We have announced that we are the new owners of the Pleasure Boat Inn at Hickling Staithe.
The purchase of the pub and its associated land this week sees us adding to our existing land and property holdings close to our popular nature reserve Hickling Broad and Marshes, which include the Whispering Reeds boatyard and the Hickling Broad Sailing Club.
Our new acquisition includes the pub and adjacent buildings, a large car park and public toilets, together with associated mooring.
This move sees us developing our vision for the area’s wildlife and people, working alongside the local community.
Eliot Lyne, our CEO, explains: “We are delighted to get a step closer to our vision of creating a Wilder Hickling Broad for our local communities and visitors to the area.
“In addition to taking care of this unique and vital landscape for wildlife, we aim to create facilities that will provide new opportunities for everyone to experience Hickling’s fantastic wildlife in an area where nature, the community and the local economy are all thriving.
“Investing in a popular local pub will allow us to create new ways to introduce people to the nature, landscape and wildlife of Hickling. We want to create a business that will serve the local community, as well as attract new visitors to the area, and are looking forward to working closely with the local community to turn our vision into a reality.”
We're looking for a business partner, committed to our vision and values, to run the pub on our behalf.
In addition to reinstating the community pub, we hope to develop additional visitor facilities at our new site, from which visitors will be able to find out more about Hickling Broad and its wildlife as well as book and enjoy boat trips.
Our existing Visitor Centre located at our Hickling Broad and Marshes nature reserve will remain unchanged.
We will now be embarking on significant building work and aims to share further news of the pub reopening and additional facilities available in 2024.