The Norfolk Broads |
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The
Broads Authority, looks after this
internationally important area which is Britain's largest protected wetland. The Broads is part of the national park family -
a national treasure, valued for its rare beauty and wildlife and protected for
the enjoyment of future generations.
The Broads carries national park status, but stands out from
the other 11 national parks because it is bestowed with something extra. It has
a unique ingredient that adds to the relaxation, recreation and variety of
habitats to be found here - 122 miles of waterways.
The Broads is special in that it has its own tailor-made
legislation which gives the navigation of the waterways equal status with the
conservation and public enjoyment of the area.
The Broads attracts all kinds of visitors and there is
something for all of them. Bird-watcher, artists, ramblers, anglers, sailors and
people who enjoy simply messing about in boats all find inspiration and
revitalization in this magic mosaic.
The only real way to discover the six rivers and forty one
shallow lakes is by boat. Every kind of boat is available for hire on the
Broads, from small rowing and sailing dinghies and Canadian canoes to majestic,
Edwardian wherries which come with their own crew.
The Broads area covers 303kmē
including over 200km of waterways. The broads, which are shallow lakes, did not
occur naturally. They were formed in medieval times (in the 9th - 13th
centuries) when peat was dug out to use as fuel for heating and cooking. Over
the centuries water levels rose and the peat diggings became flooded. Shallow
lakes or 'broad' areas of water were formed.
The waterways are
home to all sorts of birds, fish and water plants like the beautiful white
water-lily. The waterways have always been important for transport too, each
village having a 'staithe' or quay for mooring boats. Large, single-sailed boats
called wherries also moored here as they delivered their cargo of corn, coal,
reed, sedge - even ice! The wherries were shallow draught boats, specially built
for the shallow waterways of the Broads. As rail and road transport took over
and the holiday industry developed, they were adapted or specially built as
holiday craft. A very few remain and have been restored and can still be hired
today.
Some of the broads and rivers are
surrounded by fens, which consist of reed and sedge. Many years ago large areas
of reed were cut for thatch; and sedge, a flexible plant, was cut to make the
ridge along the top of the thatched roof.
Keeping the marshes well maintained is
important in preserving the 'habitat' of lots of fen plants and animals, like
the rare swallowtail butterfly which is found nowhere else in Britain. If the
fens are not managed in this traditional way, different plants and eventually
trees develop. These wet woodlands are known as 'carr' woodland.
As well as fuel and building
materials, the marsh people needed food from the land and water. The waterways
provided ducks and other waterfowl and fish and eels, but people still needed to
keep cattle and other animals. The fens were too wet, so areas were drained to
provide grazing marshes - open fields divided by an intricate system of dykes,
such as you find at Halvergate Marshes. All sorts of plants and animals live in
and around the dykes, like the delicate dragonflies and damselflies which
provide amazing flashes of colour.
Wind pumps were
built to drain the marshes by pumping the water along the dykes and back up into
the rivers. With this new system of wind pumps, the marshes became dry enough
for grazing cattle. Steam and diesel power replaced wind and now electric pumps
are used.
In the 1970s the
Broads landscape was again under pressure to change. This time the grazing
marshes were being drained even drier, so that arable crops could be grown. This
would have resulted in the loss of the small, plant-fringed dykes and all the
plants and animals that live there. Happily the Broads Authority was able to
overcome the problem by working with the Ministry of Agriculture, which now
provides government payments to farmers if they keep to traditional farming
methods and graze cattle. This has been very successful and the unique landscape
and wildlife of the grazing marshes have now been saved.
There are many attractive small towns and villages within the Broads. Many have beautiful churches, sometimes with thatched roofs, an unusual sight. Waterside villages usually still have a staithe where boats can be moored. On the edges of the Broads are the city of Norwich and the towns of Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft.