Broads: New bid to promote 'hidden' holidaying haven

Officials are drawing up plans to promote Beccles as more of a tourist attraction.

Representatives from the authority believe the town, on the River Waveney, misses out on many visitors to the Broads, because it is on a more remote part of the network.

Beccles Quay on a summer evening (Image: Newsquest)They have launched

The Waveney - one of the so-called Southern Rivers - tends to attract fewer visitors than tourism hotspots on the Northern Rivers like Wroxham and Horning.

Beccles Quay on a Spring Day (Image: Newsquest)

As part of the scheme, they are planning to build a 'discovery hub' at Beccles Quay for educational purposes, the promotion of ecology and tourism information.

Peter Howe, a trustee of the Broads Charitable Trust, said: "The Broads national park is rather fragmented at the moment and we hope to make people see it as a whole.

"We want to publicise the Broads as a complete area with many different facets and interesting things to encourage visitors from different areas of the Broads. 

"One of our objectives is to develop many focal point hubs across the Broads including Beccles.

"We have a vision for a large number of hubs, but for now starting with the Beccles Quay. 

"We want to explain the ecology of the Broads and encourage more visitors to the Quay and the town.

"The facility can be used as an educational area and we hope children will learn from the information there."

Birds eye view of Beccles Quay (Image: Newsquest)

Beccles town councillors supported the project and gave a grant of £2,700.

Beccles Division County Councillors, Caroline Topping and Ash Lever will also be contributing to the costs from their Suffolk County Council Locality budgets.

Beccles Quay in 1984 (Image: Newsquest)