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.

The new Whitlingham Country Park visitor centre opens today (Friday) in a traditional Norfolk brick and flint barn.

The centre is the final piece in the Country Park jigsaw and will be at the hub of the 280 acre park with a new Broads Authority information centre, a classroom for environmental education, cafe and toilets.

The impressive visitor centre, just two miles from Norwich city centre, marks the gateway between the city and the Broads.

David Adler, Chairman of Whitlingham Charitable Trust which manages the park, said:

"We are delighted that the Flint Barn is opening to the public on Good Friday, bringing yet another fine facility into use at Whitlingham. Over the next couple of weeks it will be fully commissioned. By opening over the busy Easter weekend it will give us the opportunity to take account of the reaction of the first visitors to the centre. The barn will provide a starting point and centre for relaxation for what has become a recreation corridor in Trowse."

Within the park are two broads, a beach, meadows, woodlands and a new Outdoor Education Centre offering sailing, canoeing and windsurfing on the Great Broad.

The barn, which is accessible to people with disabilities, features three picture windows overlooking the Great Broad, and an environmental classroom for primary schools on a mezzanine floor, being run in partnership with the RSPB. This room is also available for hire. As part of their environmental programme the RSPB will be using a designated bug enclosure, a pond dipping platform with a horse trough for keeping the catch, and butterfly and insect catching areas in the meadow.

The cafe, run by Roly Butler of Topdog, will be kicking off with a simple range of warm and welcoming refreshments over the Easter weekend, and will be taking the opportunity to consult customers on ideas for a future menu. Evening events at the barn are also in the pipeline.

On Easter Monday, as part of the park's Easter Family Fun Day, two guided walks around the broad will leave the centre at 10am and 2pm.

Factfile
The visitor centre is open 9 am to 6pm seven days a week. The information desk is staffed 10am -2pm and 2.30pm - 4pm ( 5pm in July and August). Tel: 01603 617332 Parking at the Little Broad and outside the visitor centre: £1.20 for 2 hours, £3.50 all day, £20 for the season.

Reproduced by kind permission of Broads Authority.