Historic ferry service to re-open

I'm going to be a ferryfish! Someone told me that there used to be a ferry connecting Waveney River Centre to Carlton Marshes and I couldn't resist reviving it so that everyone can have a lovely long walk.

Apparently my team have joined forces with Suffolk Wildlife Trust to restore and promote the pedestrian ferry service from Burgh St Peter to the Carlton Marshes nature reserve -  and the Angles Way long-distance footpath.

Eddie's Ternpike ferry will run on-demand throughout the year – full details are on our website. It launches ofishally next Easter - but we'll be doing trial crossings throughout the winter subject to tide & weather conditions.

In the 19^th and early 20^th centuries, the ferry was the easiest way for south Norfolk villagers to walk or cycle to Lowestoft’s fish market, turning a 17 mile journey via Beccles bridge into a more manageable 5 miles. The post-war explosion in car ownership meant that the ferry fell into disuse in the 1950s - but today there is a new generation of walkers and cyclists keen to explore the Broads at a more leisurely pace.

I interviewed James Knight of Waveney River Centre to get the low down, and he said that our customers have been asking where they can go for a walk alongside the river, or how they can get to the Carlton Marshes nature reserve which is directly opposite our Park. They’ve been disappointed to discover that it’s a 26 mile round-trip by car - but now it's just a 2 minute hop across the river! Apparently we've found the original river inlet and steel piling where the ferry landed on the Suffolk side - and Charlie Swan from Oulton Broad has even found the old bell which was used to call the ferryman! Evidently it had found its way to the East Anglia Transport Museum at Carlton Colville.

I also had a quick yarn with Julian Roughton, Chief Executive at Suffolk Wildlife Trust, who said “we're delighted at the restoration of this ferry service by Waveney River Centre. Carlton Marshes is a great place to enjoy the wonderful landscape and wildlife of the Broads  and  now the ferry will offer walkers on the Angles Way the opportunity of a pub lunch at the Waveney Inn as well as a hearty walk”.

Local landowner Tony West remembers seeing the old ferry as a lad, but never used it. He said he'd rung the bell a few times though! Naughty boy.