15 fun things to do on the Broads

from There’s Nowhere Like Norfolk Summer 2023 Issue

A-Z of the Norfolk seaside

The unique Broads National Park are 125 miles of navigable, lock-free waterways that are a haven for wildlife. They’re also the only English National Park with a city in it –Norwich. And, would you believe, the Broads are also man-made, the result of inundated medieval peat diggings. Read on and you’ll discover why…

1 Take A Boat Out

Who needs Venice when you can take a day boat out from Wroxham or Potter Heigham (other riverside villages are available)? Better still, take one out for a whole week. Enjoy the tranquillity, the birdlife and beautiful countryside of Britain’s largest protected wetland as you slip along. Listen out for a booming Bittern or catch sight of a rare swallowtail, Britain’s largest butterfly, which is unique to the Broads.

2 Go On A Wherry

Take a trip on a wherry, Norfolk’s very own native boat. Oak and clinker-built with a single large black gaff sail, it’s a wide, shallowdraughted boat with a keel, designed for the Broads and able to take 25 tonnes of goods. Big wherries worked the lower river systems, but smaller, 25-feet boats could extend their reach up-river by slipping their keels and lowering their masts to shoot bridges. On retirement, wherries were often sunk to strengthen riverbanks, but there are still some left, being used as pleasure boats.

> wherryyachtcharter.org

> wherryalbion.com

4 Visit Wheatfen

Visit Wheatfen, famous naturalist Ted Ellis’ nature reserve at Surlingham, south of Norwich and close to the River Yare. There’s a rewarding circular walk where you can learn about the medieval inundated peat diggings that became the Broads. Yes, the Broads are man-made! Didn’t we say?

5 Learn About The Broads

Learn more about the area at the Museum of the Broads at Stalham Staithe. They’re man-made you know, the result of medieval peat digging for fuel. Yes, really! You can get out on the water from the museum on an electric boat or a steam boat!

3 Lose Yourself In Woodland

Spend an afternoon lazing around Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden, a secret hideaway in the heart of the Norfolk Broads. There are wonderful woodland walks, gardens rich in wildlife with an eclectic mix of native and cultivated plantings plus a private broad – if you’re lucky you’ll get it all to yourself!

6 A Broad Next To The City

Head to the fantastic visitor centre at Whitlingham Country Park and try out canoeing, sailing or paddleboarding. Or take it easier on the solarpowered Ra boat – Norfolk is the combined sunniest/driest county so there’ll be plenty of power!

7 Check Out The Windmills

Get up close to one of Norfolk’s bestknown landmarks (although most of these operated drainage pumps so they’re not strictly windmills). Windmills probably came from the East with returning Crusaders – at one time this region had the densest population of them in England. The brick tower mills with movable, boatlike wooden caps and four wooden sails covered with canvas are unique to Norfolk. The tallest on the Broads is the Berney Arms High Mill, built in the 1860s, which you walk to from Great Yarmouth or visit by train – it’s a request stop on the line to Norwich. The National Trust Horsey Windpump has great views from the top.