The Brecks is perhaps one of the best kept secrets in East Anglia. Whilst many locals and visitors alike will head to the Suffolk coast or the Norfolk broads for a day out, the Brecks is a landscape with a fantastic amount to offer anyone wanting to explore an undiscovered part of Suffolk and East Anglia.
The Brecks is in the heart of East Anglia, spanning nearly 1,000 square kilometres and encompassing south Norfolk and north Suffolk in its boundary. There are three things that make the Brecks so unique its climate, geology and unique land use history. Making the Brecks rich in heritage and the variety of wildlife habitats found in it. From the warped pine lines, Thetford Forest, sandy grass heathland, wildlife rich farmland and the ‘pingo’ relics from the last Ice Age. The habitats that can be seen today have been shaped and formed by thousands of years of human influence, from the first Neolithic farmers that began to cultivate the poor Brecks soil and in turn create heathlands, the flint mining industry whose traces can be seen in local towns and the rabbit warrens that covered a large expanse of the Brecks and provided a livelihood for countless local people.
This diversity of human use and the habitats found today means that despite the Brecks covering only 0.4% of the UKs land area it is home to a staggering 12,845 different plants, animals and insects. The Brecks is also home to 28% of the UKs rarest species, some of which are found nowhere else in the UK, such as the tiny but beautiful breckland thyme and breckland speedwell plants.
Thetford Forest is the UKs largest lowland pine forest spanning 22,000 hectares and offers many opportunities for an activity filled day, at the Forestry Commissions High Lodge you can explore the forest trails on bike or by foot looking out for secretive roe deer or the lightening flash of a goshawk. With trails covering much of the forest you can spend a day roaming the forest, and who knows you might even meet the Gruffalo!
If you fancy a look back in time discover one of the largest Neolithic flint mining sites in Britain, just over the boarder in Norfolk English Heritage’s Grimes Graves is a lunar like landscape with 400 flint mine pits dug over 5,000 years ago. You can travel back in time by entering one of the mines. The Brecks was once the flint capital of Britain, from as early as the Neolithic period until as recently as the 1950s with towns like Brandon being the central for this mining industry. Flint was originally mined for flint weapons, later for flintlock muskets and pistols and a building material. You can still see the influences of this industry today in the flint work old buildings in towns. The semi-continental climate of the Brecks and its dry sandy soils wouldn’t make many think of water, but the Brecks is home to some unusual water features. One of these, the pingos, were formed in the last Ice-Age and are a home to a diverse range of plants and insects. The Brecks is one of the few places to see pingos in the UK why not walk the Pingo Trail at Norfolk Wildlife Trusts Thompson Common to experience these relics.
In October the fluctuating meres which the Brecks is famous for may look dry, as they are fed by the ground water supply but in contrast they will look like large lakes or ponds in the summer.
For the wildlife lovers amongst you the Brecks is one for your bucket list. Its importance for UK wildlife has been recognised internationally, and the area boasts a number of nature reserves and iconic species. On the sandy heathlands you may be lucky enough to see the charismatic but elusive stone-curlew or take a closer look at the unique Brecks plant life. A stroll along the Little Ouse in Thetford may reveal the flash of a kingfisher or, if you are lucky, the famous otters hunting. At the RSPB’s Lakenheath Fen nature reserve you can have one foot in the Fens and one in the Brecks, hearing the haunting call of the cranes and watching rabbits graze on the Brecks plants.
So if you feel like donning your walking boots and getting out exploring a hidden gem in Suffolk this autumn why not head into the Brecks? You could visit a nature reserve, explore the forest or come to a free RSPB Brecks event. To plan your visit The Brecks.org is a fantastic site to find out even more to see and do, where to eat and drink and projects to get involved in.