Hidden Riverside Norwich

This book celebrates the River Wensum, the meandering waterway to which the historic city of Norwich owes its very existence. It is intended to provide inspiration for the reader to go out and discover the hidden and lesser known parts of the city¿s riverside. By boot, bike or canoe, the Wensum is there to be discovered. Both for those who know the city well, and for those simply visiting, there will always be some new discoveries to be made. For many years the delights of the river have been overlooked; hardly surprising given that the Wensum once formed a polluted artery bringing smoke-grimed coasters into the industrial heart of the city. But those days have gone. The river is now cleaner and greener and over the past fifty years wharves and staithes have been replaced by fashionable apartments overlooking tree-lined riverside footpaths. Many will have their favourite stretches along Wensum¿s winding route. The river pops up at Hellesdon bridge for example, but then disappears behind Heigham. It sidles furtively into the city centre near the Barn Road roundabout and doesn¿t really announce itself until at least Duke Street if not the top of Riverside Road. But all the while this beautiful, rare, chalk river is providing habitats for flora and fauna and valuable places of peace and quiet for the rest of us. This book aims to put all the pieces of the jigsaw together, from rural Ringland, through the suburbs and into the historic city.