The John Clare Countryside Project Vision

We aim to double nature throughout each of the 21 parishes in the John Clare Countryside, increase key indicator species and levels of public engagement, understanding and participation in the natural and built heritage of the area.

We want to pilot and champion best practice and sustainability in all aspects of future development and land management within the area. The project will promote public health and wellbeing, provide large areas of accessible green open space for the people of Peterborough and Stamford as well as create new jobs and economic opportunities, particularly in tourism, visitor attractions, farming and nature conservation.

Get Involved

Latest News

Mayor backs tourism in John Clare Countryside

The elected mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough visited Castor Hanglands last month to trumpet the area’s nature recovery and visitor economy potential. Paul Bristow, who leads the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, paid a visit to John Clare Countryside this October, giving his backing to a Local Visitor Economy Partnership to promote the area. The
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Nature-friendly makeover for Etton paddocks bears fruit

Just three years after they were planted, hedgerows and young trees in once-neglected pony paddocks are providing vital food and shelter for wildlife. Back in January 2022, fifteen volunteers turned out at a neglected set of paddocks, just outside the village of Etton, near Peterborough. Over the next three days, they created over 200 metres
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New fencing for Bainton’s historic sheepwash

The replacement of medieval-style fencing marks the completion of a community-led project to create wildlife habitats. For centuries, every summer, Bainton’s shepherds herded their flocks into a wooden pen by the stone-lined pool at the edge of the village. One by one, the sheep were slid backwards into the water, ducked under a floating bar,
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Seeing life “as Clare saw it in his poetry”

December’s ‘Clare in the City’ conference in Peterborough was an inspiring call to action, exploring how the JCC project can benefit people in urban areas. How can the John Clare Countryside benefit the people of Peterborough, Stamford and the Deepings? That was the big question up for discussion at the John Clare Countryside winter conference
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Flower power in Helpston and Deeping Gate

Green spaces in two John Clare Countryside parishes will be stippled with yellows, whites and blues this spring, thanks to the bulb-planting efforts of local volunteers. Back in early November, villagers in Helpston were busy planting bulbs on the village green and in St Botolph’s churchyard. Soon, in the coming months, they will be seeing
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Clare in the City: JCC winter event announced

How can the John Clare Countryside benefit the people of Peterborough, Stamford and the Deepings? It’s the big question we’re asking at an inspiring event this December. Following an exciting summer conference, at which an ambitious vision for landscape-scale nature recovery was unveiled, the John Clare Countryside partnership will be exploring how the project can
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A green accolade for Castor

Castor Parish Council wins Environmental Project of the Year at the CAPALC Awards 2024. A parish council in the John Clare Countryside has been recognised for its exemplary efforts to restore nature locally. Last month, Castor Parish Council won Environmental Project of the Year at the annual CAPALC (Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Association of Local Councils)
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Animated film celebrates biodiverse grassland

Two nature reserves in the John Clare Countryside feature in a new animated short film celebrating unique environments on Peterborough’s doorstep. Nineteenth-century nature poet John Clare has a starring role in an animated short film produced by Natural England. The delightful new film, Peterborough – Beyond Biodiversity, shines a light on nationally rare limestone grassland
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Our work has 3 key principles

Nature

John Clare Countryside (JCC) is a special place for several reasons, and one of those is because of its relatively high number of Sites of Special Scientific Interest and County Wildlife Sites, along with other areas – including inside the villages themselves, that are still comparatively ‘nature rich’. There are different habitats within JCC, from the low lying wetland areas to the East, around Peakirk, that were once under several feet of fresh water, to the woodland areas North of Castor, and the limestone grasslands areas to the West of JCC around Southorpe. Each has their own specific species of plants, birds and insects that live there, and the JCC project aims to protect, enhance and increase those habitats.

Heritage

The John Clare Countryside area has been inhabited by humans for thousands of years with recorded activity spanning as far back as the Bronze Age, and with uninterrupted activity all the way through to modern times. The beautiful village churches that scatter the John Clare countryside, with their unique Norman and Saxon varieties of architecture, each tell a different story of history and religion from Paganism to early and modern-day Christianity.
To find out more about the history of the area and to visit the unique heritage sites, use on the map below.

Community

The John Clare Countryside is for everyone, and not just for those that live within its boundaries. We want to create more access and opportunities for the people of Peterborough and Stamford to get out and enjoy this breath-taking countryside. Our project will create events and opportunities for the local community.

These will range from countryside walks through reserves and historical landscapes, to volunteering opportunities to help improve biodiversity. We hope these new opportunities will create long lasting connections between people and the nature around us.

Ways to get involved

There are many ways you can support and get involved with the project. Help us to achieve our goal of doubling nature and re-wilding our incredible landscapes. Come along to one of our events, or join us for a walkabout in the countryside admiring and learning about the incredible wildlife around us. Even better, volunteer with us!

I love to see the summer beaming forth
And white wool sack clouds sailing to the north
I love to see the wild flowers come again
And mare blobs stain with gold the meadow drain
John Clare

I love to see the summer beaming forth
And white wool sack clouds sailing to the north
I love to see the wild flowers come again
And mare blobs stain with gold the meadow drain
John Clare

The badger grunting on his woodland track
With shaggy hide and sharp nose scrowed with black
Roots in the bushes and the woods, and makes
A great high burrow in the ferns and brakes
John Clare

John Clare

The John Clare Countryside Project Vision

Latest News

Mayor backs tourism in John Clare Countryside

Nature-friendly makeover for Etton paddocks bears fruit

New fencing for Bainton’s historic sheepwash

Seeing life “as Clare saw it in his poetry”

Flower power in Helpston and Deeping Gate

Clare in the City: JCC winter event announced

A green accolade for Castor

Animated film celebrates biodiverse grassland

Our work has 3 key principles

Nature

Heritage

Community

Ways to get involved