The Broads National Park is one of Europe's most magical wetland landscapes: its broads, rivers, woodlands, grazing marshes, fens, windmills, vast skies and an astonishingly rich animal and plant life.

Taking the train or bus to explore the Broads opens up a world of possibilities. There's no hassle about parking or finding your way around.

The Broads National Park is one of Europe's most magical wetland landscapes: with its broads, rivers, woodlands, grazing marshes, fens, windmills, vast skies and an astonishingly rich animal and plant life.

Taking the train or bus to explore the Broads opens up a world of possibilities and avoids the hassle about parking or finding your way around.

If you're travelling around by boat, there are plenty of points where you can moor and pick up rail or bus connections and see the area from a different angle.

The railway network gets you to parts of the Broads that roads just don't reach. From Norwich you can travel close to the rivers Yare and Waveney to reach the sea at Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft. Or you can head north on the Bittern Line to cross the River Bure at Wroxham and change on to the Bure Valley Railway for a nostalgic steam train ride to Aylsham.

Train in the Broads and a marshland view.
Photos: Mike Page (www.norfolkskyview.flyer.co.uk).

As the railways in the Broads lead in so many directions, the ideas you'll find here are organised by themes, with suggestions on where you can walk from railway stations. There are also ideas for boat trips and joining up with the . This is followed by a description of some places reached by Bure Valley Railway the BroadsHopper bus, which also links with the Bure Valley Railway.

THE ITINERARY:

Walks from railway stations on the Wherry Line and Bittern Lines

This map shows the area covered by Anglia Plus tickets, which allow you unlimited travel in one day or over three days. The area covering the Broads is seen east of Norwich, with lines to Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft (known together as the Wherry Lines) and another line leading through Hoveton & Wroxham to the Norfolk Coast, ending at Sheringham: this is the Bittern Line.

For further walk ideas from rail stations, visit www.wherrylines.org.uk/walks, which describes walks from Acle, Reedham, Buckenham–Brundall, Cantley and Cantley–Lingwood; other routes are in preparation.

Rover tickets:

Anglia Plus
Unlimited travel for a day on lines in East Anglia (including Sheringham, Great Yarmouth, Cambridge, Ely, Ipswich, Felixstowe, Lowestoft and all intermediate stations) for £10 per adult. Up to four accompanied children aged 5 to 15 inclusive travel for just £2 each. Bikes can be carried for a £1 charge. Cycle space is limited, so please try to book in advance to avoid disappointment and delay - book and buy all your rail your tickets from one railway on 0845 600 7245.

Anglia Plus Three-Day Ticket
Covers the Anglia Plus area for any three days you like over a seven-day period, and bikes are carried free. Cost £22 for an adult; up to four accompanied children aged 5 to 15 inclusive travel for just £2 each.

Wherry Lines Rover and Bittern Line Rover
Unlimited travel for one day on the Wherry Lines or Bittern Line plus travel on certain buses (BroadsHopper; plus CoastHopper for Bittern Line and Elvis Bus for Wherry Lines). £6 per adult, £4 senior citizen and £3 child. Available at any time at weekends or bank holidays and after 0845 weekdays.

Reedham station -Great Yarmouth Station via Berney Arms (8½ miles)
This is the final part of the 35-mile long-distance Wherryman's Way (which leads from Norwich to Great Yarmouth rail stations), with return by train from Great Yarmouth (or you can do it the other way round). On Sundays you can divide the walk and use trains stopping at Berney Arms station (trains every two hours, stopping by request; note there are only two trains a day for the rest of the week).

The Way crosses the Yare by ferry at Reedham where many of the sailing wherries were built, and it's still a very lively boating scene. Among the pubs, cafés and buildings along the quay is a statue of a boatbuilder at work.

From Reedham it is a 4-mile walk along the river to Berney Arms mill and pub. The 70-foot windmill stands a short way from Berney Arms station, one of Britain's most remote country stations - you can't even reach it by public road. It's far out in the marsh. Near the pub, the Yare suddenly broadens out into a huge area known as Breydon Water, which you can see in a gentle stroll from the station or as part of a longer walk.

The final section of the Wherryman's Way to Great Yarmouth (4 miles) takes you directly to Great Yarmouth station. The youth hostel has bargain-price accommodation in the town centre.

The RSPB bird reserve of Berney Marshes and Breydon Water includes grazing marshes and mud flats – there's a nature trail at Berney and a viewing screen overlooking the marshes. The bird life includes lapwing, avocet, oystercatcher and redshank in summer, ruff, curlew and sandpiper in spring and autumn and lapwing, golden plover, widgeon, shoveler and teal in winter. No access by car. Donation of £2 requested.

Somerleyton to Oulton Broad, on the Angles Way
Somerleyton station is a useful point for joining the long-distance Angles Way, which skirts the marshes to the east and passes near Oulton Broad at the edge of Lowestoft, where Oulton Broad North station lies just off the route. Or in the other direction you can walk past the thatched village of Somerleyton, with its large green, and take the Angles Way past the entrance to Somerleyton Hall, a fine Italianate mansion remodelled in early Victorian times: it has a magnificent yew hedge maze, planted in 1846 in the gardens. Open late March to end of October.

Maps
For walking, the orange-covered Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 scale Explorer map OL40 is ideal, with public rights of way and field boundaries shown.

