At the end of the last ice age, lush woodland grew here. Britain was connected to mainland Europe and the rivers of this area flowed into The Rhine.
As the ice retreated, the sea came in. Vast freshwater marshes formed, and the woodland drowned in stagnant water, forming deep black peat.
In more recent times, the marshes and meres have succumbed to drainage and the black soil has become much prized as prime agricultural land.
Black Fen is the home of the bold willows. Rooted in their ancestors, they fearlessly hold their heads in the teeth of a gale. It is a landscape of sky. And wind. And always the land.