A Guide and History of the Norfolk Broads, Suffolk Broads and Broadland in East Anglia UK in the East of England from the Norfolk Broads directory web site.

Broadland is truly unique - there is simply nowhere quite like it in the British Isles or Europe. The overwhelming appeal of the Broads area, to the visitor, is its relaxing charm and almost intoxicating beauty. All who visit it are captivated.

Many centuries ago mediaeval, East Anglian-man dug peat to fuel his fires. The excavations created then filled with water and give us a unique inheritance - the Broadland area of Norfolk and north Suffolk. Within this environment wildlife flourished amongst the abundance of reed beds and the many miles of waterways.

Over the centuries dwellers settled in the area, to benefit from the numerous Broads and their connecting river-ways, providing as they did a convenient and cheap means of transportation. There was the abundance of fish, within the waters; wild-fowlers, using specially adapted punts, found plenty to live off. Modern-man now harvests the reed for roof-thatching and enjoys the Broads for his recreational, holiday and educational pursuits.

Getting Around

That part of Norfolk & north Suffolk, known universally as the 'Broads', is far more extensive than just a collection of inland, water-filled broads. They are connected by over 200 miles of gently flowing, navigable rivers, dykes and cuts that offer ideal cruising conditions at between 5 & 7 mph. You can cruise right into the heart of the city of Norwich, or travel east as far as Great Yarmouth, where the Broads eventually affords access, (for those with suitable craft), to the North Sea. Providing you're not in a hurry you can travel many leisurely miles throughout the Broads region, for days on end.

We've already mentioned the historic Norwich, Norfolk's capital city, with its 11th century cathedral and Norman castle. The river played a vital part in the building of the Cathedral, over 900 years ago, providing the means by which barges transported the vast quantities of Caen stone used to built it. Throughout Broadland, and immediately beyond, are literally hundreds of historic churches; more numerous than are to be found anywhere in the British Isles. Churches Together on the Broads.

Everywhere you look bears witness to the rich history of the Broadland region. On the edge of the vast expanse of Breydon Water stands the Roman remains of the once mighty Burgh Castle, whilst further upstream, on the river Bure, are the remains of St. Benet's Abbey. Throughout the Broads are found examples of ancient windmills and windpumps. Some regrettably now in ruins, but there are many which have been lovingly restored to their former glory.

History and beauty go hand-in-hand in Broadland and is far more extensive than can ever be conveyed to you within these few paragraphs. Seeing is believing, so do just that - please come and see it. You're guaranteed a warm welcome.

The Broads - A History

This is England's largest stretch of wetlands, and the Broads are a unique combination of broads or shallow lakes, rivers and dykes which can be found in the area bounded by Norwich, Stalham, Lowestoft and Beccles. Famous for the magnificent boating they afford, with over 125 miles of navigable waterways they also play host to a wide variety of plants, animals, insects and birds.

The Broads originated in the Middles Ages, during the 9th to 13th centuries, as shallow pits from which generations of Norfolk people dug peat for heating and cooking purposes. Roman mercenaries, Saxon settlers and Norman conquerors all took what they needed, but it was not until the Middles Ages that peat-cutting became organized. The monks of St. Benet's acquired all the rights as well as the services of the peasants, to the peat-cutting, consequently the Abbey became very wealthy. The amount of fuel needed was massive. For example, the episcopal monastery of Norwich required 200,000 bales of peat a year and within two hundred years, nine million cubic feet of peat had been cut from the area, creating great holes and deep scars. During the 14th century the sea level rose, the area flooded, and this natural accident formed the broads as we know them today. Forty-one shallow lakes, fed and interconnected by the rivers Bure, Yare and Waveney and their tributaries the Ant, Thurne and Chet, together make up the 200 kilometre lockfree waterway.

Today those vast diggings of earlier times are a holiday recreation area for thousands of visitors every summer and a source of fascination for naturalists all the year round.

The Broads are many things to many people; for holidaymakers and local people they provide a setting for waterborne rest and recreation which is unique in Europe. For naturalists they provide and endless source of interest as a haven for many plants and animals found in few other places in Britain. For ornithologists, they and the surrounding areas, offer exceptional opportunities for bird-watching; bell-like sounds of the bearded reedling seems inappropriate in a bed of giant reeds until the bird appears delicately swaying on the fragile stems. High above, the marsh harrier may be harrying the smaller birds and wildfowl, whilst in the reeds, obvious only because of its distinctive 'boom' (reminiscent of a fog-horn) the bittern freezes. With care, patience and a degree of luck, one may be rewarded with sightings of these fascinating birds.

For Some, the broads are not for holidaying, they provide a living for many hundreds of Norfolk and Suffolk people. Catering for the needs of the holidaymakers provides jobs and brings money into the towns and villages which border and surround the broads, either directly by providing and servicing accommodation ashore and afloat, or by supplying the need for food and entertainment.

The Broads Authority

The 'Caretaker' of the broads is the Broads Authority - a unique statutory body brought into being by the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Act 1988. Prior to this act the Broads Authority had delegated powers only, but in 1983 the Countryside Commision carried out a review of the situation, and recommended to the government that the broads should be looked after by one body with adequate powers and money to look after the broads as a whole.

The Authority, whose 35 members are drawn from local authorities, conservation bodies and navigation and commercial interests, has three distinct functions which have to be balances. These are the maintenance and enhancement of:-

• the natural beauty of the area
• the public's enjoyment of it and
• the navigation, thus enabling it to balance the needs of conserving wildlife with the needs and requirements of local residents and visitors to the broads.

For further details contact:-
The Broads Authority,
Thomas Harvey House,
18 Colegate,
Norwich, Norfolk NR3 1BC
Tel: 01603 610734