Nwt Thorpe Marshes

Nature reserve

Explorer Tom

Just east of Norwich, Thorpe Marshes lets the Norfolk Broads stroll right up to the city's doorstep, muddy boots and all. Cross the footbridge from Whitlingham Lane and you'll find dykes, wet meadows and Saint Andrew's Broad, while the traffic is left to sulk on the other side of the railway. Norfolk Wildlife Trust looks after this 25-hectare reserve beside the River Yare. The broad was once a gravel pit; now waterbirds use it, particularly in winter. Gadwall, tufted duck and pochard may turn up, and great crested grebes breed here in summer. Around the dykes, yellow irises give way to purple loosestrife and meadowsweet as the season advances. A Norfolk hawker dragonfly might inspect you with the confidence of an official checking tickets, though no dragonfly has yet produced a clipboard. Listen as well as look. Cetti's warblers live in the scrub and tend to announce themselves more readily than they show their faces. Summer brings swallows and house martins hunting insects over the marsh, while the reserve also supports water voles and the rare shining ramshorn snail. I suspect that snail has a tiny velvet rope around its favourite patch of water-soldier; that part is my imagination, not wildlife advice. Entry is free from dawn to dusk throughout the year. Follow the firm circular path, which can still turn wet and muddy; keep dogs on leads and obey signs where cattle graze. The entrance is over the railway footbridge at the end of Whitlingham Lane, reached from Yarmouth Road in Thorpe St Andrew, and there is no parking on the lane. Come by bus or find lawful parking elsewhere, then let Norwich disappear behind a chorus of reeds.

This does not grant access. Check current paths, opening conditions and ownership before entering.

Operator: Norfolk Wildlife Trust

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What is recorded here

Map note: Nwt Thorpe Marshes is recorded near Bixley, Broadland, England as a nature reserve. The landscape can keep its secrets; the map gives away the location.

From OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors) w444523198