What is "welney"

Welney is a village and civil parish in the Fens of England, and the county of Norfolk. The village is situated immediately to the west of the Old Bedford River, River Delph and New Bedford River, which are all parallel channels and are here crossed by the A1101 road. The village is some south-west of the town of Downham Market, south of the town of King's Lynn and west of the city of Norwich. The county boundary with Cambridgeshire is adjacent, and the city of Cambridge lies to the south.

The parish covers an area of and had a population of 528 in 217 households at the 2001 census; the population increased to 542 at the 2011 Census. For the purposes of local government, it falls within the district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk.

In the 14th century, Welney was called Wellenhe, meaning "a river called Welle" (the old name of the Old Croft River). In the second half of the 19th century, Welney became famous for its skaters.

Welney is situated on the Ouse Washes, an internationally important area of wildlife conservation. WWT Welney, near the village, is a nature reserve in the care of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust. Nearby, there are also the RSPB Ouse Washes, a reserve managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.