Lowestoft and Oulton Broad Area Guide

Lowestoft is the most easterly town in the UK – and it’s among the driest too. It’s thought to be one of the earliest settlements in the area, with flint tools discovered dating back 700,000 years.

Home to just 16 households in the 1086 Domesday book, it grew to become an important fishing town and port with a thriving herring industry. It’s this that led to the railway line running here, which in turn brought tourists. Today, you can still buy beautifully fresh locally caught and smoked fish and the town is home to a renowned fisheries research centre.

Lowestoft was an important naval base in the First World War and was heavily bombed in World War II. It’s the birthplace of Benjamin Britten the composer, as well as home to members of The Darkness. The town was also known in the past for its porcelain, which is very highly prized and collectible today.

Oulton Broad sits to the west of the town and is the gateway to the Southern Broads. Follow the River Waveney to the west to visit Beccles and Bungay, or head north where it later joins the River Yare.

Lowestoft Maritime Museum and Lowestoft Museum are the places to go if you want to learn more about the town’s history, while the listed lighthouse, Grade I listed St. Margaret’s church and Grade II Arts and Crafts style Catholic church are well worth a look. The town’s lifeboat station is one of the oldest in the country and boats set sail from here to take part in the Dunkirk evacuation.

Did you know?
Lowestoft is home to The Scores, narrow lanes created in the past by people travelling up and down the cliffs between the town and the beach wearing down pathways. Every year, crowds of runners take part in the town’s Scores Race, covering 4.75 miles with over 400 steps along the passageways.

Amenities

Lowestoft has a fantastic Blue Flag sandy beach and not one but two piers. It’s popular with watersports enthusiasts and you can watch (or maybe take part in!) powerboat racing, canoeing and sailing regattas. If you prefer more sedate pursuits on the water, you can rent a boat from Oulton Broad and explore the quieter waterways from there.

There’s everything you’d expect from a lively town here, including a theatre, cinema, shops and more. The town even has its own weekly newspaper, the Lowestoft Journal. There’s plenty to do in your free time, with Nicholas Everett Park in Oulton Broad, a riding school in neighbouring Pakefield, a theme park and a zoo.

From gourmet burger bars to tasty Indian takeaways, plus family favourites like Harvester, the town has a refreshingly wide array of dining options. Oulton Broad offers waterside dining at The Commodore or the Wherry Hotel and for a small part of the world, punches well above its weight when it comes to the number of places to eat!

Lowestoft and Oulton Broad North stations are part of the Wherry Lines rail network, with trains to Great Yarmouth and Norwich, while Lowestoft and Oulton Broad South are also linked to Ipswich.

Education

The town has a number of schools – nursery, primary and secondary – within Lowestoft itself, including the Benjamin Britten School, which is a centre for excellence in maths and music.