Free bus to run from station to wetlands reserve

The 1,000-acre (404 ha) nature reserve offers visitors wildlife-watching hides and pond dipping stations, as well as a cafe

A free shuttle bus service is to run twice a week between a Cambridgeshire railway station and a Norfolk wetlands reserve.

The minibus will depart from Ely railway station to and from the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) at Welney on Tuesdays and Saturdays in the pilot scheme.

Lizzie Bruce, WWT Welney's site manager, said she hoped it would enable people who may not have been able to travel to the site previously to enjoy the "wondrous wetlands".

The trial has been funded by a £9,334 grant from train operator Greater Anglia's customer and community improvement fund.

The trial starts on Tuesday and will run twice-weekly to and from Ely station

"Autumn is a fantastic time of year to make a visit, as we begin to welcome back flocks of cranes and wintering wildfowl," said Ms Bruce.

"The visitor centre, wildlife watching hides and pond dipping stations provide many ways to connect with wetland wildlife and the wider landscape."

The nature reserve is home to 1,000 acres of the northernmost part of the Ouse Washes and is Britain's largest area of seasonally-flooded land, offering year-round wildlife watching.

The train operator said the trial was designed to encourage more people to have car-free days.

Scott Dolling, Greater Anglia's partnerships manager, said: "This excellent scheme is a way of supporting further locally focused enhancements in line with community needs."

The minibus will depart from Ely station at 11:00 and 12:00 and depart from Welney at 14:45 and 15:45 twice a week, starting on Tuesday and running until Saturday 29 November.