Sustainable Travel: Broads Society Discovery Hubs by Bike

Oli Abbott’s 88-mile journey began with a visit to the Discovery Hub at Salhouse Broad.

There are many ways to explore the Broads, but travelling under your own steam gives you a very different view of the landscape. The Broads Society Discovery Hubs were created to help people discover more of the Broads – its landscapes, wildlife, history and communities – and to encourage visitors to explore beyond the place where they happen to arrive.

Each Hub works as an information point in its own right, introducing visitors to its particular location and the wider Broads. Together, they also form a network, showing how different parts of the Broads can be connected and explored sustainably – on foot, by bike, by train or on the water.

So when the information on the Discovery Hubs needed updating with the Broads Society’s latest details and QR codes, there was a rather appropriate way of getting the job done.

Oli Abbott decided to cycle between them.

And not just a gentle pedal from one to the next. His route would eventually cover 88 miles in a single day.

Updating the Discovery Hubs

The Discovery Hubs were designed and built by Capco, where Oli works, and updating the existing panels rather than replacing them completely was the most practical and cost-effective solution.

New information and QR codes could be added to the existing displays, bringing the Broads Society information up to date while retaining the original Hub structures.

Oli was carrying out the updates for Capco and, rather than simply travelling between the sites by vehicle, came up with the idea of cycling the entire route.

The Discovery Hub at Great Yarmouth, bringing the story of the Broads right to the coast.

It seemed particularly fitting. One of the ideas behind the Discovery Hub network is that the Broads does not have to be experienced from behind a car windscreen.

The Hubs can be destinations in themselves, but they can also act as starting points, encouraging people to continue exploring and discover another part of the Broads.

From Salhouse to the coast – and on to Beccles

Setting out from his home in Norwich, Oli headed first to Salhouse Broad before continuing east to Great Yarmouth.

There were two stops in Great Yarmouth – at the railway station and on the seafront – before he turned south and continued towards Beccles, eventually completing the loop back home. It was quite a loop. By the time he finished, his bike computer showed 142.3 kilometres – around 88 miles – completed in 6 hours and 24 minutes of riding time.

And travelling between the Hubs by bike offered something that a journey by car simply wouldn’t: the chance to experience the changing character of the Broads landscape along the way.

From the wooded surroundings and waterside atmosphere of Salhouse to Great Yarmouth’s urban and coastal setting, and then south through the quieter countryside towards the Waveney Valley, the journey demonstrated just how varied the Broads really is.

A different way to discover the Broads

It is easy to associate the Broads primarily with its rivers and boating, but there are many ways to experience this extraordinary landscape.

Quiet roads formed part of Oli’s route between the Discovery Hubs.

Cycling slows the journey down. It reveals the lanes, villages, fields, river crossings and small changes in landscape that can disappear remarkably quickly when travelling by car.

That idea of connection is an important part of the Discovery Hubs. Someone might encounter one while visiting a particular place, use it to learn more about where they are, and then discover another destination to explore.

The Hubs help tell individual local stories, but together they also show that the Broads is one connected landscape stretching across Norfolk and Suffolk – from inland broads and riverside communities to the coast.

And Oli’s route rather neatly proved the point. Cycling slows the journey down. It reveals the lanes, villages, fields, river crossings and small changes in landscape that can disappear remarkably quickly when travelling by car.

That idea of connection is an important part of the Discovery Hubs. Someone might encounter one while visiting a particular place, use it to learn more about where they are, and then discover another destination to explore.

The Hubs help tell individual local stories, but together they also show that the Broads is one connected landscape stretching across Norfolk and Suffolk – from inland broads and riverside communities to the coast. And Oli’s route rather neatly proved the point.

The Discovery Hub at Beccles – one of the stops on Oli’s 88-mile journey.

A favourite stop – and an unexpected obstacle

Of all the Discovery Hubs on the route, Oli had a clear favourite.

“My favourite was Salhouse Broad. There were a lot of people there and so it had a nice buzz to it!”

That is exactly what the Hubs are intended to do: sit within places people are already enjoying and give them an opportunity to stop, look around and discover a little more.

As for wildlife sightings, despite keeping a keen eye out, Oli wasn’t rewarded with a kingfisher, marsh harrier or anything similarly obliging. Nature did, however, make its presence felt.

At one point he managed to cycle into a patch of stinging nettles taller than he was.

There is, sadly, no photographic evidence. As Oli explained, getting out again seemed rather more pressing than documenting the occasion.

Otherwise, he described the ride as calm, with a largely quiet and enjoyable route – perhaps a reminder that even relatively close to towns and busy visitor destinations, it doesn’t take long in the Broads to find quieter lanes and open countryside.

88 miles later...

Eventually Oli arrived back in Norwich having completed 142.3km (88 miles), with a riding time of just under six and a half hours.

Journey complete: Oli’s bike computer recorded 142.3km – around 88 miles – and 6 hours 24 minutes of riding.

More importantly for us, the Discovery Hubs had their updated Broads Society information in place.

A huge thank you goes to Oli Abbott for taking on the journey and for photographing it along the way, and to Laura Barrett at Capco for helping to organise the Discovery Hub updates.

The ride provided a rather good illustration of what the Discovery Hub network is all about: not simply information boards standing in four separate locations, but starting points for discovering the wider Broads and the landscapes and communities that connect them.

Next challenge: 360 miles in 40 hours

Eighty-eight miles might sound like quite enough cycling for most of us, but Oli has something considerably bigger planned.

On 31 October, Oli and his brother will take on the Iceni 360, an endurance cycling challenge consisting of four 90-mile loops – 360 miles in total – to be completed within 40 hours.

They are taking on the challenge to raise money for CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably), a charity working to support people struggling with life and to help prevent suicide.

If you would like to support Oli and his brother, you can donate via their JustGiving page:

SPONSOR OLI AND HIS BROTHER We wish them both enormous luck. After 88 miles around the Broads, Oli can at least consider this one a warm-up – although we suspect the Iceni 360 may involve rather more than a few nettles.

Image credits

•  Oli Abbott