Boats and The Broads just belong together and a Suffolk holiday home is a great base for setting off to explore by boat what are, strictly speaking, The Norfolk and Suffolk Broads. It’s not a word to use lightly, but The Broads are unique. For a start they are Britain’s largest protected wetland. The Broads are made up of navigable waterways that cover more than 125 miles (200km) of Norfolk and Suffolk. In total there are 60 Broads. And within The Broads National Park there are 25 conservation areas, 14 ancient monuments, and 270 Listed Buildings.
Discover the history of the Broads from your Suffolk Lodge Holiday Home
As to the history of The Broads, we know now that they are manmade. The fact they are flooded medieval peat diggings is in itself fascinating. The fact that those origins weren’t proved until the 1950s is amazing. The Broads themselves vary considerably in size. Some are little more than pools, and are simply too small to be navigable. Others are the wide expanses famous the world over. Barton Broad is one of the biggest. Lord Nelson, our most famous sailor, learned to sail there. Hickling is another of the larger Broads. It was used as a station for sea planes in World War One, and today has the largest reed bed in England. The other of the three biggest Broads is Oulton Broad.
Tingdene Broadlands Park & Marina - a gateway to the broads from its onsite Marina
Long associated with leisure and enjoyment of the area, Oulton Broad is, today, the location of Tindgene Broadlands Park and Marina. This Tingdene Lifestyle park is beautifully located with easy access to this lovely part of East Anglia including the wonderful town of Southwold. It’s also ideally paced for The Broads. The facilities at Tingdene Broadlands Park and Marina are already amazing with a bar, restaurant, swimming pool and gym and now, 2021 sees brand new lodges coming on stream. With two bedrooms and luxury glass decking The Carlton Lodges will be some of the most desirable lodges for sale in Suffolk and there’s more. The Marina has also been excitingly extended, making Tingdene Broadlands Park and Marina an ideal start point for exploring The Broads, by boat.
In Suffolk its a much slower Broadland Speed - no we didn’t say broadband! Life on The Broads with your own lodge is a much slower pace of life - just what we need to escape the everyday normality of our busy digital and hectic lives.
Image: The new Carlton lodge exclusive to Tingdene Broadlands Park & Marina
All aboard - from your Suffolk holiday home
The superb and recently extended Marina at Broadlands is ideal as a mooring for your own boat. With an additional fifty-four berths this is a stunning addition to The Broads’ facilities. The fully serviced floating pontoons make this a practical, stylish and safe haven. If you want to hire a boat for the day, or longer, it’s easy when your Suffolk holiday home is near Oulton Broad. A self-drive day cruiser is a great way to start your voyage of discovery. You’ll find boat hire companies have all the necessary hints and tips, and they’ll make sure you’re well briefed, fully fueled and aware of the rules of the waterways. Well behaved dogs are usually welcome, but it’s worth checking in advance.
The voyage begins
Either way, in your own boat, or on a hire craft, your location at Broadlands Park and Marina is perfect. You’ll be at the southern edge of The Broads. If you have a sea going craft you could take a coastal trip to Aldeburgh and beyond. Set off into The Broads and you have enormous scope. This is a world of riverside pubs and restaurants, of tranquil scenery and wide skies. And remember, in all those 125 miles of waterways, The Broads have no locks. Just set sail and explore.
Get your bearings
With a luxury lodge at Broadlands Park and Marina, and setting sail into the Southern Broads you’ll be navigating some of Broadland’s most scenic rivers. The Waveney is the river that crosses the border form Suffolk into Norfolk. Follow it to find charming towns and villages; places like St Olaves, Somerleyton and Beccles. You’ll encounter the River Chet which eases along through woods and marshland. You can use The Chet as your route to Loddon. It makes for a lovely detour from The Chet itself, which is a tributary of the River Yare.
The River Yare is the biggest of all the Broads’ rivers, flowing out from Norwich through popular boating villages like Brundall, before it meets Breydon Water and sweeps out to sea at Great Yarmouth. Venture into the Northern Broads and you’ll be steering your way along the River Bure. This is classic Broad’s territory. Cruise through the quaintness of Coltishall, meander happily by Horning and then rock up at bustling Wroxham.
The River Ant - some would say it’s appropriately named as it’s smaller, well, narrower, than the other Broads’ rivers - will take you through Barton Broad. If Hickling Broad is where you’re headed, then it’s the River Thurne you need. Wherever you go, it’s up to you to set the pace. Just take it easy and enjoy the sights and sounds of the Broads.
The sights and sounds you can savour from your Suffolk lodge
The Broads have appealed to holiday makers for over a century. Today, there’s more to do and see than ever. It’s an area blessed with pubs, restaurants and cafes offering a huge range of food and drink. Independent retailers, craft brewers, organic foods and outstanding hospitality all combine to provide a spectacular culinary offering, completely in tune with today’s tastes. Which is not to say that you can’t find fish and chips and ice cream when you want it. (You will want it. On at least one day).
The wildlife of The Broads is legendary. Travelling by boat is a brilliant way of seeing the flora and fauna up close and natural. Broadland is of course home to several important and accessible nature reserves and conservation areas. If history and culture are your thing you won’t travel too far by boat before you find a medieval church, an historic windmill, a castle, a museum, or a gallery. The Broads are an area of outstanding historic interest, and boating beats most ways of exploring them.
Tingdene also has a contemporary 12 bedroom hotel room on the Suffolk coast close to the Norfolk/Suffolk border and is great base to explore The Broads too! Find out more here.
Try a canoe, kayak or paddleboard to explore the Broads
Boats don’t have to be big. You can enjoy The Broads by canoe, or kayak. Or why not try paddle boarding? They’re all great ways to see Broadland, and they’re great ways to keep fit. This is an area that people quickly learn to love. Increasingly there are lodges for sale in Suffolk. The reason? A Suffolk holiday home is not only a great investment, it’s a holiday base in a beautiful part of East Anglia. With superb new lodges, like the Carlton Lodge, becoming available, and a breath-taking new marina at Tingdene Broadlands Park and Marina, the whole idea of exploring the Broads by boat is becoming one of the best and most sought-after things to do. After all, who needs abroad, when you have The Broads?
