Oulton Broad (Lake Lothing and the River Waveney), Suffolk

Standing on the bridge over Mutford Lock it is possible to look over two very different bodies of water. To the West lies Oulton Broad a vast expanse of fresh water leading to the River Waveney and the Broads whilst to the East lies Lake Lothing a salt water lake busy with shipping and seemingly overwhelmed by heavy industry. Mutford Lock forms the dividing line between these two very different worlds and provides a gateway from one to the other.

Technically Oulton Broad and Lake Lothing are not estuaries and are actually man made features but I have included them because they provide an important and well used access point to the Broads National Park; the UK's largest wetland habitat.

Mutford Lock is a busy place, both on and off the water. The A1117 carries traffic over the bridge whilst pleasure boats traveling to and from the Broads keep the lock in regular use. We strolled around the edge of the Broad from the Wherry Hotel to Nicholas Everitt park. Not exactly peaceful as we never escaped the road noise, but pleasant enough, our entertainment provided by a huge flock of greylag geese keeping busy on the wind blown choppy waters of the Broad.

Mutford Lock, Oulton Broad

Oulton Broad

There is something about parts of the Broads that never feel natural to me, and maybe that is partly due to its man made origins, but also I think it has taken on a theme park feel in places and has somehow lost its wild side. That is not to say that nature is not abundant here, because it is, it's just for me it seems too managed and artificial.

Crossing the road over Mutford Lock and wandering along the shores of Lake Lothing the area feels more raw, much less pretty but somehow more real. Gone are the flocks of geese so domestic in their appearance replaced by more typical estuarine species. Comical turnstones hurrying about their business on the wooden pontoons and a cormorant drying his wings on a post in the sunshine. It felt to me that by just crossing the lock from Oulton Broad to Lake Lothing the wild had returned.

Lake Lothing

Lake Lothing is industrial, there is no getting away from it. The shore is dotted with boatyards and boat builders, engineering works and industrial buildings and the water is full of fishing vessels and working boats. There is a general air of chaos everywhere and decay in places but despite this the place has a certain charm.

Rickety jetty, Lake Lothing

Lake Lothing continues east from Mutford Lock to Lowestoft where it flows out into the North Sea.

Today Lowestoft is  typical of many seaside towns suffering its fair share of decline and hard times. For despite its long sandy beaches its fortunes have not always been rosy.

The town grew up around the herring fishing industry in the 1800's. In 1830 the harbour was constructed allowing easy access for the herring drifters which worked the East Coast for most of the 19th Century.

The herring fishing industry went into decline at the start of the first world war when stocks began to decline and  most of the fishing fleet was seconded by the Royal Navy. Today Lowestoft still relies on the sea to boost its economy, although now it is the oil gas and wind farms which are the biggest offshore employers.

The town has grown up on either side of the harbour. On the south is the marina, the Royal Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht Club and the RNLI station, whilst the north side is more industrial with moorings for the wind farm catamarans and large shipping.

Lowestoft Harbour

Lowestoft Harbour

Lake Lothing runs out to  meet the North Sea through a narrow harbour entrance flanked by two pagoda type lighthouses, a rather utilitarian entrance in keeping with the waters industrial feel.

Harbour entrance and the North Sea

Lake Lothing and Oulton Broad facts

OS Explorer Map OL40

Imray Chart 2000-10

Sailing Clubs;

Royal Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht Club at Lowestoft

Waveney and Oulton Broad Yacht Club