The River Nar is a beautiful river in Norfolk. It rises north of Litcham and flows west for about 40 km (25 miles) before joining the larger Great Ouse in King’s Lynn.
Flowing through the villages of Litcham, Castle Acre, West Acre, Narborough and Setchey, the Nar is one of Norfolk’s finest chalk streams. Its headwaters come from springs bubbling up, clear and cold, through the chalky ground (aquifer).
For much of its upper reaches, the river runs through floodplain meadows. The Nar’s journey, progressing from a chalk stream to a fen river, gives it a distinctive character and high conservation value. This importance is why the Nar is protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) along its entire length, from its source to its mouth.
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The Nar’s story, however, is one of control — monks, millers and engineers have all taken their turn to bend its flow.
Like almost all of Norfolk’s chalk streams, the River Nar has been reshaped by people over the past thousand years. Several mills were recorded in the Domesday book, and while most have been rebuilt over time, their impact remains.
The monks of Castle Acre, West Acre and Pentney priories diverted channels and dug leats (ditches) to power their water mills and created ponds to farm fish. You can still see traces of these medieval earthworks beside the modern river channel.
In the 18th century, parts of the river were adapted to create water meadows. This allowed farmers to grow three times more hay to support greater numbers of sheep. Later, in the 19th century, mills like Narborough Bone Mill used the river's power to grind bones for fertiliser, which was transported easily by barge.
Further downstream, the river was straightened and embanked, turning it into a canal-like channel. This made it easier for boats to navigate and helped drain the Fens.
Yet, even after all these centuries of changes, the lower Nar still has spots where its character shines through - you can find clean waters, water crowfoot plants and glinting shoals of fish.
Today, local conservation projects are successfully reinstating the Nar’s natural features. Reach by reach, people are working to restore its natural curves (meanders), reconnect the river to its floodplain and improve water quality.
Broader challenges - like excessive sediment, too much water being taken out (over-abstraction) and pollution from farmland and sewage treatment works - are being tackled by working together across the entire river and catchment through the Catchment Based Approach.
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