Thorpe Marshes

Water and grasses at Thorpe Marshes against a blue sky

Thorpe Marshes (credit: Richard Osbourne)

A singing cettis warbler on a wooden post

Cettis warbler (credit: Nick Appleton)

Thorpe Marshes

Bordering the River Yare, Thorpe Marshes is an important urban nature reserve. Located on the eastern fringe of Norwich, the site brings the wildlife of the Norfolk Broads into the city itself.

Location

Located in Thorpe St Andrew, just outside Norwich. To visit the reserve, walk along Whitlingham Lane, which is accessed from the A1242 Yarmouth Road (which is diagonally opposite Thunder Lane and not from Trowse) at the traffic light junction with Yarmouth Road. At the end of this short road there is a footbridge over the railway line which gives access to the reserve. There is no parking on Whitlingham Lane. The site is easily reached via bus from Norwich city centre.
Thorpe St Andrew
Norfolk
NR7 0QA

OS Map Reference

TG 267 082
A static map of Thorpe Marshes

Know before you go

Size
25 hectares
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Entry fee

Free
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Grazing animals

You may come across cattle grazing this site during your visit. Please follow the signage.
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Walking trails

A firm path runs around the site, although it can be wet and muddy in places. See map below for more details.

Reserve map

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Access

Paths on this site are access grade 2. Please visit our Accessibility page for more information.

Dogs

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When to visit

Opening times

Dawn till dusk, every day, all year round

Best time to visit

All year round

About the reserve

NWT leases Thorpe Marshes from Arminghall Settlement Trustees. The site is home to a wonderful mixture of habitats. Flower-rich marshes are criss-crossed by dykes teeming with life. In late spring, patches of iris with their yolk-yellow flowers splash the reserve with colour. Later in the summer, purple loosestrife, hemp agrimony and the creamy flowers of meadow-sweet festoon the wet meadows and dyke edges. This is also the season of dragonflies and damselflies, with many species being regularly found here, including the rare Norfolk hawker dragonfly.  

The reserve has a large area of open water – a former gravel pit, now known as Saint Andrew’s Broad. It hosts a variety of waterbirds, particularly in winter, with gadwall, tufted duck and pochard often present. In summer, great crested grebe breed here. You’ll often see common tern plunging into the water for small fish on their frequent visits to the broad. The surrounding scrub is alive with birds in spring and summer. The secretive Cetti’s warbler lives here all year round, although their noisy, explosive song is often their only giveaway. In late summer, huge numbers of swallows and house martins gather over the marshes to feed on the abundant insects, before heading off to Africa for winter. It is also an important feeding ground for the city’s swift population.             

The reserve is home to the exceptionally rare and endangered shining ramshorn snail. Water voles also occur in small numbers here too.   

Contact us

Norfolk Wildlife Trust
Contact number: 01603 625540
An illustrated reserve map of Thorpe Marshes

Seasonal highlights

All year round

Birds: grey heron. 

Mammals: Chinese water deer, water vole. 

Plants: water soldier is common in the dykes. 

Spring

Birds: warblers. 

Invertebrates: dragonflies. 

Plants: fantastic for fenland plants. 

Winter

Birds:  wildfowl on the broad and, with luck, snipe and stonechat on the marshes.