Sloughbottom Park is a big park subsequent to Mile Pass in Norwich and is house to a number of grass soccer pitches, a basketball court docket, a BMX monitor and a plethora of glad canine walkers. It additionally has a unfastened automotive park and a half-mile flat, paved stroll to the river from the automobile park.

It is because of this Sloughbottom Park makes a in reality just right begin to a adventure through kayak at the River Wensum. Going upstream takes you towards Hellesdon and downstream takes you in the course of the center of Norwich itself. 

Coming into the river is just a little tough right here. There are not any pontoons, on the other hand there’s a little bit of collapsed synthetic river banking which has made a perfect handy on-off level.

As soon as you might be in, the present eases you alongside and also you input an excessively rural river in spite of being so as regards to the town. Swans, ducks, geese, dragonflies are all visual inside of moments and it’s onerous to imagine you might be so as regards to the town.

It doesn’t ultimate lengthy, however it in reality does remind you ways beautiful the spaces round Norwich are. You quickly come across Wensum Park, an attractive riverside park with a small pavilion and steps down into the river.

It’s a highly regarded park in just right climate, youngsters feeding the water hen and apartments fail to remember a much broader stretch of the river bend. 

Then the industrialisation in reality kicks in. The again of Oak Boulevard sees scrap vehicles piled atop one any other at the riverbank and developers hammering away at construction a block of apartments that may fail to remember the river.

A digital truth gaming store has a small pontoon to be had to prevent at ahead of crossing beneath the busy double bridges of St Crispin’s Highway, one among which was once in-built 1882. Low sufficient that you’ll contact them as you cross beneath, the bridges mark the professional arrival into the town.

It is just a brief distance from the bridges that you simply come across the one hurdle upon the course; the New Turbines sluice gate. Having been discussed way back to the twelfth century and having been rebuilt and repurposed time and again, the New Turbines sluice paperwork a barrier around the river to which boats and kayaks are not able to cross.

Thankfully, The Broads Authority finished a canoe portage in 2020 to permit river customers’ more straightforward passage across the sluice. On the other hand, it’s nonetheless rather a difficult activity because the portage is rather top; dragging a forged kayak or a paddleboard up can also be rather tricky.

I got here neatly ready with my collapsible trolley stowed within the again, and after I dragged the kayak up and out, I walked it throughout to the portage at the different aspect of the sluice.

As soon as you might be again within the water, it’s the ultimate time you will have to go away your vessel between the town and the ocean. 

The top partitions of the Riverside Stroll enclose the river, tiny town gardens again in opposition to the brick paintings of the river. Outdated ladders drop to small boats which might be tied up and anticipate their summer season use.

Passers-by glance down into the river and in spite of no longer being the one paddler out at the day, other people nonetheless wave or nod a greeting. 

On the St. Miles Coslany Boulevard bridge, markers seem to turn the peak of the devastating 1912 flood water, which lower Norwich off from the remainder of the rustic for 2 days, as seven inches of rain fell inside of 24 hours in August.

The Bullards Brewery construction hosts one such marker. The chimney, lengthy since long past, the previous Anchor Brewery is now a residential house, but the gold lettering at the aspect of the construction reminds the ones passing of its wealthy historical past.

The following landmark is the derelict Jap Electrical energy Board’s place of work constructions that lower a majestic slab around the right-hand aspect of the river.

Architect Edward Boardman was once liable for designing the construction, an inherent ability that may be observed in his different Norwich designed construction, the previous Norwich and Norfolk health facility.

Some other similarity can also be present in that it’s most probably that the Duke Boulevard EEB construction will probably be became lodging, reportedly constructed to serve apartments to the Norwich College of the Arts which can also be observed a brief paddle from the construction.

There may be an extraordinary warehouse positioned at the website. As a part of an artwork undertaking, the construction has been coated in each phrase of Sir Thomas Moore’s ‘Utopia’ and can also be observed from the street on Duke Boulevard, in addition to the river.

Passing beneath the bridge adjoining to NUA comes two attainable relaxation spaces. The primary, at the left, is an previous portage on the backside of a collection of stairs. As I handed, a couple of anglers have been stress-free beneath the huge willow tree.

At the right-hand aspect, the Ribs of Red meat pub has an impressive, just lately refurbished terrace entire with an simply available pontoon. The one snag is {that a} native ‘Pub & Paddle’ corporate perform from right here, making house a top class.

On the other hand, if you’re browsing to spark off from the centre of the town and don’t need to convey your individual apparatus, it’s an excellent spot to rent paddle forums. As I had distance in thoughts, I handed through the extraordinarily inviting pub and beneath the Fye Bridge. 

Along the Scandinavian-looking Quayside, the river heads in opposition to the Whitefriars bridge, the place the native regulation courts can also be discovered.

Extra residential spaces are being constructed reverse, bringing a lot wanted regeneration to any other former business website. Cranes and scaffolding grasp over the air of the river, one thing that can put some other people off their paddle. On the other hand, it’s thrilling to look websites that experience fallen into disrepair and overloaded with damaged concrete and graffiti, be became dwellings that may exhibit the exclusivity of the river. 

Passing beneath Jarrold Bridge, a footbridge at the east aspect of the regulation courts, the river takes a extra rural really feel once more, because of the proximity of the cathedral grounds.

The rustic’s ultimate surviving Swan Pit can also be observed at the cathedral aspect of the river. It’s not a lot of a landmark and it’s a throwback to a quite medieval practise, however a captivating construction all of the similar.

