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Wildlife Trust buys pub to promote nature

Shaun Whitmore/BBC Eliot Lyne of the Norfolk Wildlife Trust standing outside the Pleasure Boat Inn at Hickling BroadShaun Whitmore/BBC
Eliot Lyne said the NWT wanted to find an experienced pub landlord who "shares the love for this place"
  • A wildlife charity has bought a pub in The Broads with the aim of attracting more people to nature
  • The Norfolk Wildlife Trust hopes the purchase of the Pleasure Boat Inn at Hickling Broad will "introduce nature in a different way"
  • It is looking to hire an experienced pub manager to run the inn and plans to reopen it in 2024
  • It has been closed for about three years

A wildlife charity has bought an empty pub to try to help more people connect with nature in The Broads national park.

Norfolk Wildlife Trust paid “the market rate” for the Pleasure Boat Inn in Hickling, which has been closed for about three years.

It hoped the purchase would attract people who “might not normally go to a nature reserve” to get connected with the outdoors.

The charity plans to hire experienced pub managers to run the inn and extensive refurbishment will be carried out before it opens in 2024.

Shaun Whitmore/BBC Ariel view of pub and broad waterway with boatsShaun Whitmore/BBC
The pub next to Hickling Broad is expected to open next year

King Charles III had stayed in the pub as a child during a visit to the Broads with his father.

The trust's chief executive Eliot Lyne said the charity had toyed with the idea of buying the pub for a while.

He described the Pleasure Boat as the "missing link" since the trust already owned Hickling Broad.

Mr Lyne said: "We know that nature is really struggling and if people really value nature, they will want to do something about it.

"So what better way than to introduce people to the wonderful place that we’ve got at Hickling by coming here to have some food or a drink to get used to the nature here and to experience it?"

Shaun Whitmore/BBC Riverside PubShaun Whitmore/BBC
The Norfolk Wildlife Trust said people could eat and drink and "get used to the nature here"

The trust is looking for a business partner with the same vision and values to run the pub on its behalf.

Plans are being made to arrange boat trips from the pub to other parts of Hickling Broad.

Eliot Lyne said the charity had a range of investments to enable it to carry out its conservation work and said the pub fitted in with its “charitable purpose”.

He added that he believed the trust was the first nature charity to invest in a pub.

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