River Yare crossings
Reedham
Watch Reedham's working swing bridge and chain ferry, follow the river through grazing marsh, then choose between quayside food, local beer and village history.
- Best for
- Working river crossings and marsh views
- Give it
- A quay visit or the two-hour circular walk
- Don't miss
- Trains and boats taking turns at the swing bridge
The Fox verdict
A riverside village shaped by crossings and marsh
Reedham brings together a working railway swing bridge, Norfolk's only operating chain ferry, riverside places to eat and a mainly flat four-mile riverbank walk with views across Norton Marsh.
Come for the movement on the River Yare: trains and boats take turns at the swing bridge while the chain ferry carries vehicles across further upstream. The Ship by the bridge and the Reedham Ferry Inn by the crossing offer riverside food. Elsewhere, the brewery shop is on Church Road beside Pettitts; St John the Baptist adds a stop for village history.
Where to go
Places in Reedham
Every place below is checked against a published source, listed with what it is and how long to give it.
Local signatures
3 placesCannell's by the River
A quayside cafe, deli, farm-produce shop and in-house coffee roaster selling local cheeses, fresh bread, cakes and gelato, with baguettes made on site and an all-day breakfast.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: Allow around 60 minutes
- Locality
- 48 Riverside
- Access
- Dog-friendly.
Reedham Circular Walk
A four-mile circuit linking Reedham Ferry, the quay, swing bridge, Holly Farm Road and riverbank, with views across Norton Marsh.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: Allow around 2 hours
- Locality
- starts at Reedham Quay or the ferry
- Access
- Mainly flat, soft surfaced and stile-free, with some inclines.
Pettitts Animal Adventure Park
An animal adventure park with more than 25 exotic and domestic species, including meerkats, wallabies, raccoons, lemurs, birds and reptiles, plus rides and play.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: Allow around 3 hours
- Locality
- in Reedham
Food & drink
3 placesThe Ship
A traditional riverside pub serving home-cooked food, daily specials and Sunday roasts, with live music and a large garden looking towards the working bridge.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: Allow around 75 minutes
- Locality
- 19 Riverside, beside the railway swing bridge
Reedham Ferry Inn
The riverside inn beside the chain ferry serves roast lunches and dishes made with local ingredients; the bar stocks Woodforde's and Humpty Dumpty Brewery ales.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: Allow around 90 minutes
- Locality
- attached to the working chain ferry
- Access
- Well-behaved dogs are welcome in the bar and conservatory.
Humpty Dumpty Brewery Shop
The brewery shop offers on- and off-sales of bottled house beers alongside local gins, ciders, wines, biscuits and chilli sauces.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: Allow around 30 minutes
- Locality
- next to Pettitts on Church Road
History & heritage
3 placesSt John the Baptist
A Grade I, largely 14th-century church with a 15th-century west tower, herringbone-set reused Roman tile in its north wall and an interior rebuilt after the 1981 fire.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: Allow around 45 minutes
- Locality
- back from the water
Reedham Chain Ferry
Norfolk's only operating chain ferry, powered by diesel since 1950; the present vessel was built at Oulton Broad in 1984 and carries up to two cars or seven tonnes.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: Allow around 20 minutes
- Locality
- at the ferry
- Access
- Runs on demand without booking.
Reedham Railway Swing Bridge
A working railway swing bridge from the early 1900s that opens for river craft and closes for trains running between Norwich and Lowestoft.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: Allow around 30 minutes
- Locality
- across the River Yare
No places match this filter. Choose All places to reset the list.
Three ways to explore Reedham
Signature outings
Trains and boats take turns
See the working swing bridge open for River Yare craft and close again for trains between Norwich and Lowestoft.
Ride Norfolk's operating survivor
Use the on-demand Reedham Chain Ferry, whose present vessel was built at Oulton Broad in 1984 and carries up to two cars or seven tonnes.
Roman tile and modern glass
Look for reused Roman tile in the north wall and the stained glass added after villagers rebuilt St John the Baptist following the 1981 fire.
The village story
Reedham Village Guide
At Reedham, the River Yare's swing bridge and chain ferry sit alongside quayside food, marsh walks and layers of village history.
