DISCOVER NORFOLK BROADS
INFORMATION SITES
Broadlands Caravan Club Site, Johnson
Street, Ludham, Norfolk NR29 5NY
Tel 01692 630357
ABOVE: Windmill not be the most attractive village, but it does Centre, a thatched building floating at the A mile or so east, Thurne has one of the
on Thurne Dyke
have ‘the world’s largest village store’ in water’s edge, with wildlife exhibitions and finest mills on the Broads, standing on
Roys, stocking ‘everything under the sun’. birdwatching gallery. Thurne Dyke a short walk from the village.
Another retail experience is Wroxham Nearby villages are exceptionally pretty, Like most mills here, it is a drainage pump
Barns, a mile or two north of the village, especially Woodbastwick with its green and and not used for grinding corn. One that
where you can see various craftspeople at thatched pumphouse overlooked by the was, however, is Sutton Mill, near Stalham,
work and buy their products. There’s also church. There’s also a small brewery and a Britain’s tallest windmill. Attached to it is a
fun for kids, plus a restaurant and café. pub, the Fur and Feather Inn. Ranworth museum of East Anglian bygones, the
Nearby Hoveton Hall has gardens to village actually lies by Malthouse Broad and Broads Museum, not to be confused with
enjoy, while back at Wroxham, you can take has a welcoming pub called the Maltsters the Museum of the Broads at Stalham,
a nine-mile trip on the narrow-gauge Bure and a church, St Helen’s, known as the which has boats displayed and information
Valley Steam Railway to Aylsham. Walkers ‘Cathedral of the Broads’. It houses the about the life of a marshman.
can follow the same route along the Bure country’s most complete medieval painted You can see how marshmen lived at Toad
Valley Path. Also worth a hike is the screen and the tower offers superb views. Hole Cottage on the How Hill House
Weavers’ Way, a 27-mile route through the North of Ranworth, Horning is another estate. Along a short stretch of the river Ant
Broads between Stalham and Great picturesque riverside village with a good nearby, stand three more drainage mills, all
Yarmouth, much of it alongside rivers. choice of pubs and restaurants. The area of different construction. A wildlife trail
Beside the Bure east of Wroxham you can between the two villages and east to Thurne passes through the fens and woodlands,
explore some of the smaller broads like is best explored by boat, though some providing the chance to spot kingfishers,
Salhouse Broad, Cockshoot Broad or places can be reached on foot. One such is herons, marsh harriers, bearded tits and
Ranworth Broad. The last two are closed to the ruined St Benet’s Abbey, founded in swallowtail butterflies, perhaps even the
craft and have boardwalks for exploring the 1020, standing remotely on marshes with a elusive otter. How Hill House itself is a
marshes, a birdwatchers’ paradise. At disused drainage mill rising incongruously lovely thatched Edwardian mansion, now
Ranworth you’ll find the Broads Wildlife from its midst. used as a study centre. a73
INFORMATION TAKE TO THE WATER
Numerous Broads’ boatyards rent out hourly rate) from Horning, Salhouse, Broads’ lighter, punted by marshmen to
day boats (often electric powered). Sutton and Wayford Bridge. transport reeds.
Among larger yards close to the Caravan If you prefer everything done for you, Alternatively, you could take a luxury
Club’s site at Ludham are Wroxham cruise-boats (with light refreshments, cruise aboard a traditional wherry (only
(access to river Bure and Wroxham, licensed bar and toilet facilities) operate eight survive) like the White Moth sailing
Salhouse and Hoveton Great Broads) from Wroxham and Potter Heigham for from Horning down the river Bure to
and Potter Heigham (access to river one hour to two-and-a-half-hour cruises. Ranworth Broad. There it anchors for a
Thurne and Hickling Broad), but there Similarly priced is the Southern Comfort relaxed lunch before returning to
are numerous smaller yards. Day boats Mississippi paddleboat which sails from Horning for a candlelit supper in the
(seating 6-8 people) cost from around the Swan Inn at Horning. There are also master saloon. Cheaper wherry trips are
£13 an hour or from around £70 for a full smaller boats like the solar-powered Ra, available aboard the Hathor during
day. If you fancy some exercise, you can which cruises around Barton Broad Spring Bank Holiday week, and during
hire Canadian canoes (seating up to nature reserve, the Electric Eel, which
and the Helen of Ranworth, which gives
August and early September (bookings
three people) for about £30 a day (or follows a wildlife water trail at How Hill
an idea of what it was like to travel on a
01603 610734).
58 DISCOVER TOURING
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