Although skating is a popular hobby in the UK, few people realise we have our own special form of it. Fen skating, using ice skates, is totally unique to East Anglia – in particular, the fens of Norfolk. Global warming has seen a decline in the numbers of people doing the sport “in the wild”, and the last championships (which were always held outdoors) were back in the winter of 1996/97.

Ice skates were introduced into Britain from Europe in the 17th Century, although there are records of English people using animal bone skates before that. It is thought the first recognisable ice skates came from Holland, which explains why Fenland farmers, working in a Dutch-style landscape of meres, canals and drainage ditches, took to the sport so easily.

By the early 19th Century, skating tournaments were a feature of life in the Fens. Facing the North Sea, winters were bitter and the waterways extensively frozen over. The sport led to the National Skating Association being established in Cambridge, in 1879.

The “Golden Era” of Fen skating was in the 1870s to 1890s, with the top Fen skaters being the David Beckhams of their day. It must be remembered these were, in the main, farm labourers. Fen skating is a form of cross-country speed skating. Originally, Fenland ice skates were made to a local design – later, Fen skaters adopted Norwegian-style ice skates.

The history of Fen skating is fascinating. We at Skates sell all sorts of ice skates, including speed skates – why not try the sport for yourself?