Designated on 15 March 1988
The Broads are a living contrast – created by centuries of industry, yet one of the UK’s most important wildlife habitats, the last home of some rare species. In some lights, sparkling and beautiful, in others dark and dramatic. In its twisting waterways, you’ll find a gentle life, where tall-sailed wherries still drift along the channels, butterflies flit among the reedbanks and old mills keep a creaking watch over the land. But you’ll also find great food, striking grandeur and wide stretches of sandy beach.
In this guide, we’ll look at some great ways to explore the Broads, from quiet boat trips to boardwalks that loop around lakes, fine country houses, working pieces of history and some great spots for sampling the area’s bounteous local produce.
Start/endpoints: Barton Broad Boardwalk car park, Bethesda
Start/endpoints: Barton Broad Boardwalk car park, Bethesda
Distance: 3mi; elevation: 127ft difficulty rating: 1/5
Start/endpoints: Barton Broad Boardwalk car park, Bethesda
The hardest part of this short stroll is saying the name three times really quickly, so avoid that and you should be in for a gentle and pleasant day. The scenic route through the countryside that leads to the wide wooden walkways built by the Broads Authority as part of the Clear Water 2000 project and making the Broad accessible on foot and by those with limited mobility. After you’ve trodden the boards, head past the old marshal’s hut and check out St Michael’s Church, with architecture that spans the centuries and information boards that provide a fascinating tour of local history.
Start/endpoints: How Hill car park
Start/endpoints: How Hill car park
Distance: 7mi; elevation: N/a difficulty rating: 2/5
Start/endpoints: How Hill car park
A simple circular offering picturesque views along the River Ant and River Bure, with detours off to the thatched houses and tea rooms of Ludham,where you can also explore St Catherine’s Church. The highlight, however, is most certainly the abbey itself, which was the only monastery to stand open in defiance during Henry VIII’s dissolution rampage. The ruins of the gatehouse had a mill built on them in the 1700s, adding a curious cone to the more familiar abbey arches. There’s a wooden cross that marks where the altar once stood and, while the monks all left in the mid 1500s, services are still held here on the first Sunday in August every year. Once you’ve nosed around for a while, you can wander over to another place of quiet worship, The Dog at Ludham Bridge, for lunch and a pint.
Start/endpoints: Whitlingham Country park
Start/endpoints: Whitlingham Country park
Distance: 3mi; elevation: 50ft; difficulty rating: 1/5
Start/endpoints: Whitlingham Country park
This circular walk is wheelchair accessible and, once again with this being the Broads, mostly flat, making it suitable for people of all fitness levels and ages. It’s a popular route with runners and cyclists, making it more the sort of thing you start the day with rather than a hike you prep for. Being close to Norwich city centre, it ties in easily to a varied day of visiting the cathedral and shopping, or makes a pleasant final morning before you head home. If you time your visit right, you can witness the beautiful colours of sunrise on the water.
Start/endpoints: Multiple
Start/endpoints: Multiple
Distance: 38mi; elevation: varied; difficulty rating: 5/5
Start/endpoints: Multiple
The Wherryman’s Way runs as close as is now possible to the old route that the wherries, Norfolk’s iconic single-sailed boats, took when shipping goods from the coast into Norwich. There are many loops and sections that can be taken on individually if you don’t feel like making the whole march, but a favourite is the eastern end, from Great Yarmouth to Reedham. You walk along the north bank of the River Yare, cross at the Reedham chain ferry and come up the other side, giving you different views of the landscape to a standard out-and-back.
Start/endpoints: Bigod’s Castle
Start/endpoints: Bigod’s Castle
Distance: 10mi; elevation: N/a ; difficulty rating: 3/5
Start/endpoints: Bigod’s Castle
This loop around Bungay is named for a local noble family, not after the expletives of those who walk it. Roger Bigod was one of many who visited England with their friend William in the mid 1000s and decided not to return home, instead taking advantage of some recently available territory to become the first Earl of Norfolk. The current castle is built on the site of many previous (and apparently ineffective) fortresses and from there the footpaths take you through Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty which are home to many rare species. It’s another gentle wander that can be added to or cut short in various places, depending on how much of the local land you feel like conquering.
Take a visual journey through the Broads, created by Joseph Harrington www.jhfilmproduction.co.uk
Swallowtail Butterfly © Martin ToshDID YOU KNOW?
A quarter of resident species in the Broads are internationally protected, including the Norfolk Hawker dragonfly and the Swallowtail butterfly, only found in the park.
One of Norfolk’s most famous brewers (St Peters and Lacons are also well worth looking out for), you’ll see Woodforde’s in plenty of pubs, but you can also visit their very own, The Fur & Feathers, connected to the brewery itself. Tours and tastings are available, but simply sitting by the water with a very local pint is often enough.
While not within the borders of the National Park, this is a regional delicacy that’s worth sneaking out for. It’s thought that the chalk shelf and clear water off Cromer are what makes the crabs there so plentiful and flavoursome, and you’ll find plenty of places to try it or buy your own for home cooking.
