With many of the Broads frozen over thanks to the arctic-like weather conditions now isn’t the most obvious time for a boat trip. But, in the interests of this blog one of our skippers, Oli Franzen, wrapped up warm and headed out on the river with his camera to discover the waterways teaming with wildlife that few other people come out to enjoy.
As I put on a thick jumper and the obligatory hat, gloves and scarf ready to board my boat the weather forecast was broadcast on the radio. “A high temperature of zero today…but it will feel like minus 5”, they said. Oh great, perfect for a boat trip I thought!
Fortunately I wasn’t put off by the weather conditions because I enjoyed one of the best cruises of the year. My route was simple, heading downstream to Salhouse Broad via Wroxham Broad and back again. It’s a route that I do every day in the summer season for Norfolk Broads Direct’s sister company – Broads Tours – but one which took on a completely different persona in the winter. This was not just due to the blocks of ice floating downstream, set against the stark winter scenery, but because the waterways were alive with wildlife.
What was immediately obvious is how many more water birds had moved into Wroxham village than you would see in the summer, perhaps because there’s much less boat traffic to disturb shy species but also because fish tend to shoal up in boatyards at this time of year and the species that feed on them follow their prey.
There was a surprising number of Great Crested Grebes in their winter garb, Cormorants fishing and Moor Hens grubbing around on the river banks. Most striking was an extremely cold and grumpy looking Heron – feel free to send in any suggestions for an amusing picture caption for what this Heron is thinking!
On Wroxham Broad things became magical. Water birds have flocked together in huge numbers and I enjoyed a wonderful moment, when my boat was completely surrounded by hundreds of Greylag geese, as shown in this panoramic picture.
I was lucky enough to see huge flocks of Tufted Ducks, which are shy and rarely seen in the summer. If you look carefully you can just make out the ice freezing over the edges of Wroxham Broad in the background of the photograph:
Coots had come together in large numbers too, with some diving into the cold water to catch and eat zebra mussels, as you can see in the picture below:
Next I headed back out on to the river towards Salhouse Broad, revealing perhaps the most special moment of the whole trip – lots of Little Grebes which I encountered in pairs every few hundred yards downstream. Little Grebes are notoriously shy and we hardly ever see them during the summer months, so to spot so many pairs feeling confident enough to come out in the open due to the lack of boat traffic was wonderful. I stopped on each occasion to take some pictures of these beautiful, but notoriously difficult to photograph birds, which are much smaller, cuter and fluffier than their more commonly spotted cousins – the Great Crested Grebe.
Next I reached Salhouse Broad and one thing was immediately obvious. Half the broad was frozen solid! These pictures show somewhat confused Black Headed gulls standing on the ice.
Although this looks dramatic I was reminded that Salhouse Broad was frozen even more thickly than this in 2010, as shown by this lovely picture featuring a puzzled swan taken by James Greasley.
Near Salhouse Broad beach rather more sensible Black Headed gulls than the ones on the ice huddled together on a fence for warmth.
I can thoroughly recommend a boat trip at this time of year. I picked a particularly cold day, and the weather will normally be much milder, but even if it’s not you will see a completely different World that’s well worth wrapping up warm for.
So try hiring a cruiser from us, turn up the heating, put the kettle on and enjoy a truly magical environment that few people experience outside the main tourist season.
Alternatively why not stay in one of our cosy riverside holiday cottages, apartments and penthouses which are surprisingly affordable at off season rates. https://www.broads.co.uk/cottage-holidays/cottage-listings/
Only fancy a few hours on the water during the winter months?
You can hire a day boat by the hour from our sister company – Broads Tours -who are also based at our Wroxham marina. Visit http://www.broadstours.co.uk/ for details