East Anglia Press Releases for the Norfolk & Suffolk Broads with Press Releases and Articles from the Broads Authority in East Anglia, and the East of England UK.

Most people think of exploring the Broads by boat. But sixty new bikes have been delivered to five bike hire centres throughout the Broads to encourage land lovers to explore Britain's largest protected wetland on two wheels.

The £34,000 Broads Bike Hire development project aims to promote quiet, healthy, family recreation and an environmentally friendly method of transport while helping Broads businesses to diversify.

The Broads Authority's Sustainable Development Fund has provided £15,000 towards the project, the Broads Authority has given £9,000 in kind and Norfolk County Council has given £2,000. The bike hire operators have contributed the remaining £8,000.

This year the funding has encouraged three new centres to join the original network of five, which are scattered throughout the northern and southern Broads. New equipment at all the centres includes bikes for all ages, baby seats, helmets, tag-alongs and trailers.

New cycle routes are being researched by Broads Authority Countryside Rangers and maps of the routes will be available free to bike hire customers. In addition 75,000 leaflets have been distributed to holiday outlets publicising the bike hire network.

Broadland Cycle Hire, with outlets at Hoveton and Ludham Bridge, has purchased 30 new bikes, Outney Meadow Caravan Park has bought nine more, while new centres at Clippesby Hall Caravan Park and Waveney River Centre near Burgh St Peter have taken 16 and six respectively. Stokesby Riverside Tea Rooms and Stores hires cycles but has not added to its fleet, while Norfolk Outdoor Recreation Centre at Whitlingham Country Park plans to set up a cycle hire centre in the near future and will benefit from the funding package.

Peter Howe, Project Manager, and proprietor of Broadland Cycle Hire, said: "The cycle hire network provides boat-based tourists with an alternative activity and gives opportunities to enjoy the delights of the wider Broads area, by visiting nature reserves and attractions not directly accessible from the river. It also allows visitors to discover, in a relaxed, non-threatening environment, the benefits of cycling. The grant has allowed us to maintain a high quality serve by updating our equipment with excellent new cycles."

It is anticipated that integrated canoeing, cycling and camping routes could be developed, allowing people to cycle or canoe from one centre to another over several days while their luggage is transported for them.

The Bike Hire Network was set up eight years ago, but with the closure of several of the original centres and lack of funds to replace stocks of cycles, it was failing to provide an adequate service. The funding is helping to establish new centres, replace cycles, add new cycle routes, provide marketing and promotion and train new staff.

Reproduced by kind permission of Broads Authority.