Hickling Broad
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Hickling Broad | |
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Location | The Broads National Park, Norfolk |
Basin countries | United Kingdom |
Surface area | 5.9 km² |
Hickling Broad lies within The Broads National Park in Norfolk, England, 4 km south-east of Stalham.
It is a National Nature Reserve established by English Nature and in the care of the Norfolk Wildlife Trust.
It is also part of the Upper Thurne Broads and Marshes Site of Special Scientific Interest.
It is the largest broad, only 1.5 m deep, and has 5.9 km² of open water, making it one of the largest expanses of open water in East Anglia.
It has the largest reed-bed in England and supports rare waterweeds such as the holly-leaved naiad and three rare species of stonewort. Amongst the rare insects is the Swallowtail Butterfly which feeds on milk-parsley, the Norfolk hawker Aeshna isosceles and emperor dragonfly. There is a waymarked walk.