Norfolk Broads - Visit Norfolk

Quick Links

The Norfolk Broads

Home

Places to Stay

Chugging along in your own little motor cruiser. Miles and miles of gentle waterways glistening in the sunlight with peaceful Norfolk countryside as far as the eye can see.
Relax as you listen to the water lapping against the stern and look out for moorhens stirring in the rushes. Cycle along riverside paths. Visit the nature reserves and explore pretty villages. While away the hours watching the wildlife and settle down with a glass of wine as the sun slowly starts to set …

Sponsors

The Norfolk Broads give you space to breathe

Quick Search

The Norfolk Broads is now the UK’s largest nationally protected wetland and an important area for wildlife. The Broads were formed when people dug for peat in Medieval times and then they were later flooded. The Victorians used them for transporting heavy loads but nowadays they are here purely for pleasure and passengers are the boats’ main cargo.

A holiday in the Norfolk Broads is like a whole new world. And it’s easy. No complicated locks to manoeuvre, just 125 miles of navigable waterways with plenty of places for you to moor up and hop out to explore pretty villages and market towns, or to stop at a welcoming pub to set you up for the rest of the day.

Hire a little motor launch just for an afternoon or book a 12-berth yacht for a whole week. Or how about a Canadian style canoe? The choice is yours. Today’s boats are very easy to handle and you can start your boating holiday in Norfolk or day trip from a variety of places including Wroxham, Ludham, Potter Heigham and Loddon.

But it’s not just for boating. You can have fun on land too. Hire a tandem or bike and try a bit of pedal-power. Or enjoy walking the 330km of paths and boardwalks through lush swampy woodland. Try your hand at fishing or birdwatching and look out for the Bittern or rare Swallowtail butterfly.

There’s man-made attractions as well as the wildlife. Climb the steps to the top of the tower at St Helen’s Church at Ranworth for a wonderful panoramic view and then pop inside to see one of the finest examples of a medieval rood screen in the country and an exquisite 15th century illuminated songbook. We’ve got countless churches, castles, priories, windpumps, mills and museums to explore! And then come back to the present by taking a ride on the Ra, a solar powered boat named after the Egyptian sun god, that skims the waters on Barton Broad, or take a dawn trip on the Electric Eel, our silent electric boat, for an early morning exploration of the How Hill nature reserve.

This is just a brief introduction to The Norfolk Broads. For more information, use the links below to help you navigate around our dedicated Norfolk Broads section.

History of The Norfolk Broads

How to look after The Norfolk Broads

A guide to broads and rivers

A guide to boating on The Norfolk Broads

Places to visit around The Norfolk Broads

Attractions along The Norfolk Broads

Things to do in The Norfolk Broads

Norfolk Broads Podcasts

Norfolk Tourism and the Broads Authority have produced a new online audio experience introducing what The Broads has to offer visitors on holiday or local residents planning a day out.

Eight podcasts, each on a different theme: birds, boating, walking, cycling, canoeing, sailing, Barton Broad and How Hill, can be downloaded below:

Birds of The Broads

Boating

Walking

Cycling

Canoeing

Sailing

Barton Broad

How Hill

Keep Me Updated

If you would like to keep you updated with news, information and special offers about Norfolk Broads, please click here.