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Norfolk Broads Holiday Cottages
A holiday cottage in the Norfolk Broads can cater for anyone's taste. There are holiday cottages all over the Norfolk Broadlands to suit any size family or pocket. Two million visitors go to the Norfolk Broads every year, exploring both on foot and on the water.
The Norfolk Broads is a fascinating area with a rich history and many wonderful places to visit. Besides the unique wildlife, there are restored windmills, medieval churches, magnificent houses, beautiful gardens and great places for family visits. If you enjoy walking or cycling, there are also many routes to choose from. A great way to see the Broads is by water, and much of the history of the Broads revolves around the way the rivers were used in the past. The Broads have been important since the end of the 19th.Century. All this is easily reached from your Norfolk Broads holiday cottage, and you can find something for everyone.
The Broads National Park offers 125 miles of navigable, lock-free tidal rivers and Broads, whether your idea of fun is hiring a day boat or taking a pleasure cruise with someone else at the helm. The Norfolk Broads are Britain's largest protected wetlands and have waterside trails, which are great for discovering the special flora and fauna of this beautiful area from your holiday cottage in The Norfolk Broads.
The Norfolk Broads are a network of waterways, providing many opportunities for motor-boating, sailing, canoeing, fishing, walking, cycling, bird watching and just enjoying the peaceful setting. In the Broadland countryside you can discover charming villages, each with its own special history and appeal, such as Horning and Coltishall. A holiday cottage in the Norfolk Broads is a beautiful break to take. The Broads National Park covers 400 square miles and is set in an Environmentally Sensitive Area, with numerous designated conservation sites. The Broads themselves consist of a dozen or more freshwater lakes, large and small, each with its own special character and many teeming with wildlife. Through the Broadlands beautiful countryside, six rivers weave their way. Day boats and passenger boats are available from busy river centres like Wroxham and Potter Heigham, and this would be recommended, as the real beauty of the Broads is seen at its best from the water. Organised cruises sail from Horning, Wroxham, Oulton Broad, and other Broads areas. The rivers of the Broads will be in easy reach of your holiday cottage in the Norfolk Broads.
The Norfolk Broads' mile after mile of slow winding rivers and unspoilt waterways are set amongst some of East Anglia's most beautiful countryside. Norfolk's gentle undulating countryside and unspoilt natural beauty makes for a great cycling county, with picturesque countryside, charming villages and enchanting wetland of the Broads National Park. The quiet country lanes enjoy a low level of traffic, making a safer environment, which is an important factor when cycling with children. There are local circular routes, including the Broads Explorer Loop. This easy riding route is dotted with welcoming village pubs, quiet lanes, poppy fields and offers an intriguing Broadland tour alongside the River Thurne between Repps, Potter Heigham, Martham and Fleggburgh. So, as you can see, a cycle ride from the base of your holiday cottage in the Norfolk Broads is an ideal way to take in the scenery.
Historic Sites
Norfolk is rich in history and heritage, with many handsome stately homes and interesting museums.
There are many historic buildings in the Broadlands Countryside for you to visit from your Norfolk Broads holiday cottage, including Castles in Bungay and Burgh, a Roman site at Caister, 3 religious historic sites, and 2 impressive houses - the Loddon, Hales Hall and Somerleyton Hall.
Places to go
There are many nature reserves on the Norfolk Broads, including Barton and Hickling Broads, which have traditional Broads landscapes and a wide variety of wildlife. Barton Broads is the second largest broad and is where the Broads Authority's millennium project - Clear Water 2000, is, which has restored the water quality and landscape of the broad.
There are 5 restored windmills, including Horsey Wind Pump, a four storey windpump built in 1912, now owned by the National Trust, with fine views of reed-beds and the wild, watery landscape. Also there is Sutton Mill, which is reputedly the tallest surviving windmill in the country with nine floors.
There are many museums in the Broadland Countryside.
There are at least 3 country parks worthy of a visit:
Whitlingham Country Park, Norwich, from which you can follow nature trail walks and cycle trails through woods and meadows, along the River Yare, and if you are feeling a little bit more energetic, you can participate in water sports from Whitlingham Outdoor Education Centre;
Bungay Otter Trust, where you can see otters, and there are also 3 lakes full of waterfowl;
Fritton Lake Countryworld offers a playground, rowing boats, electric boats, woodland walks, falconry displays and a pitch and putt golf course.
Hoveton Hall Gardens, 1 mile north of Wroxham, where you can see beautiful woodland and walled gardens, including woodland and lakeside walks.
New Pleasurewood Hills, is a Family Fun Park and Miniature Railway near Lowestoft.
Pettitts Animal Adventure Park in Reedham has birds and tame animals in the grounds, and there is a feather workshop.
Fairhaven Garden Trust in South Walsham is an attractive water garden with many shrubs including rhododendrons, and it borders South Walsham Broad.
Wroxham Barn Craft workshops have a children's Fun Fair and Junior Farm, set in parkland 1.5 miles north of Wroxham Bridge.
Barton House Miniature Railway in Wroxham has 2 railways and steam rides in gardens on the edge of the River Bure.
Wroxham/Hoveton, Bure Valley Railway is a Hoveton-Aylsham 9 mile narrow gauge steam railway. Connections can be made with Broads boat trips and the National Trust's Blickling Hall. Open from Easter-Oct. with 'Santa Specials' in December.
So, whatever you want, from an action packed holiday to a relaxing break, choose a holiday cottage in Norfolk and The Broads.