The Broads is truly an enchanted land: waterways; wet, tangled woodlands; mysterious fens, and immense grazing marshes stretching as far as the eye can see. The Broads is also home to exceptional plants and animals, like the swallowtail butterfly, which is found nowhere else in Britain.
The Norfolk and Suffolk Broads area covers 303 sq km, including over 125 miles (200 km) of navigable waterways. There are six rivers - the Bure, Ant, Thurne, Yare, Chet, and Waveney, and 43 broads (or shallow lakes). The broads were formed in medieval times (in the 9th-13th centuries), when peat was dug out to use as fuel. Over the centuries water levels rose and the peat diggings flooded, forming the broads.
Today the Broads has the status of a national park - a place protected for its outstanding landscape and wildlife, and a place protected for everyone to enjoy.
Boating holidays to suit all tastes are available, as well as accommodation on shore in hotels, guest-houses, self-catering accommodation and camping/caravan sites. Boating of all kinds, walking, cycling, fishing, visiting nature reserves and historic buildings are just some of the activities for you to enjoy in the Broads throughout the year.