A brief distance away, at the similar aspect of the river, the English Heritage, 1300’s artillery tower this is Cow Tower, holds a strategic place over a nook of the river. The parapets have been broken through artillery all over Kett’s Rebel and the tower was once additional broken within the early 1900’s all over “restore paintings”, on the other hand, the uncommon houses of getting been constructed for gunpowder cannons and arrow slits for small weapons and crossbows, mark this construction as a sight value seeing.

Paddling across the bend of the river on which it sits, lends an air of simply how enforcing the tower will have to were, must you could have considered attacking the town. 

The following phase of the river encompasses Norwich in a nutshell. At the left-hand aspect, the noisy town visitors of the A147 supplies a noisy backdrop to one of the most maximum scenic spaces of the town centre at the correct.

Passing beneath the one surviving medieval bridge within the town, the 1340’s Bishop Bridge is any other reminder of the town’s wealthy heritage. Robert Kett’s males led an assault at the gatehouse and entered the town right here all over the insurrection. This present day, the Purple Lion pub out of doors space guards of the oldest, nonetheless usable bridges in Britain. 

The cathedral grounds roll in previous the bridge, the spire simplest visual between the huge, leafy timber that are a heritage in themselves.

Pull’s Ferry adjoins the river just a little additional down. This was once the water gate for the cathedral and this twelfth century flint construction noticed different iterations, equivalent to having a superbly arched gatehouse constructed ahead of changing into an inn and in spite of everything a privately owned place of dwelling. 

The noise turns into louder, the boats transform larger and the river will get deeper as you head towards Foundry Bridge.

At the left, the very secluded Norwich Yacht Station is an excessively blank and tidy construction, hidden from sight of the street. So hidden, that till I had kayaked previous, I had no longer recognized of its lifestyles, tucked beside some of the busiest streets in Norwich down a flight of stone stairs.

Reverse the station, the Complet Angler pub presentations striking flower decor from its below-street-level out of doors terrace. The one disgrace is that there was once no actual space to tie up and go out the kayak. 

Extra water-hire choices can also be discovered at the Station-side of the river; TheCanoeMan Norwich provides numerous other reviews, from kayaks and paddle forums, to in a single day tenting reviews at the water.

The group of workers on accountability that day gave me a pleasant wave as they appeared up from their guide on a quiet day. The teach station construction loomed over the financial institution as I made my well beyond, the clock tower visual even from my low view of the realm, which I realised was once if truth be told extra appreciative with out having the ability to see a lot of the visitors darting round in entrance of it. 

The following phase of the river could be very pedestrianised. As soon as house to Norwich’s ‘Riverside’ nightlife, many of the bars and golf equipment have given approach to eating places, a cinema complicated and a bowling centre along residential constructions.

Two pedestrian swing bridges pass the river with the intention to hyperlink the realm to the King Boulevard, Woman Julian Bridge and the Novi Unhappy Friendship Bridge. Woman Julian wrote the earliest recognized guide through a lady in the United Kingdom and Novi Unhappy is one among Norwich’s twinned towns in Serbia.

New blocks of residential constructions have long past up and this space of riverside has transform a construction hub during the last decade and extra. Some of these brownfield websites have been concrete graveyards, surrounded through a terrible blue plastic fence, so tidy residential spaces are a welcome boost to the river. 

Paddling my approach alongside, the following phase is Carrow Bridge, a lifting bridge, offering get right of entry to for higher vessels to the town. Two previous medieval increase towers straddle the river, a part of the town’s previous defences which a sequence was once ready to be raised in defence of the town.

Thankfully, the best way was once transparent and in the course of the blocks of apartments on my left-hand aspect, glimpses of Carrow Highway and Norwich Town Soccer Membership might be observed. 

As I started to go away the town in the back of, extra derelict constructions seemed, scheduled to be became extra apartments.

The website was the previous Colman’s Mustard manufacturing facility, which on some days would bathe the town with the scent of mint as they made mint sauce, has fallen into disrepair and is scheduled to transform residential. 

Additional alongside, as you cross Norwich Yacht Membership, you sign up for the River Yare and Whitlingham Nation Park seems at the right-hand aspect, an out of this world space to stroll canine and residential to crusing golf equipment and numerous water actions.

A campsite may be within reach and the biking course via is especially picturesque in the summertime. Because the river widens, an island seems at the left, the teach tracks working a bridge from over one aspect, to over the opposite, with a ship corporate the one factor in between.

At the left-hand aspect is Thorpe St Andrew, a small the town east of the centre of Norwich. Alongside the river financial institution, a number of approved premises again their gardens onto the water, with the aptly named Rivergarden pub having a small floating pontoon at the water. 

Deciding this was once a just right position to prevent, I climbed out finally for some lunch and a Guinness. It was once time to move again, my adventure from Sloughbottom Park to Thorpe St Andrew being kind of 8km downstream and it took round two hours.

The go back adventure took round half of an hour longer. On the other hand, this did come with a prevent for any other beverage on the Ribs of Red meat at the long ago. Coming beneath Carrow Bridge, it was once a pleasant to the touch to look the ‘Wonderful Town’ signal that encompasses maximum routes into the town. 

What was once much more particular was once what befell as I used to be about ten mins from the tip of my adventure.

As I sheltered underneath a big tree because the heavens made up our minds to open, a splash of blue flew throughout my left-hand aspect forward of me. Because the rain eased off, I suspected what it was once and attempted to silently chase nearer up the river. I desperately attempted to take a photograph of the Kingfisher that had flown up River along me however it proved elusive to my reasonable digital camera. On the other hand, if you make a decision to take a kayak or paddle board out and observe in my wake, you might simply see one too.

Or possibly an otter as they’re recognized to benefit from the river round Duke Boulevard, too.

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