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The Norfolk Broads
Strictly speaking we should say the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads, because the southern broads are mainly in the county of Suffolk.

Why start with the Broads anyway? Several reasons, but mainly because for the beginner they offer a variety of attractive rivers and lakes (The Broads) without locks, and, apart from Breydon Water and the confluence of the Rivers Bure, Waveney and Yare near Yarmouth without any strong tides or currents. Your most challenging encounter will be with a few rather low bridges requiring careful passage.

The Broads are divided into the Northern Broads (mainly in Norfolk) and the Southern Broads which are mostly in Suffolk. The Northern Broads are the most popular, and the most interesting – but coming from Norfolk I would say that!

The Broads were formed as a result of extracting peat to fuel the fires of Norwich during the 12th – 14th Centuries, following which the dug out areas flooded forming the lakes which became known as The Broads.

They are administered by the Broads Authority,  who are responsible for all navigation on the Broads, including policing the variable speed limits indicated for motor vessels, apart from the area around Great Yarmouth which is administered by Great Yarmouth Port Authority. They are an area of Special Scientific Interest and are home to an abundance of wildlife, especially birds, several species of which are seldom found anywhere else in the UK.  The Broadland Conservation Centre at Ranworth has an exhibition about the natural history of the Broads, and is well worth a visit.The Broads Society is a club for all those interested in the Broads and publishes an interesting quarterly magazine, The Harnser (Harnser is the Norfolk name for the Heron!)

The Northern Broads

The Northern Broads comprise the Rivers Bure, Ant and Thurne and several Broads, the largest of which is Hickling.

Navigable for over 30 miles from Coltishall in the north to Great Yarmouth in the south  and has  tributaries and cuttings to several Broads. Some little way south of Coltishall lies the town of Wroxham The River Bure is the most northerly of the rivers, and is the best known river in Norfolk.  It’s which, despite its rather low bridge,  is the hire-cruiser capital of the Broads, with shops, chandlers, pubs and restaurants catering for most needs and tastes. You can take a steam train ride from here on the narrow gauge Bure Valley Railway for nine miles to Aylsham.

The river from Wroxham eastwards to Wroxham Broad and Horning is picturesque and normally very busy, and the lovely riverside village of Horning is one of  the prettiest villages on the Broads. It’s home to the annual Three Rivers Sailing Race and Horning Regatta during August.

Continuing eastward along the River Bure from Horning past the entrance to Ranworth Broad and Ranworth Village you come to one of the Bure’s  tributaries, the River Ant, a quiet river running northward for eight miles via Barton Broad to the head of navigation at Wayford Bridge. Barton Broad is a nature reserve, owned by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, and whereas most Broads are approached by a cut (often known as a dyke) turning off from the river Barton Broad sits astride the river which runs through its centre via a marked channel. At the northern end of Barton Broad there is a dyke leading to Barton Turf.

Continuing our journey on the River Bure just east of the entrance to the River Ant there is the entrance from the Bure to South Walsham Broad – East of this entrance you pass the ruins of St Benet’s Abbey before arriving at a fork in the river at what amounts almost to a T junction – The River Bure is to the right, and it’s largest tributary, the River Thurne goes to the left.    

The Thurne is a popular river, navigable for about 13 miles to West Somerton where you are only a couple of miles from the coast, and passing the beautifully restored Thurne Dyke Windpump and Womack Water leading to the village of Ludham, and then through the busy little town of Potter Heigham with its 700 year-old but notoriously low road bridge and several boat-hire bases via Heigham Sound to Hickling Broad and Horsey Mere. Hickling is the largest of the Broads, occupying some 500 acres, and is used for a variety of watersports, especially sailing and windsurfing, but it’s shallow in many parts and you should stick to the deep channel marked by posts  It’s an important wildlife centre, with nature trails open to the public all year, and a water-trail excursion by a replica reed carrying boat.

Navigating Potter Heigham is not difficult if you stick to the rules – Firstly keep to the starboard  (right-hand) side of the river, and keep your speed down. Keep clear of sailing vessels, and maintain a good look-out. Hire craft must use the services of a Bridge Pilot to pass under the old bridge.
 
Horsey Mere, approached via the Meadow Dyke, is particularly attractive to migrant birds and it’s owned by the National Trust who also own the Horsey Windpump, a tall drainage pump restored since it was struck by lightning during the second world war. It’s open to the public daily from April – September.

At Thurne Mouth, if we continue on the River Bure by turning south towards Acle and Great Yarmouth rather than north onto the River Thurne we pass the very narrow Upton Dyke before passing under Acle Bridge and on to Acle Marina. There’s a narrow channel here (Acle Dyke) leading to the town, but there are no public moorings along it, so if you want to visit the town it’s best to moor at the marina.

Continuing eastward towards Great Yarmouth past Stokesby, with its candlemakers shop, you go past the restored Stracey Arms Windpump, which houses a photographic exhibition of local windpumps and which is open to the public daily from April – September.

Eastwards on the lower River Bure from Stracey Arms to Great Yarmouth the river is shallow with the main channel marked by posts, and there are few safe places to moor up until you reach the Port of Yarmouth Marina.

