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©  Carol Gingell 2006

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Around this time there was another new development which was going to bring the opportunity to enjoy boating trips to a wider market as steam launches and passenger cruisers became a common site on the Broads. Built in 1879, “Jenny Lind” was a day trip vessel which would run excursions between Norwich and Brammerton Woods, C.C.Cooke in Wroxham also ran day trips in steam launches and you could hire a launch for 30s a day from A.Sabbertons yard in Norwich.

The steam passenger cruisers began to get larger and larger to accommodate the increase in demand. Probably the most famous of these cruisers was “The Queen Of The Broads”. Launched in 1889, it would make regular trips from Town Hall Quay in Great Yarmouth to Wroxham carrying up to 180 passengers at a time. She continued to provide day trips for holidaymakers on the Broads right up until 1976 when she was finally decommissioned. It is interesting to note that in the 1880s bad conduct was being noticed amongst certain groups of visitors to the Broads with reports of drunken, noisy revellers who had no respect for the wildlife or surroundings and steam launches travelling at full speed past moored yachts, causing the fully laid tables to have their contents spilled onto their cabin floors. Reports of similar behaviour still abound today but it would appear not to be the modern phenomenon that it is held to be.

Broadland itself was also beginning to change to meet the needs of the holidaymakers and day trippers. As previously mentioned, local beauty spots were a popular destination but new amenities were also being developed. Brundall Gardens were created by Dr Michael Beverley between 1882 and 1887 and covered an 18 acre site planted with many rare shrubs and trees. Fritton Lake became another popular spot with tea rooms and rowing boats available for hire from the staithe. In 1895 one of the most famous names associated with the Norfolk Broads began trading when the first Roys shop opened in Coltishall. The increasing levels of holidaymakers wanting to visit Broadland meant that more accommodation was needed in the area. Hotels began to appear in the most popular towns and villages, the famous Swan Inn at Horning, for example, being built in 1897.

As the dawn of the 20th century approached the seeds had been sown for the development of a tourist industry which would change the face of Broadland over the coming decades. An area that had been reliant on the marshes, the land and the wherry trade to provide income was to find a new source of revenue as leisure time increased and the holiday industry was to open up to a wider market