History of the River Bure

The Broads are shallow lakes, created by people digging for peat fuel from the 9th to the 13th centuries. They became flooded in the 14th century as sea levels rose - and the River Bure connects more of these Broads than any other river does.

The stretch of the river around the pretty village of Horning was the principal setting for the Arthur Ransome 1930s children's classics Coot Club and The Big Six. Many of the locations remain much as they were in Ransome's time, and were brought to a new audience by a 1980s BBC TV adaptation.

Navigation once continued to Aylsham, nine miles above the derelict Coltishall Lock. With all the locks long since fallen into disrepair, Coltishall is now the limit of navigation for powered boats, though canoeists still explore the upper reaches of the river.