana milkshake. I’d never had banana milkshake before. It was delicious! Dad and I paddled our double kayak with me in the front for the best view. Henry and his Dad were in their kayak. I loved seeing a Marsh Harrier flying low over us before disappearing over the riverbank. We saw three different types of goose: Greylags, Canada and Egyptian Goose. The Greylags had loads of goslings. The best wildlife sighting on the kayak leg, however, was the Cattle Egrets. They are the rarest egret in the UK and I saw them both flying and standing on the riverbank.
Henry: As we set off in our kayaks, we had a little bit of drizzle but this didn’t matter as we expected to get wet from our enthusiastic paddling down the river. Luckily, the wind was behind us, so we went quicker than expected. We took the wind against us on the cycle for it to be behind us on the kayak. As we arrived at our midway snack point there was a pub on the opposite side of the river which was hosting a wedding party so there was loads of noise and music. We pulled up and enjoyed homemade flapjacks full of syrup. Because the wind was behind us, I enjoyed the kayak more than I expected partly because for all of our training the wind was against us which wasn’t fun. It was nice being on the water and the wildlife not minding us being there. We saw millions and millions of goslings. Every 100 metres there was another family group with about 11 to 12 goslings. It was incredible how many there were. My favourite wildlife spot of the kayak leg was when a swan came flying right at us very low which was really cool. Annoyingly, my Dad had literally just put down his phone after filming me and James paddling so we didn’t catch it on camera. At the end of the leg, we all met up at RSPB Ouse Fen to have lunch with all our support crew who had joined us for this bit. The group consisted of dog sitters and advice givers from cheerleaders to snack givers.
Ajay Tegala, warden at Wicken Fen and wildlife TV presenter, joined us for the start of the walk. He brought his dog Oakley with him. In the afternoon all the squally weather was over and the sun was shining. It was nice to rest our bottoms after the cycling and the kayaking. It was a good opportunity to chat together because we had had our heads down or were too far apart to chat for the other bits. Another bonus of the walking leg was there were more cheer points to get snacks and it also meant that lots of people, grandparents and cousins, could join us for different parts. This was really nice and so supportive as they went from stop to stop and changed over so there were always different people with us to natter to. One downside of the walk was there were lots of overgrown areas that made it difficult to pass and I got stuck on a Dog Rose. My favourite sighting was towards the end. We had just had to pass some cows on the path and we spotted a Barn Owl hunting. We were a few miles from the finish at Wicken Fen and this lifted our spirits. We ploughed on to the end. With a few hundred metres to go the others went ahead to join the waiting crowd of friends and family. James and I mustered a final bit of energy to run over the finish line together.
James: At 15 miles the hike was the longest I’d ever done but I knew that it was possible because I really enjoy walking and it’s a really good opportunity to spot wildlife. A really interesting and modern addition to the Fen landscape is the solar farm near Stretham. There were sheep with their lambs amongst the structures to keep the grass short. We had frequent stops on the walk for snacks to keep our energy up and to meet with members of the support team. We were walking and talking when a Barn Owl appeared and fluttered down onto a fence post. It stopped for a short time, then it flew silently and hovered as though it might dive for a vole or a mouse. We all held our breath, hoping that it would but it flew off instead. It stayed long enough for some of the adults to get photos. We saw the same owl again a few minutes later in the next field, still hunting for its supper.
Henry: It was now 7.20pm and we had cycled 14 miles taking 1hr and 50 mins, kayaked 7 miles taking 3hrs and walked 15 miles taking 4hrs and 50 mins. With stops this was just short of 13 hours physical activity. But why did we even do this? Well, we did it to raise money for the charities that protect the fens – The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire who look after Woodwalton Fen; the RSPB who look after Ouse Fen and the National Trust who look after Wicken Fen.
The reason we wanted to raise money for the Fens is because they are an amazing ecological habitat. But they are facing significant threats, including habitat loss, draining of peat soils which releases stored carbon, and climate change impacts. Conservation efforts are crucial to restore and maintain these habitats for wildlife and future generations. The charities we supported are all involved in projects that focus on habitat restoration, such as re-wetting drained peatlands, creating nature reserves and supporting sustainable farming.
James: My favourite of the three legs was the walk. Despite the longest length it was easiest. There was plenty to see and I could turn my head and look about without risking crashing my bike into a ditch or capsizing my kayak. I loved walking along talking with Henry.
My favourite snack was the Haribo. Dad gave me some for the kayak leg and Henry’s Mum gave me some for the walk. They were the most important thing I took on the whole journey!
My favourite wildlife sighting. There are two and I cannot choose between them. The Kingfisher at Woodwalton Fen was my first bird of the day and the Barn Owl right at the end of the day was one of the last. Both were amazing sightings and not something I would see every day.
Henry’s Final Thoughts: So far, we have raised over £5,000 to share between these charities. This is amazing and made it all worthwhile.
Although we were joined by others along the way James and I were the only ones who did the whole thing! We are the only people to ever have completed The Fenathlon. We consider ourselves Fenathlon superstars (or “Fenstars”).
James’s Final Thoughts: I feel really proud of everything that Henry and I did, especially the amount of money we have raised for three very special charities. I hope we have many more adventures together in the future.
