Norfolk Wildlife Trust becomes first in the country to buy its own pub

A wildlife trust is hoping to entice visitors to explore nature and enjoy some beautiful countryside views - with the prospect of beer.

Norfolk Wildlife Trust has become the first in the country to buy its own pub, which it believes will help introduce new people to the important landscape it cares for.

The Pleasure Boat Inn sits at the north end of Hickling Broad, a 600-hectare site which is home to rare animals and plants including bitterns, swallowtail butterflies, and spoonbills.

Visitors to the area can enjoy the sight of traditional reed cutting and sailing boats.

But since 2021, the watery landscape has been lacking a watering hole after the pub closed its doors and struggled to find permanent tenants.

Norfolk Wildlife Trust bought the Pleasure Boat Inn in 2023 and, following a refurbishment, landlords Rick and Felicity Malt have now reopened it.

Eliot Lyne, chief executive of Norfolk Wildlife Trust, admitted it was a "slightly mad" idea but said the pub gave the trust the opportunity to reach new people.

"We're in a nature crisis, he said. "We have some of the most amazing nature in the UK in Norfolk and it's in decline.

"As a conservation organisation we have to think creatively about how we engage people because only by acting will people be able to act differently to preserve nature."

He said people who already loved nature would visit the trust's visitor centre up the road.

"But people who haven't had that first nature experience, they will come here, they'll go to the pub, and they'll bring their families and they'll have a day out. We need to bring nature to them," he said.

The trust first bought the land around the pub in 2017 but did not buy the pub itself - something Mr Lyne considered the "missing link".

Bex Kett, first worked at the Pleasure Boat Inn 10 years ago and has now returned as general manager.

"It's the most exciting pub and the most exciting project I've ever been part of," she said.

"That link with NWT, that excites me more than anything. I think it's an amazing relationship. You're going to be able to be talking to people who are just down in the pub but getting them interested and talking to them about what's going on with the wildlife. It's very exciting for me."

Visitors to the Pleasure Boat Inn were delighted to see it open again.

Karen and Ray Carter regularly come across from Great Yarmouth. Having previously visited the pub under its previous owners, they were keen to stop for a drink.

Mrs Carter, 64, said: "It was sad to see if close for such a while. We used to think it was such a shame - you were next to the river but couldn't get a coffee."

Although the pub industry is notoriously difficult at the moment, Norfolk Wildlife Trust is also hopeful of benefitting financially.

Money generated through owning the pub and its associated moorings will be put back into the trust and its work.

"This new income stream will complement our existing commercial ventures, helping Norfolk Wildlife Trust to become more financially resilient, but diversifying out income streams, in what is a very tough charity funding climate," said Mr Lyne.

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