When you journey by rail in the Broads, the journey really is part of the holiday or day out.
The Bittern, Wherry and East Suffolk Lines are a great way to explore the Broads. You can see how the landscape changes as you travel and if time is short, you can see a lot of the Broads even on a day trip. The stations themselves are full of interest. Brundall Gardens is the ‘youngest’ station on the Wherry Lines. It was opened in response to the increasing number of visitors who were making their way to the waterways near the station and celebrated its 100th anniversary last summer. This year, 2025, celebrates 200 years of railways, so what better time to visit the Broads by rail?
The bitternline.com, wherrylines.com and eastsuffolklines.co.uk sites have lots of walks and places to visit from stations (some may require a walk to reach them), with links to greateranglia.co.uk for timetables and tickets. Please check timetables very carefully, as service times vary throughout the day, may be infrequent and may change. Fares may also change. You’ll find walks from many Bittern and Wherry Lines stations under Railway Rambles on norfolk.gov.uk/trails
The Bittern Line goes north from Norwich to Sheringham on the North Norfolk coast, passing through the northern Broads, while the Wherry Lines go east and south, one branch to Great Yarmouth and the other to Lowestoft, from where the East Suffolk Lines continue to Beccles and then further into Suffolk. Our Getting here page will give you more details about travel to and around the Broads.
The station at Hoveton & Wroxham offers almost instant access to all kinds of boating activities, starting with accessible trips on solar-powered Ra – book with the Broads Information Centre on Station Road. Canoes, day boats and passenger boat trips are all available. There’s so much on offer, so a great start is to check out
VisitTheBroads.co.uk/boat-trips
Alight (in old railway-speak, or get off in plain English) at Reedham for opportunities to explore the Wherryman’s Way. There’s a circular walk (see Norfolk Trails link below), taking in the chain ferry, the village and short sections of the Wherryman’s Way, east and west of Reedham. Alternatively, you can walk a section of the Wherryman’s Way there and back going east (about 45 minutes each way) to see the group of restored mill buildings at the Seven Mile site on Reedham Marshes, including the restored Polkey’s Mill. For more about mills go to our 2025 Puzzleland quiz in the Broads Curriculum Online resources.
norfolk.gov.uk/trails (Railway Rambles, Wherry Lines Walk 4)
norfolk.gov.uk/article/42863/Windmills
Beccles has been a flourishing market town since Anglo-Saxon times and still has a market every Friday, 6am-4pm, in New Market (new in the 14th century!). As you can guess, Beccles has plenty of history to explore, but there are also country walks and boating activities.
There’s lots to explore at the start or end of the lines too. You could head to the beach at Great Yarmouth or Lowestoft), or dip into their boating history, with a visit to the Lydia Eva (a steam drifter) at the former and the Mincarlo (a trawler) at the latter – two survivors from the fishing industry, built in 1930 and 1961-62.
thesuffolkcoast.co.uk/suffolk-coast-towns-and-villages/lowestoft
In Norwich the station is opposite the Riverside Walk, or for somewhere else close by connected with the history of waterborne trade, Dragon Hall, a medieval merchant’s trading hall on King Street, now welcomes visitors and is home to the National Centre for Writing.
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.
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