Waveney River Centre, Carlton Marshes and Oulton Broad Walk

At Waveney River Centre, make your way into reception to request the Ternpike Ferry and make payment. The ferryman will take you on the short trip across the river and deposit you on the opposite bank- welcome to Suffolk! Turn right and follow the path along the top of the flood bank with the River Waveney to your right. At the first junction, turn left through a gate to join another section of raised embankment leading you away from the river. Take time to enjoy the expansive views across the marshes. Further along, a gate ahead leads you into Carlton Marshes Nature Reserve. Stay with the grass embankment which peters out at a junction with a stone track. Turn left to cross the track and take the grass embankment path which continues in front of you. This grass path soon swings right and then leads you between sections of reed beds.

Simply follow this raised embankment path leading you around the edge of White Cast Marshes. Carlton Marshes Nature Reserve is part of The Broads, Britain's largest nationally protected wetland. It is a diverse mosaic of broadland habitats including grazing marsh, fen, reed bed and several small manmade broads created by historic peat digging. The reserve is home to many rare and threatened plants (such as the yellow-flag iris and southern-marsh orchid) and animals. Look out for water voles, otters, marsh harriers, barn owls, muntjac deer and many species of warblers. Eventually you will come to a junction at the corner of a stone path. Keep directly ahead, still following the line of the wooden-topped retaining wall on your left. Some distance further, the retaining wall ends. Simply stay ahead on the main path (ignoring the path for Ivy House Country Hotel to your right). Across to the left you will have beautiful views beyond the reeds across Oulton Broad. Oulton Broad, thought to be the remnant of medieval peat cutting, is the most southern of the Norfolk Broads. It is a popular tourist and sporting centre and you are likely to see everything from powerboat racing, to sailing, rowing and canoeing. On the far bank you will be able to see the beautiful red brick buildings of the Old Maltings. Once a key part of the brewing industry, today the buildings are in use as residential apartments. At the end of the path, a small gateway leads you onto the quayside at Broadlands Marina.

Keep directly ahead along the quayside, continue past the washrooms and join the path ahead with a fence running on your left. Stay with this path as it swings left around the banks of Tubby's Marina. At a junction with a footbridge to your right, turn left and then follow the main tarmac path as it swings steadily right with Oulton Broad on your left. At the junction with the wide concrete track, turn right (heading for the rowing club) and then turn left across the back of the slipway. Beyond this, turn left again following the path closest to the water's edge, leading you into Nicholas Everitt Park. Follow the path over a bridge across the duck pond and keep ahead passing the yacht club on your left and the bandstand across to your right. Continue ahead to leave the park via the gates and follow the wide walkway (The Boulevard) passing a number of thatched buildings on your right (including the Harbour Master's Office). You will come to a T-junction with Bridge Road in Oulton Broad. If you need to return to Oulton Broad North rail station, turn left here. Otherwise, turn right along Bridge Road. You will come to a parking area on the right and opposite this, on the left, Fancy Cakes Patisserie, should you want a refreshment stop. When you are ready to continue your walk, return back along Bridge Road, turn left onto The Boulevard and continue up to the park gates from which you emerged.

Pass through the park gates and, immediately afterwards, turn left (passing the bandstand across to your right). At the cream-coloured toilet block, turn right and follow this path past two buildings on your right, the second of which is the flint building which houses Lowestoft Museum. This is open seasonally but is worth a look around if you have time. Keep ahead past the museum to reach the duck pond. Pass to the left of this and, as you draw level with the bridge, turn left to join the tarmac path running closest to Oulton Broad on your right. The path leads you to a slipway. Turn right across the back of the slipway and then follow the track as it swings right again. Turn left to continue on the path closest to the water's edge. The path swings steadily left. Just before you reach a footbridge ahead, turn right to follow the path alongside Tubby's Marina on your right.

The path continues with a fence running on your right. Just before the end of this fence, turn left across a wide concrete bridge and then keep ahead to join a single vehicle track. When the track swings left, turn right to join a narrow signed footpath (part of the Angles Way- more of that later). The path leads you between the lodges of a holiday village. Cross over the access track and take the path which continues ahead. Beyond the lodges, keep ahead through the caravan site, cross another entrance lane and take the narrow footpath ahead. Stay with this path which follows the line of trees on your right as it leads you through a number of rough fields (passing by a disused stile along the way). At the far end, cross the stile ahead to reach the gravel entrance drive for Ivy House Country Hotel. Take the stile ahead into the paddock (NOTE: if you have a dog with you that cannot climb this stile, you are likely to find the field gate open. Walk to the right of the stile into the car park and you will find the gate on your left). Walk straight along the paddock, following the fence line on your right. In the far corner, pass through the kissing gate and you will come to a T-junction within the path.

Turn right and follow the left-hand fence as it swings left to reach a signed junction. Ignore the path signed right, simply keep ahead on the stone path with a Landspring Drain on your right. This path is still part of the Angles Way, a 93 mile long distance path following the county boundary of Norfolk and Suffolk, gently meandering from Great Yarmouth through to Thetford. At the end of the path you will pass the square parking area for the Carlton Marshes visitor centre on your left. Continue past this to pass a noticeboard on your right and you will come to a vehicle track bridleway. Turn right for a few metres to reach a kissing gate ahead. Pass through this and turn immediately left through another kissing gate. Follow the stone path winding through the marsh with the Landspring Drain running on your left. Pass through the next two kissing gates ahead and, 90 metres later, you will see a gated footbridge on your left. This is the access point to another small section of the reserve which is home to a small broad, Sprat's Water. No dogs are allowed in this section, but if you are dog-free then feel free to take a small diversion to explore this area. When you are finished return back to this main path.

Keep ahead along the main path, with the Landspring Drain still on the left. At the next junction, with another footbridge on the left, turn right. Follow this wide track between the reed beds as it swings gradually left and then turns right to join a very long straight section, heading north west. This unmade track can be muddy at times, but this gives you the perfect opportunity to look out for more signs of the resident wildlife. Keep your eyes peeled for otter, deer and bird footprints within the mud surface. Stay with the track all the way to its end where you will reach a pumping station.

Pass to the left of the pumping station to reach the riverside path. Turn right along the riverside embankment and follow this ahead, with the River Waveney running on your left. Further along, ignore the path signed off to the right, instead continue ahead. Just before a dense hedgerow begins of the left, you will come to the landing point for the Ternpike Ferry. Call 07500 571232 to summon the ferry and this will take you across the river to reach Waveney River Centre. Welcome to Norfolk! Make your way up to the main reception (the blue building by the main slipway) to pay your fare if you haven't already done so. Alongside the reception you will find the recently refurbished and dog-friendly Waveney Inn for some well-earned hospitality. If you wish, walk further up the access lane (past the glamping escape pods on your right) and then turn right to visit St Mary's Church which has a thatched roof and a most unusual tower. In the early 1900s locals were fond of telling holidaymakers that the church tower was in fact telescopic and was wound up at the beginning of each sailing season and wound down again to mark the onset of winter! After your meal, take time to explore more of Waveney River Centre. Within the park you will find Eddie's Pool and Cafe and the Mariner's Stores, as well as a children's playground and wildlife garden. The accommodation range offers something for everyone from the glamping Escape Pods, to Luxury Lodges with hot tubs and modern Penthouses to the Hotel Rooms within the Waveney Inn. If you need to continue the walk back to Oulton Broad, simply follow the directions from the start of this walking guide.