If you decide to venture onto the southern Broads you must first cross Breydon Water – readers of Arthur Ransome’s Coot Club will know that this can be tricky, as there are strong tides and the water outside the main mareked channel is very shallow so it’s easy to run aground!

The technique is to stay within the channel, and if you happen to be in a sailing boat, check the tides to ensure that it will be running in the right direction when you cross Breydon. The channel is marked by red and green posts – Going up-river from Yarmouth you leave the red posts to port and the green posts to starboard.

The tidal effect on the Broads is really only significant around Great Yarmouth from Stracey Arms southward on the River Bure, and on the Yare and Waveney right up to Norwich and Beccles respectively.

Once safely across Breydon Water you have a choice of taking the right fork onto the River Yare towards Norwich via Reedham and Brundall, or left onto the River Waveney towards Lowestoft and Oulton Broad, or to Beccles. Either way you will encounter one of the  swing bridges, either at Reedham on the Yare or at Somerleyton on the Waveney – Even most motor cruisers need to lower their  canopies to negotiate these bridges, and then signal 3 long blasts on their horn to alert the keeper to open the bridge for you – one red flag indicates when the bridge is closed but will shortly re-open whereas two red flags indicates that it is out of service.

The River Yare from Yarmouth to Norwich is still sometimes used by large commercial vessels, and you are required to give way to these commercial craft at all times, even if you’re in a sailing boat.

At Reedham there is a passage off to your left known as The New Cut – this 2.5 mile man-made tidal channel connects the River Yare to the River Waveney and by-passes Great Yarmouth – Constructed in 1833, originally for commercial traffic, despite its name it’s hardly new and is nowadays used only by pleasure boats.!

Shortly after leaving Reedham you reach the Reedham Chain Ferry which carries vehicles across the river – The Reedham chain ferry is famous as the last surviving chain ferry carrying vehicles in Broadland,  and is the only means of vehicles crossing the River Yare between Norwich and Great Yarmouth.  Boat skippers should take care to pass astern of the ferry and to avoid the chains!   After the chain ferry you will come to a fork , with the main river (The Yare) off to the right and the little River Chet, which is both narrow and shallow, as well as being tidal, running down to Loddon to your left.

Assuming you stay on the Yare you will cross Hardley Marshes and pass by Hardley Dyke before reaching Cantley where you may encounter large vessels manouvering especially near the sugar refinery.

Continuing towards Norwich you’ll pass the Buckenham Arms pub, the entrances to Rockland Broad and Strumshaw Fen Nature Reserve before reaching Brundall and Brundall Marina. There are moorings here opposite the railway station where there are train services into the City of Norwich and to Great Yarmouth.  From Brundall the River Yare wends its way past another nature reserve, and past several boatyards to its junction with the River Wensum near Trowse Newton, after which the Yare is not really navigable. However it’s possible to navigate the River Wesum past Thorpe St.Andrew and Norwich City Football stadium at Carrow Road and the main railway station right up to the limit of navigation at Bishop Bridge which is one of Norwich’s oldest. To visit the City on foot the only moorings are at Norwich Yacht Station at Bishop Bridge.

The Rivers Yare and Wensum, both of which are tidal throughout their combined 30 mile length, were once very important commercial waterways connecting Great Yarmouth to Norwich, and even today coasters still use the Yare as far as Cantley. 

The Southern Broads:

The Southern Broads are usually approached via the River Waveney from the southern end of Breydon Water, from where the river runs southward through St.Olaves and Somerleyton towards Oulton Broad and Lowestoft.
There is a marina, boatyards a windpump and a Priory at S.Olaves, and at Somerleyton there is a swing bridge carrying the railway across the river. The same procedure applies to negotiating this bridge as was described above for the swing bridge at Reedham.

Some way south of Somerleyton there is a fork, with the River Waveney leading to Beccles and Bungay to the right, and Oulton Dyke leading to Oulton Broad to the left.

Oulton Broad is the only one of significant size (130 acres) in the Southern Broads, and is very popular for a variety of watersports, including windsurfing and power-boat racing.  There are good moorings at the Oulton Broad Yacht Station.   Oulton Broad  has access, via Mutford Lock and Lake Lothing to the North Sea at Loweswtoft. Mutford Lock is in fact the limit of navigation for hire craft, but privately owned vessels are allowed passage but only by prior arrangement and payment of a fee to Waveney District Council who operate the lock and the Carlton Railway Swing Bridge across Lake Lothing.

If, rather than taking the fork to Oulton Broad one continues on the River Waveney  south-westward past the Waveney River Centre, the river here is actually the boundary between Norfolk and Suffolk, and meanders through the Levels and across Beccles Marshes before Beccles New Bridge, Beccles Yacht Station abd Beccles Old Bridge. It is tidal throughout and distinctly rural.
 
Continuing west along the River Waveney it’s not far to Geldeston Lock (now disused) which now marks the limit of navigation, although in years gone by the W£aveney was navigable, via several locks, right up to Bungay.

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