Poor roads end dance custom

The appalling state of a road to one of the area’s unique attractions is so appalling that a 30-year-old tradition has to be abandoned this year.

The Holme Fen posts date from 1851 and were driven through the peat just before Whittlesey Mere, the last and biggest lake in the Fens, was drained.

The top of the post (which supposedly came from the glass house at the Great Exhibition – later the Crystal Palace) was then level with the ground: now more than four metres is exposed as a result of shrinkage of the land, and the posts are an important measure and symbol of erosion.

Every year since 1988 a group of dancers (now Pig

Dyke Molly) has met there at sunrise on May 1 to dance, and then enjoy a bucks fizz before having breakfast together.

The beautiful lake in the wildlife reserve is visited, and its peace enjoyed.

The road through the nature reserve, over the East Coast main line, has been deteriorating for many years.

Last year the surface was so bad one of the dancers ended up with a bad sprain.

This year, the surface is worse, and the custom has to be abandoned.

One morning of dancing may not matter but the state of this road is a disgrace to the Fens.

This is the lowest spot in England, and the history and significance of the posts makes it an important place.

But visitors will struggle to find it and struggle even more to reach it safely.

Is it too much to hope that by 2020 the road will be safe for both dancing and welcoming visitors? Tony Forster

Pig Dyke Molly dancers