Broads Authority's electric trip boat notches up 100000 visitors
The Broads Authority’s first electric trip boat, which has paved the way for sustainable boating on the Broads, has carried its 100,000th visitor on its wildlife water trail.
The Electric Eel has been silently taking visitors into the secret reed-fringed dykes behind the River Ant on the How Hill National Nature Reserve for 23 years. Here, on a sunny day at different times of the year they can spot an amazing array of dragonflies, damselflies, Swallowtail butterflies, birds and rare aquatic plants. The boat stops off at the Broads Authority’s bird hide overlooking Reedham Water where visitors may spot marsh harriers, duck and, if they are lucky, bittern.
Mrs Joyce Adamson who lives close to the Lake District National Park became the Eel’s100,000th visitor to travel the water trail and received a free boat trip and a pewter pin brooch. She and her husband John were so enchanted by the trip they went on the Authority’s solar powered passenger boat ‘Ra’ on Barton Broad the next day!
“I was delighted and honoured to be the 100,000th passenger on Electric Eel,” said Mrs Adamson. “The experience of travelling gently and quietly through the reeds accompanied by such a knowledgeable ranger was unforgettable. I felt as though we were in the real heart of the Broads and it is surprising that even more people do not make this special journey.
“The flatness of Norfolk struck us as we are used to the hilly north but we found it surprisingly diverse in terms of landscape with lots to see and do, particularly for people like us who enjoy the outdoors and wildlife. We will come back to the Broads again, probably in springtime.”
Broads Authority guide and warden Robin Jeffries who has been working on the Electric Eel for 21 years, said: “When people go out on the Electric Eel they experience the real Broads. The wild open marshes are often very difficult to access and the landscape people see travelling along a hidden reed-fringed dyke is totally different from the view from the river. It gives people a truly unique vista and introduces them to wildlife they would not normally see.”
The locally built electric launch was the brainchild of the Broads Authority’s first chief executive, Aitken Clark, as a model for sustainable tourism in a fragile wetland. Since then the Authority has added three more sustainable trip boats and became the first member of the English National Park family to gain the European Charter for sustainable tourism. It was also granted Beacon Council status for promoting sustainable tourism.
When to see wildlife aboard the Electric Eel
April/May : Birds
May/June: Swallowtail butterflies
July/August: Dragonflies, butterflies and flowers
September/October: Birds
Bookings for the 50 minute trips aboard the Electric Eel are taken at Toad Hole Cottage information centre at How Hill on 01603 756096. The trips run from April until the end of October.
27/09/10
Photograph- Joyce Adamson and her husband John with Broads Authority guide Robin Jeffries aboard the Electric Eel.
