Orton Mere & Woodston Reach

Text only page

Orton Mere is a small pocket park located on the A605 Oundle road into the city and is a popular local picnic spot. There are two car parking areas which are free. Both the lakes at Orton Mere and the nearby river banks are very popular with local anglers.

Woodston Reach is located immediately east of the Nene Parkway and is accessed by a footpath from Orton Mere underneath the Parkway. At the eastern end of Woodston Reach on a low river terrace overlooking the flood plane once stood the Medieval Village of Botolph Bridge. All that remains now in the uneven grassland is a single headstone where St Botolph’s church once stood. This area is managed as a site for wildlife.

The small reed fringed lake of Orton Mere east of the entrance road and the corresponding reed fringed pool at Woodston Reach on the other side of the Nene Parkway are both remnants of one of the city’s former industries.

Having once been used as slurry settling pools for the large sugar beet factory that until recently occupied a site further along Oundle road.

The Osier lake on the west of the entrance road is one of a series of lakes through Orton Meadows which were created by gravel extraction operations. This lake is used by Peterborough Model Boat Club for model powerboat competitions

The large Silver Lake is used by Nene Valley Ospreys for still water Trout fishing (contact) and the greens surrounding the lake form part of the Orton Meadows Golf course. OS sheet 142: TL 166 970

The Nene Valley Railway has a station and café at Orton Mere from here you can catch a train to their station at Wansford and to the city. Talking Timetable 01780 784404 Enquiries 01780 784444.

A footbridge crosses the river over the top of Orton Staunch giving access to routes to Thorpe Meadows. From here there are some lovely views upstream toward Peterborough Yacht Club. You can stand and watch the passage of boat traffic along the Nene through the lock gate here or look downstream at the fast flowing water falling over the weir where Proteus Canoe Club have a slalom course, possibly the only white water canoeing in East Anglia.

Peterborough City Council own and maintain the toilet facilities near the station.