GROWING up in the Fens has been captured in the pages of a poetry book by a former March man whose father spent his working life farming in the town.

Fred West, 63, spent his formative years enjoying the simple pleasures of being a farmer’s son soaking up the wildlife and the wide open skies which inspired so many of the pieces within his recently published book The Pathway and Beyond.

The book recalls eel fishing on the River Nene and the abundant animal and bird life that thrives within the local area.

Mr West, who runs an Army Reservists Centre in Coventry, said he began writing poetry about 16 years ago and looks back fondly on his days growing up in the March area.

“There is so much to inspire you to write about, the wildlife, the traditions, I found it came back to me easily,” he said.

Mr West was brought up in West End while his father farmed near the former Pecks Transport depot in Kingswood Park, moving to become the farm manager at Burrowmoor Farm, moving the family to live in the property next door.

Mr West, a former Hereward School pupil, left March in 1976 at the age of 26 and married his German wife moving to her home country for four years.

They moved to Scotland to renovate a castle and then to Solihull to live in a tiny village called Temple Balsall where he worked as the maintenance manager to the historic homes within the hamlet of a mere 60 residents and no vehicular access.

After 17 years he moved to Coventry and to his current job within the MoD.

His writing began as a hobby but has turned into a passion and already he has plan in the pipeline to publish a children’s poetry book.

To find his book visit www.blurb.com.