East of England Marston Marsh Nature Reserve, Norwich

On the outskirts of Norwich, this is a small nature reserve on the flood plain of the River Yare and is an area of marsh, fen, dykes , scrub and wet woodland.

There is a display board with information and a map at the entrance to the reserve.

A well made surfaced footpath runs across the reserve, coming out onto Marston Lane which can then followed back to the entrance.

Beginning on higher ground above the marsh, the footpath goes through trees to the River Bure. This is narrow and slow flowing here. Beyond is marshland.

At a junction, the footpath turns right across the marsh to rejoin Marston Lane. (Taking the left fork at the junction takes you to the railway line and onto Church Lane into Easton village.)

Cattle are grazed on the drier areas between May to November to help keep down the vegetation and allow wild flowers to thrive.

Back on Marston Lane, turn right back to the reserve entrance, with the golf course on the right and the marsh on the left.

This is just over a mile and is popular with local dog walkers. It is an excellent short walk.

ACCESS
The entrance is reached off the A140 down Marston Lane opposite the Holiday Inn. There is a small car park by the entrance to Danby Wood Local Nature Reserve. This is an area of semi natural deciduous woodland within the site of an old chalk quarry, with footpaths through the reserve.

There is a small disabled parking space a few yards further on by the gate into Marston Marshes where there is an information board and map.

website

more information and short videos

leaflet

 

[Ian Sutton]

Wow! You really are close to us now!

My partner does volunteer work for the 'Norwich fringe' who are a conservation group who have both Marston marsh and Danby woods in their remit. I'll ask her to pass compliments on to the volunteers who maintain the paths and who do conservation work on these sites to give nature a space to breathe https://norwichfringeproject.wordpress.com/portfolio/marston-marsh/

She's delighted to see you enjoy and cover these sites. It's great to see people enjoy these green spaces (and I've enjoyed walking in them myself).

She also mentioned that if you (or anyone else) wants some resources for these or other walks in green spaces around Norwich, this link might provide some useful info https://norwichfringeproject.wordpress.com/resources/

 

[Eleanor]

Thanks for all the information Ian and the links. I found Marston Marsh by chance. I was on a coach tour stopping at the Holiday Inn on Ipswich Road and found them when I looked at the OS map . Interestingly when I asked reception in the hotel about them, I got a very blank look. They were 5-10 minutes walk and a lovely place to go and drop out away from the hotel.

 

[Ian Sutton]

Hope you're having a great trip and yes, a super choice to get out from the hotel and immerse in nature. Barring the Marsh Harrier pub (named after the birds of prey that can be seen in Marston Marsh), there's not a lot else nearby to that hotel. Hopefully you've planted the thought with the staff, so they can recommend it to others!

 

[Eleanor]

That's why I made a point of telling receptoin about it afterewards!

I noticed the pub as we drove past. However as a single female definitely well past her prime I'm not keen on venturing in on my own these days...