How Hill Home Page

The Norfolk Broads Study Centre

Environmental Education in the Norfolk Broads

Conference Facilities

Weekend Breaks and Short Holidays For All

How Hill House, situated in the heart of the Norfolk Broads, was built in 1904 by the architect Edward Thomas Boardman as his family's holiday home. The house became a study centre in 1967, but ever since 1984 it has been managed by an independent charitable trust which ensures that the property is cherished. The house is surrounded by delightful Edwardian gardens, but there is also a quite separate woodland garden featuring a magnificent springtime display of azaleas. The How Hill windows look out over a 365 acre estate, which is a most attractive and unique Broadland landscape, including reed beds, meadows, a small broad, woodlands, a reach of the River Ant, a marshman�s cottage, and restored windmills. The estate is an important nature reserve, and is full of wildlife interest in every season. Birds like marsh harriers, kingfishers, bearded tits and herons are present all year, and in spring and early summer Swallowtail butterflies are easy to find. In autumn and winter, waterfowl numbers increase, deer are often seen, and sometimes one of our elusive otters is glimpsed.

The How Hill Trust, based in the Edwardian thatched mansion, was founded in 1984, and works in partnership with the Broads Authority, owners of the adjacent National Nature Reserve. The Trust provides residential courses and day visits for schools, holiday courses for adults, and accommodation for conferences. Currently more than 3,500 youngsters visit How Hill in a year, as well as 1,500 adults: this does not include the huge number who pass through the estate as casual visitors. The Trust was granted full freehold of the House and gardens in April 2002. The Trust has an enviable reputation for excellence in the provision of environmental education, and has international links, especially in the Netherlands and Indonesia.