You cannot come to East Anglia and not visit the Norfolk Broads, so that’s where we headed for our last full day in this part of England. Our route took us through the seaside town of Great Yarmouth, on the River Yare, once the site of a Roman settlement and then the location of a major herring industry and shipping port. Now-a-days its main claim to fame is as a seaside holiday destination with its sea-front ‘Golden Mile’ of indoor and outdoor attractions and amusement arcades. There were not a lot of visitors while we were there (outside holiday season) and to us the whole marina area appeared somewhat ‘tacky’ and run down. It probably didn’t help that the day was overcast and rather windy. We walked along the beach path between the town and the large stretch of dune and beach, looking out at a North Sea Scroby Sands Wind Farm offshore.
We visited the 12th century Minster Church of St Nicholas, the third largest Parish Church in England. Built by Herbert de Losinga as penance by the Pope for the sin of simony (purchasing the Bishopric of Thetford).
On to the Norfolk Broads: a network of rivers and lakes, formed by flooding of medieval peat excavations. Consisting of 303 square kilometres, the ‘Broads’ were designated a National Park in 1988. After many years of extracting peat by the local monasteries for sale as fuel, sea levels started to rise and flooded the pits, despite the building of a series of wind-pumps and dykes. The Broads were then used for harvesting reeds for thatching (Common Reed – Phragmites australis). Of the many possibilities, we decided to make our way to Ranworth Broad. After booking a boat trip, we took a walk through a Carr Woodland (waterlogged woodland) nearby, while waiting for our trip.
Off on our boat trip under a very grey sky and a choppy lake. Lots of water birds bobbing about in the swell and tricky to get good photos. The highlight was spotting a pair of Crested Grebe. Large sections of the shore line were reed beds. A few other water-craft out and about, despite the poor weather. It was an invigorating trip but we were glad to get back to the warmth of the National Wildlife Trust building.
A short distance away from Ranworth Broad was the village of Woodbastwick with the Church of St Fabian and St Sebastian. Apart from a lovely view across the village and the Broads beyond, from the roof (gallery) of the church (up a steep and narrow stairwell), it features a rare and intact screen portraying the Twelve Apostles.
Heading back home after a busy day, we met the back end of a traffic snarl on the way to Norwich. We decided to turn off and head for the ferry at Reedham. Obviously many others had the same idea as we soon found another long line of cars waiting to cross the River Yare. Given the time of day, the local publican at the crossing decided to reopen his restaurant for anyone who wanted to stop for dinner. Although the river is narrow, the ferry only takes two cars at a time. Eventually we got our turn and were on our way.