For general purposes, the purplecovered Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 scale Landranger map 134 covers the whole of the Broads.

A boat-assisted walk The Great Yarmouth and Gorleston Steam Packet Company Ltd operate two to three boat services a day throughout summer, with limited services in winter, along Breydon Water from Breydon Bridge in Great Yarmouth to Berney Arms (stopping off at Burgh Castle where you can see remains of a Roman fort); some services continue along the river to Reedham. This allows you, for example, to start at Great Yarmouth, take the boat to Berney Arms and walk the remaining 4½ miles to Reedham.

Boat trips by railway

Station: Norwich
City Boats operate trips along the rivers Wensum and Yare, and a ferry service from Norwich city centre to Whitlingham Country Park; the boats take wheelchair users. From Norwich you can take a 3 ¼ hour river cruise to Surlingham Broad and Brundall, leaving from a quay between the railway station and the Nelson Hotel at 1.30pm every day. Booking is advisable but not usually essential. Discounts for those travelling on the Bittern Line or Wherry Lines. There is also the Broads Boatrain, covering rail fare and river cruise ticket from London Liverpool Street: adult £40, child £20.

Station: Hoveton & Wroxham
From near Hoveton & Wroxham station (itself in Hoveton) you can join Broads Tours passenger boats for tours on the River Bure (no need to book). Trips last mostly around 1½ hours taking in Salhouse Broad: this gives you wonderful views of the Bure and its associated Broads – which can only really be seen by boat. The boats can accommodate wheelchair users (in manual chairs). Prices: £6.50 adult, £5.50 child. Also evening boogie and jazz cruises (booking advised). Discounts for those travelling on the Bittern Line or Wherry Lines. Wroxham is one of the busiest tourist centres in the Broads, and has a wide choice of accommodation, including the Hotel Wroxham and Wroxham Park Lodge.

Station: Beccles
River trips on the Liana offer leisurely one and a quarter hour trip on an Edwardian-style electric boat, viewing the wildlife and scenery along the River Waveney. The embarkation point is half a mile from the railway station, on the north side of town, across a footbridge. Trips go to Geldeston or Aldeby depending on the tides. Book at any Broads Information Centre or tel: 01502 713196. £4.50 adults, £3.50 concs, £10 family. The Liana runs daily June-September, and weekends, bank holidays, Easter Week and local half terms in April, May and October, at 11am, 2.15pm and 3.45pm. It links with the National Cycle Network route 1. For accommodation, Catherine House is usefully placed in Beccles.

Bure Valley Railway
The national rail network station at Hoveton & Wroxham is just across the road from the terminus of this classic branch line. Steam trains operated by a private heritage railway perfectly evoke the old days of rail travel, taking you through 9 miles of countryside from Hoveton to the attractive market town of Aylsham. BroadsHopper buses (see below) serve both Hoveton and Aylsham. You can also walk or cycle alongside the railway on the Bure Valley Path - so this gives plenty of options for combining walking, cycling, taking the train and visiting places on and off the route. Discounts are available if you hold a Bittern

BroadsHopper bus
This bus enables you to see even more of the Broads. The route runs between Acle, South Walsham, Ranworth, Woodbastwick, Salhouse, Wroxham, Hoveton (Bure Valley Railway), Wroxham Barns, Coltishall, Horstead, Buxton, Aylsham (Bure Valley Railway) and Blickling Hall (discounted admission for ticket holders). And you can get off at stations on the Bittern and Wherry rail lines (Norwich to Lowestoft, Sheringham and Great Yarmouth) and go even further.

Acle is a transport hub, with good bus and train services, and makes a very convenient base, with several places to stay, including the Kings Head Inn and Manor House B&B, and fresh fish cooked daily at the Hermitage Restaurant and Pub.

Ranworth Broad Broads Wildlife Centre (Norfolk Wildlife Trust)
Get off the BroadsHopper bus at Ranworth. From the Maltsters public house, either take the electric ferry from Ranworth Staithe, near the Information Centre; or take the path opposite the pub, signed to the church, turn right on the road, and soon pick up the boardwalk nature trail (open all year). This leads to the floating Broads Wildlife Centre (10–5 April-October; free; charge for ferry) with binoculars and telescopes to watch the bird life, refreshments and interpretative displays. You can see cormorants and great crested grebe here all year.

As you return along the boardwalk, take the right fork along another boardwalk. Turn right on the road to reach Ranworth Church, which has an astonishing painted medieval rood screen – reckoned to be the finest in the country. You can get a superb view from the top of the tower, and refreshments are available at the church visitor centre. Then take the path signed to the Staithe, opposite the church; this runs beside the church to reach the Maltsters pub by the Information Centre.

Blickling Hall (National Trust)
Built in rosy brick with turrets, curved Dutch-style gables and a central cupola, this superb Jacobean hall dates from the early 17th century and is surrounded by great yew hedges. It has a 120-foot Long Gallery with decorated plaster ceiling. The landscaped grounds include several miles of footpaths and cycle paths and are punctuated by 18th-century follies. Cycle hire is also available at Blicking Hall from March-October; tel: 01263 738015.

Elvis Bus
This useful hourly bus service (nos. 606 and 607) runs from Great Yarmouth rail station, past Oulton Broad and Lowestoft to the East Anglia Transport Museum at Carlton Coleville.

Reproduced by kind permission of the Broads Authority © 2006