Part One: The Drone
Moreton's Leam is an artificial waterway on the Middle Level of the Cambridgeshire Fens; the Middle Level is the name given the area containing the network of waterways lying between and connecting the River Nene with the Great Ouse.
It was constructed in 1478-90 by John Morton (Moreton) during his bishopric at Ely, he was later Lord Chancellor and was made a Cardinal.
The leam was cut from Stanground (NGR TL 2080 9735) to Guyhirne (NGR TL 3973 0298). About 1631 it was improved and remade by Cornelius Vermuyden.
The Nene Washes is an area of deliberately flooded grassland (washland) lying between the River Nene and a bank south of Morton’s Leam (The South Bank) and stretching for 12 miles from Peterborough to Guyhirn.
The area is technically a giant flood reservoir. The washes have local village names, Guyhirn Wash, Wisbech St Mary Wash, Whittlesey Wash etc but are collectively known as The Nene Washes.
One of the earliest Fenland drains, Morton’s Leam, dug in the late 15th century (before the nearby River Nene was dug) flows in almost a straight line parallel to the current course of the River Nene through the washes.
At times of potential flooding along The Nene Valley water is channelled from The River Nene into Morton’s Leam and onto the washes. Water is released from The Washes via a sluice gate, near Guyhirn and back into the River Nene at low tide when the threat of flooding the along The Nene Valley has subsided.