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Wisbech

One of the largest of the Fenland towns, a port in medieval times and still enjoying shipping trade with Europe, Wisbech is at the centre of a thriving agricultural region. The 18th century in particular saw the building of rows of handsome houses, notably in North Brink and South Brink, which face each other across the river. The finest of all the properties is undoubtedly Peckover House, built in 1722 and bought at the end of the 18th century by Jonathan Peckover, a member of the Quaker banking family. The family gave the building to the National Trust in 1948. Behind its elegant façade are splendid panelled rooms, Georgian fireplaces with richly carved overmantels, and ornate plaster decorations. At the back of the house is a beautiful walled garden with summer houses and an orangery with 300-year-old orange trees.

No 8 South Brink is the birthplace of Octavia Hill (1838-1912), co-founder of the National Trust and a tireless worker for the cause of the poor, particularly in the sphere of social housing. The house is now Octavia Hill's Birthplace House, a museum with displays and exhibits commemorating her work.

More Georgian splendour is evident in the area where the Norman castle once stood. The castle was replaced by a bishop's palace in 1478, and in the 17th century by a mansion built for Cromwell's Secretary of State, John Thurloe. Local builder Joseph Medworth built the present Regency villa in 1816; of the Thurloe mansion, only the gate piers remain.

The Wisbech and Fenland Museum is one of the oldest purpose-built museums in the country, dating from 1847, and in charming Victorian surroundings visitors can view displays of porcelain, coins, rare geological specimens, Egyptian tomb treasures and several items of national importance, including the manuscript of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations, Napoleon's Sèvres breakfast set captured at Waterloo, and an ivory chess set that belonged to Louis XIV. Open 10 to 4 Tuesday to Saturday all year.

Wisbech is the stage for the annual Rose Fair Flower Festival, with flowers in four churches, strawberry teas, crafts, bric-a-brac, plants and a parade of floats. The event takes place at the beginning of July. The most important of the churches is the Church of St Peter and St Paul, with two naves under one roof and an independent tower with a peal of 10 bells. Note the royal arms of James I and, in the north chancel, a mosaic by Salviati of Leonardo's Last Supper.

Another sight to see in Wisbech is Elgoods Brewery on the banks of the River Nene. Visitors can watch traditional brewing methods using original open copper vessels, before sampling a selection of Elgood's wide range of prize-winning real ales in the Visitors Centre bar. Behind the brewery is a four-acre garden incorporating specimen trees about 200 years old, herbaceous borders, a lake, rockery, water features and lawns leading to a maze planted with thuja and laurel. Also well worth a look is the impressive 68-foot limestone memorial to Thomas Clarkson, one of the earliest leaders of the abolitionist movement. He was born in Wisbech, son of the headmaster of the Grammar School. The monument, which towers over Bridge Street, was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott in Gothic style. Clarkson's tireless efforts in the campaign against slavery were finally recognized nationally in 1996, 150 years after his death, when a plaque was laid in his memory in Westminster Abbey.

Still a lively commercial port, Wisbech boasts a restored Marina and new facilities for small craft that include floating pontoons with berths for 143 yachts. River trips are available from the yacht harbour.

Angles Theatre - one of the oldest working theatres in Britain - is a vibrant centre for the arts, located in a Georgian building with a history stretching back over 200 years. Some of the best talent in the nation, from poets and musicians to dance, comedy and theatrical troupes come to perform in the intimate 112-seat auditorium.

Wisbech's Lilian Ream Photographic Gallery is named after a daughter of Wisbech born in the late 19th century who, at the time of her death in 1961, had amassed a collection of over 200,000 photographs of Wisbech people, places and events, making for a unique and fascinating insight into the history and culture of the town. The gallery is housed in the Tourist Information Centre in Bridge Street.