The swing bridge and quayside
Reedham's railway bridge swings open over the River Yare for boats, then closes for trains between Norwich and Lowestoft. Built in the early 1900s to replace a Victorian bridge, it has worked this way for more than a century. The garden of The Ship at 19 Riverside overlooks the crossing. The pub serves home-cooked food and Sunday roasts, hosts live music and welcomes dogs.
From Reedham Quay, watch boats moor on the River Yare, with open marsh views beyond.
The chain ferry and riverside inn
Further upstream, Reedham Chain Ferry crosses the Yare. The Archer family took over the hand-wound ferry in 1949, and it gained a diesel engine the following year. Fred Newson and David Archer built the present vessel at Oulton Broad in 1984. It carries up to two cars or seven tonnes on demand without booking, saving a drive of more than thirty miles to the nearest bridge.
Beside the crossing, the family-run Reedham Ferry Inn serves riverside food and stocks Woodforde's and Humpty Dumpty Brewery ales. Well-behaved dogs are welcome in the bar and conservatory. The inn won Broads Pub of the Year in 1973.
Local produce and the marsh paths
Humpty Dumpty Brewery Shop sits on Church Road next to the animal park, selling bottled house beers alongside local gins, ciders and chilli sauces. Its beers include Reedham Gold, Little Sharpie, Swallowtail and Swingbridge Stout. Back on the quay, Cannell's by the River is a café, deli and farm shop with its own coffee roaster, stocking local cheeses, fresh bread and Harris & James cakes and gelato. Its all-day breakfast uses Norfolk pork sausages, dry-cured back bacon and farm eggs.
From the quay you can pick up the Wherryman's Way, which follows the Yare between Norwich and Great Yarmouth through reedbed and grazing marsh, passing the Polkey's Mill drainage complex east of the village. A four-mile circular walk starts here too, flat, stile-free and soft underfoot, taking in the ferry, the swing bridge and the riverbank with the marshes stretching out toward Norton. This is the largest expanse of grazing marsh in eastern England, and on a clear day the view runs for miles.
Church, deep history and family adventure
St John the Baptist stands back from the water, Grade I, largely 14th century with a 15th-century tower, though part of the north wall may go back further, to around 1100, and holds reused Roman tile set in herringbone. The Berney Chapel keeps a 1584 chest tomb. A fire gutted the church in March 1981; villagers rebuilt it inside two years, with new stained glass by Sarah Bristow and ash pews by John Barnard. The Domesday surveyors counted thirty-seven households here and valued the two recorded holdings at four pounds, six shillings and sevenpence between them.
Pettitts Animal Adventure Park brings together meerkats, wallabies, raccoons and lemurs with rides and play, giving families a change of pace after the river and marsh.
Stay around Norfolk Broads
Make a longer stay of it
Travel Fox holiday homes around Norfolk Broads, linked directly to their property pages.
For homeowners
Own a holiday home near Reedham?
We manage holiday lets across Norfolk from 12% commission, charged after cleaning costs, with no lock-in. A co-founder visits before you decide.
Holiday let management in Norfolk →
A guide with a point of view
Written from research. Edited for real journeys.
Use the Official site links for live practical details, then use this guide for context, ideas and room to explore.
Sources
Every place on this page is checked against a published source. Each entry links the record we used and names who publishes it.
- The Ship — theship-reedham.foodanddrinksites.co.uk other published source
- Reedham Ferry Inn — reedhamferry.co.uk operator, sector body or destination organisation
- Cannell's by the River — cannellsbytheriver.co.uk operator, sector body or destination organisation
- Humpty Dumpty Brewery Shop — humptydumptybrewery.com operator, sector body or destination organisation
- St John the Baptist — historicengland.org.uk statutory register or public authority record not machine-readable; publisher restricts automated access
- Reedham Chain Ferry — reedhamferry.co.uk operator, sector body or destination organisation
- Reedham Railway Swing Bridge — broads-authority.gov.uk statutory register or public authority
- Reedham Circular Walk — norfolk.gov.uk statutory register or public authority record not machine-readable; publisher restricts automated access
- Pettitts Animal Adventure Park — pettittsadventurepark.co.uk operator, sector body or destination organisation