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The Broads Discovery Hubs

Discovery Hubs are designed to promote The Broads as a sustainable, car-free destination, creating a network that provides a way to explore the Broads on foot, by bike and on the water. As accessible information points, they explain the history, wildlife and landscape of the area and will encourage people to visit the many and varied aspects of the National Park. They are great places to relax and soak up the unique atmosphere of the Broads and to access local services, attractions and experiences.

Conceived and built by the Broads Charitable Trust, in cooperation with the Broads Authority, Discovery Hubs promote sustainable, low-impact discovery of the National Park throughout the year. The Trust is aiming to roll out a network of hubs across The Broads over the next two years and is looking for funding from local councils, private companies, public bodies and charities who would like to get involved in enabling sustainable, car-free travel across the whole of the National Park.

The Richardson’s Boating Holidays story began in 1944 when Mr Robert Richardson Jnr purchased his first motor cruiser and started offering boating holidays on the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads. Today, operating from Stalham Marina, we now have the largest holiday charter fleet in the Broads National Park and are proud to support the Broads Trust and its network of Discovery Hubs, which enable visitors to discover the natural beauty and hidden corners of this unique and beautiful area.

Salhouse Broad Discovery Hub

Located on the River Bure between Wroxham and Horning, in the heart of the Norfolk Broads, Salhouse Broad is one of the prettiest of the northern Broads, a mixture of woodland, reedbed and grassland that is accessible to all visitors and is home to our Dark Skies Hub. A largely rural county with few large towns and cities, Norfolk boasts some of the darkest skies in the country – a unique and tranquil darkness that is heightened in the reedy landscapes of The Broads. The Salhouse Broad hub has been designed to take full advantage of its location, with a platform to lie down on to marvel at the night sky or the ever-changing cloud formations on a summer’s day – all you need is a pair of binoculars to stretch out and enjoy the natural splendour above you.

Elsewhere, there are paths to explore and canoes for hire, and you can if you wish paddle across to Hoveton Great Broad on the far side of the river – a protected nature reserve where you can spot dragonflies, butterflies, maybe a heron or kingfisher, or even the occasional otter. Salhouse is also a terrific place for families, with a children’s playground, a small café – The Hungry Otter – and a pub serving food nearby.

Salhouse Discovery Hub is easy to find, despite being deliberately hidden from the water behind trees to keep it nice and dark, a very short walk from the mooring or a left hand turn off the car park access footpath. We hope you enjoy this wonderful location.

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Beccles Discovery Hub

Discover The Broads from its famous southern gateway.

Beccles is traditionally the southern gateway to The Broads National Park, Britain’s largest protected Wetland. It’s close to the limit of navigation on the beautiful Waveney River and home to a number of places to hire cruisers, day boats and canoes and is also a terrific place to explore the countryside with footpaths leading off in all directions and along both sides of the river. This is your starting point for a journey to a magical place, which you discover on foot, bike or on the water with the Discovery Hubs Network.

Beccles is on the Angles Way long-distance footpath, which follows a 92-mile route from the historic port of Great Yarmouth along the Waveney Valley to the ancient capital of East Anglia, Thetford. Don’t worry, you don’t have to walk its entire length, and from Beccles there are two easy stages: a loop via the pretty village of Geldeston or a walk along the river towards Lowestoft with a return journey by bus or train.

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Great Yarmouth Discovery Hub

A vibrant seaside resort with the unique backdrop of the Broads National Park.

Wedged between the tranquil waters of The Broads and the raw, wild and wonderful expanse of the North Sea, Great Yarmouth is both a historic port and a vibrant seaside resort. Take a walk around this historic borough and at every turn there is a glimpse of its rich past. However, just a walk, bike ride or train journey away, there is something just as magnificent: a magical landscape, shaped by man but now home to nature – Britain’s largest protected Wetland, The Broads National Park.

Great Yarmouth’s Discovery Hub occupies a prime position on the seafront, right by the popular Sea Life attraction and not only pointing you to the many prime attractions in the town – for example the Time & Tide Museum, the Hippodrome Circus, piers and Venetian Waterways – but also to the delights of The Broads just beyond the town centre. Three long-distance footpaths start at Great Yarmouth train station and lead into The Broads via Breydon Water – a large expanse of tidal water where three rivers come together, and an internationally protected water nature reserve, renowned for its birdlife. The long-distance Angles Way footpath takes walkers along the southern banks of Breydon Water while the Weavers Way and Wherryman’s Way follow the northern shore.

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