PADDLEBOARDING

North Norfolk Paddleboarding — @norfolkpaddleboards

North Norfolk Paddleboards are where to go if you want to explore the creeks and salt marshes of this stunning coastline, with guided tours from Burnham Overy Staithe, Wells-next-the-Sea and Brancaster Staithe. A dawn or sunset paddle is surely the most magical way to discover one of the world’s most unique, ever-shifting landscapes.

Meanwhile, Norfolk Paddleboards teach you everything you need to find your peace on the waters of the city. Good for body and soul – and social too. We love an Après Sup at The Red Lion Bishopsgate, perched next to the calm Wensum, and at The Rivergarden after exploring the narrow channels of the Yare at Thorpe St Andrew. You may even find yourself downward-dogging on your deck at These Girls Paddle events. For all kinds of hire options, events and lessons, check out the details here.

UP THE CREEK

Once Britain was part of continental Europe, attached by marshy ground where nomadic people hunted and foraged. Coastal Exploration Company are band of wilderness sailors who take visitors to the ancient crossing places of the North Norfolk coast in vintage whelk, crab and mussel boats. If you want your soul soothed and renewed by the otherworldly beauty of England’s fraying edges, these are your people. Journeys start at £395 and there are bespoke possibilities too. Some kind of wonderful. Learn more here.

SEAL TRIPS

Norfolk is famous for its Common and Grey Seal colonies – a truly magnificent sight. Yet for all their baby-faced appeal, seals are wild animals, protective of their young and tragically vulnerable when people get too close. So we suggest supporting the generations of Norfolk families who make a living from taking visitors on boat trips to see the seals at peace in their natural environment.

For trips to Blakeney Point try Temple or Beans – both leave from Morston Quay and are hugely knowledgeable about the seals and birds out on the Point. (Adults £20, children £10, under 2s free.)

Or arrange your own private trip to see the seals under sail aboard Sail North Norfolk‘s Selkie. The sailing boat with silent electric engine allows close-up experiences, including shelduck chicks and diving terns from spring, seals that swim to the boat and hang out, and spoonbills and curlews calling as they fly overhead. From £27.50 per hour.

Kids will love the fun seal safaris on the famed amphibious Wash Monsters with Captain Willie whose family have sailed out from Hunstanton for 90 years. Join Seal safaris at £20 per person, or a coastal tour (£10 per person), learning about local history and enthralling maritime legends.

Alternatively, seal-viewing trips can be arranged aboard Norfolk’s first accessible powerboat, Poppy. The North Norfolk Wheelyboat has been specially designed to enable access to Blakeney Harbour for the disabled, with trips tailor-made to the needs of customers.

BOATING ON THE BROADS

With 125 miles of waterways, unique scenery, diverse wildlife and some of the UK’s most glorious weather, a boating holiday in the Broads National Park is a fab way to escape life’s stresses. From day boats to cruisers, picnic boats and kayaks, Herbert Woods on the Broads at Potter Heigham have whole fleet. Just add sunshine and a G&T. Weekly rates begin at £678 with plenty of day boat options too. More info here.

Or try Broom Boats, part of the Brundall boating community for over a century. With a boat building heritage, the company’s future focus is on clean energy and protecting the waterways for the benefit of wildlife and people. Day boat hire begins at £50.

SAILING

Swallows and Amazons writer Arthur Ransome said most people in Norfolk have got at least one foot in the water. Sailing’s one of the most environmentally friendly ways to enjoy Norfolk’s enchanting waterland and Norfolk’s sailors are a relaxed bunch. The shifting creeks of our coast means it’s not the place for glam marinas and all that razzle dazzle. It’s an altogether more laid-back affair.

On the Broads you’ll find traditional wooden yachts and modern sailing boats for hire plus lovely pubs for evening moorings. Or take to the high seas if Jack Sparrow’s more your kinda vibe.

Sailing tuition is available everywhere for juniors or adult novices and the calm Broads are a great place to learn. Here are a few to try:

Norfolk Broads Yacht Club on the banks of the beautiful Wroxham Broad loves all aspects of competitive racing as well as encouraging a more leisurely sail on Wednesday evenings from May followed by fish and chips from the Clubhouse. Yummo! The club also offers great training for sailors over the age of 7.

