The village of Reedham in Norfolk is situated on the north bank of the River Yare, 12 miles east of Norwich and just over 7 miles south west of Great Yarmouth. Although not a big village it's quite spread out but for visitors the best part of it is Reedham Quay where Broads cruisers and other boats can moor up; backed by lawned areas with tubs full of brightly coloured flowers, and lined with pretty cottages, a tea room, shop and the Lord Nelson pub, it's a very pleasant place to spend an hour or two.
At the east end of the quay is The Ship pub and restaurant; with an abundance of flowers and ivy covering most of the front wall of the building and a pleasant garden bordering the river it's a great place to have a meal and a drink while watching the various cruisers going past. Not far from The Ship is the swing bridge which carries the Norwich to Lowestoft railway line over the river; dated from 1902/3 it's operated from a nearby signal box on the line, and in a typical year it can be opened as many as 1,300 times to allow yachts and other tall-masted leisure craft to sail through.
Just over half a mile from the west end of the quay and out of the village itself is Reedham Ferry, the only vehicle chain ferry in the Norfolk Broads area; it also forms the only crossing point of the river on the 20-mile stretch between Norwich and Great Yarmouth. The previous ferry was hand wound until early 1950 when it became motorised; the current ferry was built in 1984 and can, at a pinch, take three cars but normally only takes two. The chains are pulled up from the river bed when it's moving so anyone passing by boat should stop and wait for the ferry to reach the bank; it's not a long wait either, as the crossing takes less than four minutes from one side to the other. On the village side of the river, just by the ferry landing stage, is the Reedham Ferry Inn with a caravan and camping site to one side and a large patio area up on the riverbank where you can watch the river traffic while you dine and drink.
On the outskirts of the village is Pettitts Animal Adventure Park, a fascinating combination of domestic and exotic animals and birds, animals to feed and pet, rides and play areas and live entertainment aimed more at younger children. As you would expect, dogs aren't allowed in and unfortunately the only parking area is in a nearby large unsheltered field, so it wouldn't be wise for anyone with a dog to go there on a very warm day unless there was someone willing to stay outside with the dog.
So there you have it, Reedham in brief, and whether you get there by car or by boat it's definitely worth spending some time there on a sunny summer's day. Photos of the Reedham area can be found in my post from September 8th 2012.
