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f you’re looking for inspiration about where to go with the family this summer, might we suggest the rather lovely town of Oulton Broad?

There are cute cafes and restaurants, an independent gift shop selling jewellery and other goodies – and Pets Corner zoo, where the little ones can get up-close and personal with all creatures great and small like meerkats, pigs, parrots, snakes and other animals.

But it’s the lake that we really love. Take a stroll through Nicholas Everitt Park –also worth a look, with the Victorian bandstand, and the Lowestoft Museum – and eventually you’ll reach the south-west shore, which is the quietest part. It’s where you’ll find White Cast Marshes, too – home to some seriously scarce bird species.

Speaking of nature, another place you should check out while you’re here is Carlton Marshes Nature Reserve, where there are kingfishers, barn owls, grass snakes, otters and lots more.

And because the lake sits at the entrance to the Norfolk Broads, there are all kinds of watersports on tap, too. Why not hire a canoe and paddle off along the Broads for an afternoon; or if that sounds like a bit too much like hard work, you could always hire a boat instead, and putter along in your own sweet time.

Whatever takes your fancy...