'This is why the Norfolk Broads is my most treasured national park'
First created to calm social upheaval following WWII, Britain’s national parks celebrate their 75th anniversary this year.
Despite this pool of protected parklands offering unfettered access to the UK’s lushest, greenest landscapes, the Broads National Park – which traverses both Norfolk and Suffolk – will always be my go-to escape for a wild, watery escape.
Holidays here have, over the years, been framed by memories of sun-drenched swims in Wroxham’s Caen Meadow, chasing electric blue kingfishers through the Strumpshaw Fen in Yare Valley, and sipping glasses of crisp rosé on the chocolate-box banks of Horsey Mere.
I’ve hired a canoe at Wayford Bridge and paddled up the disused North Walsham and Dilham Canal; climbed the spiral church tower at Ranworth to drink in the Broads’ milky chalk plough lands and loured marshes; stumbled upon unexpected windmills from tranquil moorings at sunset, the sky streaked with layers of peach and gold.
I’ve explored the nearby stately estates of Hoveton Hall and Sandringham, too, marvelling at their history and grandeur and gardens. Sinking into a simpler, slower pace of life is easier here.
EXPLORE THE BROADS WITH COUNTRY LIVING
Of course, the most famed way to experience this region’s labyrinth of scenic lakes, reed-fringed rivers and calming creeks is by boat. The Broads National Park is, after all, Britain’s largest protected wetland area – and home to a quarter of the UK’s rarest wildlife species. Whether you’re cruising its 125 miles of navigable waterways by keel, canoe or paddle board, sightings of wild fowl, playful otters, stunning starling murmurations and swallowtail butterflies that flit near the fens are par for the course.
Forever a saltwater soul, I love nothing more than filling the sails of a traditional wooden sailing yacht (look to Martham Boats on the River Thurne for the most aesthetically pleasing charters) and gently steering a tiller past the 200-year-old Thurne windmill, flint-clad cottages in the charming village of Horning, and cosy inglenook inns lining the River Yare.
Spring mornings spent moored aboard a vessel here are slow, languid, cathartic. Passage plans are cobbled together over flaking almond croissants, strong coffees brewed, dogs with wagging tails walked. If you swerve the boating ‘capital’ of Wroxham, you can easily avoid the dithering day trippers, brash stag dos and white floating flotillas of plastic-fantastics.
But exploration by foot (the quiet stretch of coastline hugging Sea Palling and Winterton-on-Sea is ideal for spotting grey seals touring Hinkling and Horsey) or rail (traditional paddle steamers can be enjoyed on the Bure Valley Railway, the Bittern Line and the North Norfolk Railway, which you can experience on Country Living's Norfolk tour with Lucy Worsley) also deliver the region’s unique slice of ‘big skies’ beauty in spades.
The Broads is the only national park in England to feature a city, too. Perched on the River Wensum, Norwich offers the usual buzz of bars and restaurants (head to the verdant Rooftop Gardens for a panoramic view of the city’s most iconic landmarks, including the cathedral, castle and Carrow Road football stadium), plus the award-winning Sainsbury Centre – an expansive contemporary gallery housing ancient, modern and ethnographic art, as well as a 350-acre sculpture park.
Yet it’s the Broads’ picturesque villages, wind-thrashed beaches and wild marshlands studded with rare Norfolk hawker dragonflies (and the occasional artisanal deli) that continue to appeal. Some of the region’s prettiest hamlets fringe the Bure and Ant rivers (think Coltishall and Ranworth), while the historic market town of Bungay, on the River Waveney, flies the flag for Suffolk’s contribution to East England’s most picturesque pocket.
Infinite blue skies have always wrapped themselves warmly around my visits to this humble stretch of countryside, and while other national parks – including the Lake District, Peak District and Eryri (formerly Snowdonia) – loudly boast of towering peaks and rugged, dramatic terrain, it’s the Broads National Park’s quiet, secluded beauty and its intricate maze of semi-submerged habitats that have stolen my heart.
Because whether you charter a beautiful wooden boat to sail the region’s network of rivers, hop on a traditional paddle steamer to explore the park’s heritage railways, or hike its 200 miles of circular, peat-rich footpaths, the Broads National Park is still delivering on its promise after 75 tumultuous years of service: peace, tranquility and a staggering beautiful stretch of wilderness unburdened by the digital maelstrom of modern life.
It’s here, among the rustling reeds and apricot skies and historic landmarks, that you can reset, recharge, rewild. It’s here, on the deck of a humble wooden sloop in an often underrated part of the UK, that I’m finally reminded to slow down, sit with nature and savour life. As we face a fresh era of political and social upheaval, that certainly sounds like something worth celebrating to me.
Country Living has an exclusive five-day tour of Norfolk with historian Lucy Worsley, which explores the Norfolk Broads, Sandringham and the county's magnificent railways.
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