…either side of the River Bure and…at two ends of the River Waveney
1. Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s floating Broads Wildlife Centre is free to visit and will introduce you to all the wildlife of the Broads.
2. To get there take the free boardwalk (start from the staithe), going through the nature reserve’s wet or carr woodland and out to Ranworth Broad.
3. Or take the ferry service between the staithe and the centre. Other boat trips available too. norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk
4. Visit medieval St Helen’s Church, known as the cathedral of the Broads. You can even climb the church tower for a bird’s-eye view of the Broads. The church has its own Visitors’ Centre and tea shop. The Broads has many other beautiful medieval churches, some with thatched roofs. ranworthchurch.com
- For Broads National Park boat trips from Ranworth go to Liana
- Toilets, parking, moorings with charge, pub, other refreshments, shop
5. The Bishop of Norwich is still the Abbot of St Benet’s and each summer an open-air service takes place at the medieval remains of St Benet’s Abbey, with the bishop arriving on a sailing wherry. Everyone is very welcome to attend. This year the service is on Sunday 27 July at 3.30pm. The abbey has free guided tours from the beginning of June to the end of September, at 2pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Parts of the abbey site are accessible to wheelchair users (there’s a very small car park) and moorings are available. norfarchtrust.org.uk
6. You can enjoy walking to the abbey from Ludham Bridge or Ludham village, or try the How Hill to St Benet’s Abbey walk on VisitTheBroads.co.uk/walking
7. For more walking visit Ludham and Potter Heigham Marshes (at the end of Horsefen Road, near Womack Water). More details for walks from ludhamarchive.org.uk
8. St Catherine’s Church is another lovely medieval church to visit, with lots of events too.
9. The base for wherries Albion and Maud is on Horsefen Road, so look out for any signs of them from the land or water. You’ll find details about wherries and their public sailing trips and open days on these sites.
10. More historic boats, this time from the 1930s and belonging to Hunter’s Yard (Horsefen Road),can also often be seen in the area. They offer sailing holidays, courses and two-hour skippered sails. Whether you can’t sail but would love to try, just need a little refresher, or would rather sit back and relax, this is the one for you! huntersyard.co.uk
- For Broads National Park boat trips from How Hill, Ludham go to the Electric Eel
- Toilets, parking, moorings, pubs, other refreshments, shops
1. You’re never far from the River Waveney in Bungay, where you can explore the delights of Falcon Meadow or Outney Common. For local walks go to bungay-suffolk.co.uk/to-do/walks
2. Head towards the common too for canoe hire from outneymeadow.co.uk on a tranquil stretch of the River Waveney.
3. In the town centre, look out for the 17th-century Butter Cross in the centre of the Market Place – a weekly market still takes place around the Butter Cross each Thursday. Look out too for any signs of a black dog.
4. Other things to see include medieval St Mary’s Church and the Benedictine priory ruins. stmaryschurchbungay.co.uk
5. Beware of Shuck or Shock – the black dog of Bungay, who terrorised the congregation at St Mary’s Church during a violent storm on Sunday 4 August in 1577. Known by various different names, black dogs appear in several parts of the country, and particularly in Suffolk and Norfolk. Details of the Bungay story and its interpretations vary too. Look out for Bungay’s Black Shuck Festival, which celebrates folklore, imagination and storytelling with theatre, music, art, literature and history, taking place 1-3 August this year. blackshuckfestival.com
6. Medieval Bungay Castle is closed for repairs during at least part of 2025, but Castle Hills, close by, is a good place for a picnic. And even if you can’t visit his castle, you can still enjoy Baron Bigod cheese. The local Fen Farm Dairy produces this Brie-style cheese, a winner again in the 2024 British Cheese Awards. bungay-suffolk.co.uk/to-do/castle
- Toilets, parking, pubs, other refreshments, shops
7. Visit Lowestoft Museum in Broad House, Nicholas Everitt Park, Bridge Road, Oulton Broad. It’s probably best known for its important collection of 18th-century Lowestoft porcelain. lowestoftmuseum.org
8. Nicholas Everitt wrote that he was ‘enchanted beyond measure’ by Oulton Broad in his book Broadland Sport, published in 1902. His family moved to Broad House, close to the water’s edge, in 1874. Other former residents of Oulton Broad include 19th-century writer George Borrow, and TF Goodall, who published Life and Landscape on the Norfolk Broads in 1887, with the renowned photographer PH Emerson. Oulton Broad is the third largest broad and offers all kinds of boating activities.
9. Mutford Lock (close to the park) was constructed in 1828 as part of a scheme to provide Lowestoft with a direct route to Norwich, avoiding the high tolls charged by Great Yarmouth at the time. The scheme included opening Lake Lothing to the North Sea to provide a harbour. The lock connected Lake Lothing with Oulton Broad, providing controlled navigational access on to the broad. Due to different tides in Lake Lothing and Oulton Broad, the lock structure has an unusual bi-directional design. It has two pairs of opposing gates at each end to allow for high water levels on either side of the lock. The New Cut, connecting the River Waveney at St Olaves with the River Yare at Reedham (for onward travel to Norwich), opened in 1833, but the route was not very successful. In the 1840s, the Norwich and Lowestoft Navigation assets, including Mutford Lock, were acquired by Samuel Morton Peto, who developed the railway link into Lowestoft. Like other things connected with trade on the Broads, Mutford Lock has become an asset for tourism, providing access for private boats between the North Sea at Lowestoft and the Broads.
thesuffolkcoast.co.uk/suffolk-coast-towns-and-villages/oulton-broad
10. Enjoy a stroll at Oulton Marshes, just across Oulton Dyke from Carlton Marshes. You can reach Oulton Marshes from Church Lane, Oulton Broad, or from the Dutch Tea Gardens moorings at the dyke. suffolkwildlifetrust.org
- Toilets, parking, moorings, pubs, other refreshments, shops
Visit the Broads and the Broads Authority work in partnership to give visitors all the information and inspiration they need to make their trip to the Broads perfect.
The Broads Authority looks after the national park for visitors, boaters, wildlife and its community.
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