Park near the shop and it’s only a few yards portage to splash the canoe into the boat dyke next to the Information Centre. Get straight  into the rhythm and paddle out across the good day serenity of  Malthouse broad……, any boats about?  Do you like boats ?, Na, always worth getting up at the crack of dawn, in the depths of a freezing winters day to really avoid the boats  oh yes, better still, ice, if there’s a channel some other fool has kindly carved out you’ve really got it made, I mean who else are you going to see today, this could be such a good run, no one around, wow, this really is what it’s all about ………… Damn,  my feet are numb, and as for my bloody fingers, lucky I got a stove that boils a pan of water in that insanely short time (pity it sounds like an F15 climbing on afterburner though) because more than that & all I’ll want to be doing is paddling again to keep warm. Falling in; don’t even think about it ! Remember that time we went onto Barton an…). 
 Sorry !  I’m getting excited again. I’m forgetting.
Right... Summers’ morning, first thing, no breeze and the sun ‘s behind us, Marsh Harrier, wings tilted  upward quartering  the reed ahead, look at that golden white head. How far do they range ?, It looks like that old female from Stumpshaw, just conjecture without the scope though.
Where were we, paddling across Malthouse broad towards  the thatched conservation centre, where one year looking for Swallowtails, we came across an indifferent looking  Osprey sitting in a distant tree, tried to wait him out, but nope, he sat there until dark & we went home. 
A few miles to get into the cadence,  before poking around, makes you feel your getting somewhere, so point up Ranworth cut , get that power face moving and push yourself towards the Bure with reed beds on your right and Alder woodland on the left. This is a great spot for wildlife, listen for a ‘plop’, could be a (sadly now) rare and elusive Water Vole!
Turn right onto the Bure and stick to the reeds for signs of  Chinese Water Deer and maybe
‘Old Frank’ fishing, sneak up on him, get pretty close and see him stretch those magnificent wings & lope away, neck bent back, feet out. Old Frank, truly the symbol of the broads. Once saw him standing, perplexed, with a 2 foot eel, beak clamped together, just wondering what to do next!
Anyway, meander round with the river until you get to the Ant mouth with baleful St. Benets abbey as the backdrop. Wind around with the Ant for a while occasionally glimpsing grazing marsh lower down on both sides, eventually paddle under Ludham bridge and on to a more picturesque section. Reeds get more abundant, sheltering the river and wildlife becomes more prevalent again; stop off anywhere up here for a brew and that mind focussing three quarter inch thick flapjack.

Hop back in & you’ll come to Turf Fen mill, sentinel of How Hill reserve, probably the most photographed view on the Broads. Coots, Swans & Mallards everywhere but look out for the Dabchick or flitting Bearded Reedlings, Otters even.  I couldn’t believe sighting a family of four Otters here, playing, diving dolphin like and incredibly swimming right up to the canoe before squeaking onto the bank & away. That’s one life’s ambition fulfilled! You maybe lucky if it’s very quiet, look for spraints or fish scales on the banks, a sign that Otters are around. Further on, the expensive waterfront houses of Irstead village change the scene, and then, wow, panoramic views of Barton stretch out ahead. Nelson sailed here so it’s always going to be special, the mood changes with weather & season and  even fog provides this exceptional place with a certain melancholy charm. There isn’t really anywhere to get out around the broad, and it’s a long way back so you’ll probably have been looking to that wedge of pecan and date cake for a while now; have a break, try laying in the canoe & just drifting around. Stare up & wait for the sky to float over. Inhale the mood, pulse decreasing, body loosening; watch that Sparrow hawk glide, couple of beats, then glide again through your field of vision, a magical & memorable experience on a fine windless day. Won’t be back here for a while so poke around,  investigate the margins, the wildlife is there. Black Turns fish this stretch in the summer, and there are always Cormorants warming up on posts. Get up close to those belligerent Geese & look them in the eye. Know people at work who look just like that?
Well, finally, the moment has come again, ease out of the reverie, bit at a time; turn the boat back downstream and put a bit of authority into that ‘J’ to get home. Won’t be long before the mesmerising rhythm is on you again.
 

Wilds of Norfolk was set up because of our unquenchable enthusiasm for the Norfolk Broads,  our small part of the natural world. We thought we'd like to try and give something back by helping other people enjoy the countryside and it's wildlife as well as do our own little bit to promote an interest in the natural world and it's conservation , not only for the wildlife but for the sheer exuberance of the precious life we're lucky enough to get the chance to live.

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