Countryside Champion Award

We were invited to attend Diss Museum's Opening Day on Saturday 14th March. There was a parade with everyone dressed in 1926’s costumes, there were singers and speeches to mark the 100 year anniversary.

Palgrave Players singing about the General Strike

Gislingham Variety Group singing 1920's tunes

It also marked a century of championing Norfolk's countryside by Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE). A trustee from CPRE Norfolk presented certificates of recognition to local environmental volunteer groups, celebrating some of the local people who work so hard to protect and care for Norfolk's landscapes and wildlife.

LOHP was one of the groups and we were given a 'Countryside Champion Award', in recognition of: Championing the Little Ouse headwaters – protecting fragile river habitats and helping communities understand, value and safeguard the landscape. The certificate said 'Thank you for looking after where the river begins, it matters more than most people realise'.

LOHP's Conservation Manager Ellie Beach receiving certificate from Trustee of CPRE

LOHP's Conservation Manager with certificate

Countryside Champion Award

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CPRE Trustee giving award to LOHP

LOHP's Newest Reserve

With the purchase of Prince Freddy’s Meadows, 27 acres (11ha) of pasture and woodland beside the infant Little Ouse at Blo’ Norton, the Little Ouse Headwaters Project has taken on by far its most ambitious project yet. The meadows are named after Prince Frederick Duleep Singh, who lived at nearby Blo’ Norton Hall from 1909 to 1926. This fascinating piece of land would also have been familiar to Virginia Woolf, who stayed at Blo’ Norton Hall in 1906, and who wrote affectionately of the area and even swam in the river.

Aerial view of riverside land in Blo' Norton © Strutt and Parker

Over the years the land, and the flow of the river, has been much altered, so the LOHP faces the formidable challenge of restoring it to its former glory. It has interesting wildlife, with otters and water voles, breeding mandarin ducks and visiting red deer, but has the potential to be much richer. 

Mandarin Duck © David Tomlinson

Ellie Beach, LOHP’s Conservation Manager, warns that “It will require a year of intensive study of the topography and existing flora and fauna before any work on the land is undertaken. Our aim is to eventually restore the old meandering course of the Little Ouse and to bring back the rich biodiversity that the meadows must have once had.”

Chair of Trustees, Rob Robinson, commented "LOHP was started by volunteers 23 years ago with the aim of improving the habitat along the headwaters of the Little Ouse, which is nationally very rare. This land is a vital piece in the jigsaw and its restoration, although daunting, has the potential to become a real haven for wildlife."

There is currently no public access to Prince Freddy’s Meadows, but LOHP plans to provide access points where there are good views of the river as part of its plans to restore the site. Join us at our AGM on Friday 5th December to hear more about Prince Freddy's Meadows, or come along and visit on Sunday 11th January 2026 - See Events page for more details or visit Prince Freddy's Meadows webpage.

Donations to help restore Prince Freddy's Meadows can be made to LOHP at JustGiving.

Events Galore

We have had a busy few months with events. Over the August bank holiday weekend we held our second 'Art in Nature' Art Exhibition, this year at Hinderclay Village Hall. Again it was a great success, the variety and standard of art work was amazing. There was a great atmosphere, with positive feedback from visitors, 51 art works and numerous cards were sold, along with lots of cakes, helping to raise our profile and bring in donations for our charity.

LOHP Art in Nature Art Exhibition - 24th and 25th August 2025 - © David Oliver

We attended Garboldisham Summer Fair at the end of September, which enabled us to engage with lots of local people. And we held our first Fundraising Talk at the beginning of October at Hopton Bowls Club which was also a great success. Our speaker was Chris Bell, BBC Look East Weatherman, who spoke about the 'Science of weather forecasting', the talk was really engaging and could not have been better timed with the arrival of storm Amy.

Chris Bell Weatherman

Then at the beginning of November we held our Moss Identification Walk for Beginners, the event was fully booked. First we were guided through some identification features and looked at some samples, then headed out to New Fen to see what we could find. Everyone found it fascinating and had lots of questions.

Moss Identification Walk © Ellie Beach

Coming up we have our AGM on Friday 5th December at Garboldisham Village Hall with our annual talk and our Winter Walk on Sunday 28th December more details will be available on our Events Page.