While they do serve their two eponymous products, the little eatery in Hoveton rightly declares itself “so much more than just cheese”. Bottomless brunches, fabulous pastries and some great takeaway options make it a superb spot for stocking up or settling in.
There are plenty of places to pick up the region’s wealth of local produce, but this has to be one of the most scenic and stocked. The cafe has lovely meadow views from the terrace and there’s tonnes of fabulous farm goods on offer, with an on-site butcher and baker meaning you can get anything from a quick snack to a week of meals.
If you happen to be down in the south of the Broads, Somerleyton House will probably catch your eye. It’s a magnificent Jacobean Manor with extensive gardens to wander. Crucially, it’s also just round the corner from The Duke’s Head, where you’ll find comfy armchairs and a hearty menu to perk you up after all the marvelling.
Swallowtail Butterfly © Martin ToshDID YOU KNOW?
The Broads is not a natural landscape. While many National Parks have been subtly shaped and styled by industry, the Broads are the result of medieval peat digging, which was a staple of the region for 200 years. The channels it left steadily flooded, creating the waterways we see today. This was only proven in the 60s after work by the botanist and ecologist, Joyce Lambert.
The Broads are a powerful example of humankind’s ability to shape the land they live on and adapt to the changes we ourselves bring about. The area was once covered in woodland, which was stripped for fuel and building materials over centuries. When the trees were gone, peat digging on the now-exposed land boomed. Over about 200 years, enough peat was cut that the landscape was permanently reshaped and, as the work sites flooded, the waterways and lakes we now know as The Broads were formed. Not to be deterred, locals switched to harvesting the reeds that grew along the banks for thatch then later harnessed the power of the wind to restore some of the marshes to farmland. In terms of National Park status, the Broads is very young, only adopting the term in 2015, although the same principles of conservation and enjoyment had been upheld by the Broads Authority (by another name) since 1978. Crucially, they also have another cherished responsibility, preserving navigation of the Broads as a working waterway and thus maintaining yet another thing that makes the Broads a unique fusion of industry and nature.
Swallowtail Butterfly © Martin ToshDID YOU KNOW?
The Broads are one of the driest places in the UK! While the waterways run for more than 200km, average rainfall is 400mm less than the national average.
A northern base for your Broads trip gives you access to a couple of things that you won’t find staying in the more southerly reaches. There’s at least a morning to be had seal spotting at Horsey, where a Grey Seal colony frequently occupies the narrow beach. If you don’t mind nipping out of the park boundaries, you can head to Cromer for lunch and enjoy its famed crabs at any one of a number of establishments. While you’re in indulgent mood, head for the Woodforde Brewery to sample another of the areas specialties, lingering for dinner at Fur & Feather, the breweries own pub. The next day, take in some local history at Horsey Windpump, the restored drainage mill which you can climb to the top of, surveying the land around you as the sails turn. With this being a visit to the Broads though, you can hardly leave without getting close to the water, so take to the Barton Broad Boardwalk and stroll the banks, revelling in the bustling thriving landscape.
Walking The Wherryman’s Way makes a great centrepiece to a centred trip in the Broads. Salhouse Farm Shop can set you up with enough fine food to weigh you down then perk you up, but as the trail runs all the way from Great Yarmouth to Norwich, you might want to pick off a section. Any part of it is both scenic and historic, following as closely as possible to the route that the famous Wherry’s, with their tall single sails, once took to and from the coast. For a full picture of the Broads, follow that up with a trip on an Electric Eel from How Hill. The silent boats leave wildlife undisturbed as they tour the waterways and offer you a chance to see the wetlands truly at peace. For a day of complete contrast, visit the splendid site of Fairhaven Gardens, replete with a surprising profusion of Himalayan primulas (in season, of course) then head to Hoveton and eat yourself into a stupor at Fizz & Fromage, which serves two things you can probably guess and plenty more besides.
There is a lot to offer in the south of the National Park, where it crosses over to Suffolk. Spend your mornings wandering round Bungay, a pretty market town with lots of independent businesses. The Earsham Street Cafe can serve you up a lovely lunch, while the fishmonger, deli, butchers and greengrocer can furnish you with any supplies you might need for your afternoon exertions and The Fen Farm Dairy just south of town, offers the unique opportunity of buying local specialty Bigod Brie from a vending machine. However you stock up, you can head a little north to explore Burgh Castle and walk Bigod’s Way (Bigod, he put his name to everything didn’t he?), following the River Yare, or launch yourself onto the water from Bungay’s Riverside Centre. For less strenuous entertainment, stroll the gardens and halls of Somerleyton House, retiring to the nearby Duke’s Head for dinner at one of Norfolk’s many, many wonderful pubs.
We held an event in Westminster this week to discuss our recent report on National Park Authority governance with Mary Creagh, the Minister for Nature.
We’ve launched our new report ‘Leading National Parks into the Future: Modernising National Park Authority Governance’.
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