Eel hive

Blip from my lovely lunchtime walk in the sunshine. I went through Cherry Hill Park on my way to the river. This is a willow living sculpture, an homage to traditional eel hives. The accompanying plaque reads as follows:

"Willow and eels have both been integral to the fenland landscape, being a source of income for the fen people for centuries. According to Bentham, eels were used as currency to pay taxes to the monastery, which traded them with the monks at Peterborough for stone which was then used to build the cathedral. Grigs and hives, used to trap eels in the River Ouse, were made from willow. Soaked split rods were woven into small tunnel-like traps, which were then submerged overnight in the river. There is an eel hive in Ely Museum."