Karl J
Thursday 4th September 2003, 23:12
Burgh Castle is about 4 miles SW of Gt Yarmouth. OS 134 covers the area.
Starting at the church TG 476 050 you'll see the track signposted to the old ruins. The site is a well preserved ruined roman fort (very interesting in its own right), built to defend the estuary. Being a defensive castle it's on the side of a hill ( - obvious really ! ) which now overlooks the river & across to Halvergate marshes ( which include Berney RSPB reserve), so you can see for miles around. As well as a good place for a Sunday stroll it's also good birding country. Weekends can get a bit busy with walkers, families etc although weekdays are much quieter.
There are several paths leading through the adjacent fields and there is open access across the site, as well as a couple of information boards.
As it's on the side of a hill there are lots of really good vantage points, and the various habitats are close by - wooded & bushy areas, reedbed, quiet country churchyard, mudflats (at low tide), open farm & marshland, slow river. And a wide scenic view into the distance.
Leading down the hill toward the river the path then turns east back towards Gt Yarmouth alongside the River Yare & the southern shore of Breydon Water (this is Angles Way footpath) , past a couple of miles worth of mudflats, again they get totally flooded when the tide's in though. Farm fields, marshes & small reedbed areas are adjacent all the way, so plenty can turn up if you're lucky.
As for the birds - rather than go into a list here, you're probably best off looking at some of my 'Breydon local patch' posts. But if you're an experienced birder you'll probably see more than me anyway.
Even when Burgh Castle itself is busy there aren't too many people along the river.
An ideal trip for anyone on holiday in Yarmouth as it's only 20 minutes on the bus and a nice walk back.
The following link gives the tide times for Britannia Pier, Gt Yarmouth ..... high tide at Breydon Water is an hour later.... and bear in mind these times are in GMT ...... http://www.ukho.gov.uk/tideprediction.cfm?region=1&locale=England&portid=0142A
Starting at the church TG 476 050 you'll see the track signposted to the old ruins. The site is a well preserved ruined roman fort (very interesting in its own right), built to defend the estuary. Being a defensive castle it's on the side of a hill ( - obvious really ! ) which now overlooks the river & across to Halvergate marshes ( which include Berney RSPB reserve), so you can see for miles around. As well as a good place for a Sunday stroll it's also good birding country. Weekends can get a bit busy with walkers, families etc although weekdays are much quieter.
There are several paths leading through the adjacent fields and there is open access across the site, as well as a couple of information boards.
As it's on the side of a hill there are lots of really good vantage points, and the various habitats are close by - wooded & bushy areas, reedbed, quiet country churchyard, mudflats (at low tide), open farm & marshland, slow river. And a wide scenic view into the distance.
Leading down the hill toward the river the path then turns east back towards Gt Yarmouth alongside the River Yare & the southern shore of Breydon Water (this is Angles Way footpath) , past a couple of miles worth of mudflats, again they get totally flooded when the tide's in though. Farm fields, marshes & small reedbed areas are adjacent all the way, so plenty can turn up if you're lucky.
As for the birds - rather than go into a list here, you're probably best off looking at some of my 'Breydon local patch' posts. But if you're an experienced birder you'll probably see more than me anyway.
Even when Burgh Castle itself is busy there aren't too many people along the river.
An ideal trip for anyone on holiday in Yarmouth as it's only 20 minutes on the bus and a nice walk back.
The following link gives the tide times for Britannia Pier, Gt Yarmouth ..... high tide at Breydon Water is an hour later.... and bear in mind these times are in GMT ...... http://www.ukho.gov.uk/tideprediction.cfm?region=1&locale=England&portid=0142A