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Whittlesey

The market town of Whittlesey lies close to the western edge of the Fens and is part of one of the last tracts to be drained. Brick-making was a local speciality, and 180-foot brick chimneys stand as a reminder of that once-flourishing industry. The church of St Andrew is mainly 14th century, with a 16th-century tower; the chancel, chancel chapels and naves still have their original roofs.

A walk around this charming town reveals an interesting variety of buildings: brick, of course, and also some stone, thatch on timber frames, and rare thatched mud boundary walls.

The Whittlesey Museum, housed in the grand 19th-century Town Hall in Market Street, features an archive of displays on local archaeology, agriculture, geology, brick-making and more. Reconstructions include a 1950s corner shop and post office, blacksmith's forge and wheelwright's bench.

A highlight of Whittlesey's year is the Straw Bear Procession that is part of a four-day January festival. A man clad in a suit of straw dances and prances through the streets, calling at houses and pubs to entertain the townspeople. The origins are obscure: perhaps it stems from pagan times when corn gods were invoked to produce a good harvest; perhaps it is linked with the wicker idols used by the Druids; perhaps it derives from the performing bears that toured the villages until the 17th century. What is certain is that at the end of the jollities the straw suit is ceremoniously burned.

Whittlesey was the birthplace of the writer L P Hartley (The Go-Between) and of General Sir Harry Smith, hero of many 19th-century campaigns in India. He died in 1860, and the south chapel off St Mary's Church (note the beautiful spire) was restored and named after him.