TG2708 : View across the eastern edge of Whitlingham Marsh
taken 15 years ago, near to Postwick, Norfolk, England
Whitlingham Marsh adjoins Whitlingham Great Broad > Link and Country Park > Link in the east. The westernmost section of the marsh can be explored on a circular walk which starts off Whitlingham Lane immediately west of the A47 (southern bypass) road. The path leads down to the River Yare and follows its south bank in north-easterly direction until it reaches the Postwick viaduct > Link a short distance east of May Gurney's boatyard > Link. By the viaduct the path turns south-easterly. Running underneath the viaduct it emerges onto a track that closely follows the A47, leading back to Whitlingham Lane.
Traditionally marshes were grazed during the summer months and the sedges growing there were cut and harvested, often by boats that travelled along the marsh dikes. The dikes (ditches) are an important habitat for wildlife such as grasshopper, sedge and willow warblers. The water level in the dikes at Whitlingham Marsh are carefully monitored to preserve this unique landscape. The vegetation is cut by a tracked machine every four years in order to maintain the diversity of plants and to prevent trees from turning the marsh into a woodland.