Just because the Norfolk Broads are crowded doesn’t make them cool. This much we know. But, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, poised as we are on the threshold of another bloody new year, let us turn our attention to Britain’s chicest emerging holiday destination. “Chic!” I hear you cry. “Have you seen the nasty Hoseasons boats, the tatty stores [see Roys of Wroxham], the grotty fish and chip shops and the substandard swirly carpeted excuses for public houses that all go towards making the Broadland area what it is today?” The answer is a resounding yes. I have not only seen them, but I grew up among them. Something tells me, though, that the future of the Broads is about to change. To those of you forecasting extreme climate change over the next few years, I will concede that this statement could turn out to be prophetic.

A vague possibility does indeed exist that the whole of East Anglia could be nothing more than a vast puddle within a decade. Let's hope not, because anyone who has not experienced the joys of sailing across Barton Broad, fishing from the sandy banks of Hickling Broad or merely mardling (Norfolk for idling) along the river Ant in a rowing boat has missed one of the great British experiences.

I’ll confess that my reasons for thinking the Broads are about to go upscale are not entirely “hunch” based. For starters, a smart new boutique hotel has opened in the aforementioned Wroxham. Broad House Hotel is located on one of Norfolk’s smartest roads – the Avenue (think gin and Jag) – and its grounds border the very smart, private Wroxham Broad. From here you can embark on another new venture – Posh Boats, which is bringing comfortable, chic Mediterranean-style cruising to this man-made network of rivers, tributaries and open spaces of water we know as the Broads.

Posh Boats is the brainchild of Dan Wickham and Will Heath. “We thought, why would you want to cruise around this beautiful area in a slummy old boat?” they say, as we motor past a garish yellow floating fibreglass caravan with a TV aerial on top, chugging out clouds of black diesel. Why indeed? One man on the bank shakes his fist at us. “They think we are causing ecological problems,” says Heath, “but, in fact, our emissions are as low if not lower than the traditional cruisers.”

Ecologically, things are certainly going to have to change if the Broads are going to survive. The best and most eco-friendly way to see them is to spend a weekend or more on one of the beautiful old wooden passenger wherries, complete with knowledgeable skipper (www.nbyc.com). Ours was called White Moth and my sons have remembered everything Kim taught them about sailing, the wildlife and the Broads. This is just as it should be. The Norfolk Broads. Book early. As I believe someone once said.

www.broadhousehotel.co.uk

www.poshboats.co.uk

coolhunter@thetimes.co.uk

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