Rollesby Broad Sailing Club is nicely tucked away from the rental boat crowds on Rollesby Broad, which isn’t accessible by boat from the rest of the broads network, making it a safe and quiet sailing environment, lovely for learning. With lots of dinghy classes for hire you don’t need your own boat to get out on the calm water. A year’s family membership is £110.

The Waveney and Oulton Broad Yacht Club is the only Broadland Club to offer racing 52 weeks a year. Family membership is £155 a year.

Or sail the high seas at Great Yarmouth & Gorleston Sailing Club. It’s a small, informal club with some of the best sea sailing in Norfolk. And evening sails on Sundays and Thursdays throughout the summer. Family membership is £220 a year.

Wells Sailing Club is a welcoming club founded in the saloon bar of a pub in 1929. Young members are actively encouraged to get out on the sea for racing, pleasure sailing in dinghies or yachts, canoeing and loads of other water-based activities. Family membership is £138 a year.

Brancaster Staithe Sailing Club is fab for families and offers training in sailing and seamanship as well as powerboat handling which might appeal to full-throttle teens.

ADVENTURE WATERSPORTS

If your family’s all about high speed fun and thrills, you need Northshore, nestled on the edge of Brancaster salt marsh. Experience the thrill of zooming through the waves with wing foiling lessons. Or dial it down a notch and get salty and zen on the paddleboard tour and yoga class.

Norfolk may not be as famed for its waves as the likes of Cornwall, but we have a fantastic burgeoning surfy culture all of our own. Whether you’re a total rookie or an experienced rider of gnarly North Sea waves, Cromer’s Glide Surf School is the place to go for surfboard hire and lessons.

PADDLE POWER

A world away from the big pleasure boats that jostle for space in the hotspots, there are vast areas of the Broads completely inaccessible to motorboats. Shallow water, wildlife havens and secret backwaters. You can always find a peaceful retreat by canoe.

If you and your children love bushcraft, camping, foraging and otter spotting, you need The Canoeman. There are currently 7 launch venues and so many fantastic ideas for unique days out you’ll be spoilt for choice.

Fancy something a tad more flashy? While away a summer evening cruising down the River Bure from Coltishall in a glowing tandem kayak lit up with LED lights. It’s thanks to Summer SUP, who this year are also offering trips out on their glowing kayaks on the sea in Hemsby. Girls’ night with a difference? £34.99 for 1hr.

GONE FISHING

Compliments aside, we’re no experts on fishing for stuff. But if you fancy seeing things from a new angle, have a chat with Angling Direct in Norwich. They have all kinds of kit for coarse and fly fishing and a whole lot of info about river locations. Nice tackle too.

Between 16 June and 15 March, fish for bream, pike and carp in beautiful surroundings on the serene lake at Blickling Estate. Fab for all ages and abilities. Day tickets are £7 and season tickets available as well. Info here.

Misty morning at Blickling Estate, National Trust Images/Justin Minns

How about sea fishing? Family-run BJR Marine runs 3-hour mackerel sea fishing trips on the Whitby Crest, leaving from Wells harbour. At £40 per head (£35 per child), it’s an ideal intro for sea fishing novices and families with children who want to give it a go. Rods etc provided if you need.

Off the Hook can also be chartered from Wells (starting at £45 per head), heading out into the Wash where, if the tide’s right, you’ll head home as the sun sets into the sea. Spectacular.

ALL THAT JAZZ

The Mississippi? Meh. We have the Bure. And tonnes of Southern Comfort. Make mine a double. As in a double-deck paddle boat purpose built for the Broads. There are public trips and jazz nights, but we reckon private hire for 100 sounds like the party not to be missed.

The Southern Comfort Mississippi Paddle Boat runs regular trips from the beautiful village of Horning, along the River Bure through the village and out to Ranworth Broad and back, passing lovely old thatched houses, windmills and Norfolk reed beds. Granny will love it anyway. Especially when served with lemonade. From £10 per adult.

Dive in! 10 of the best watersports to try in Norfolk

You may also like