A brand-new festival, Where the River Meets Us, will bring six days of activities to riverside and neighbourhood locations across Norwich from Monday 26 to Saturday 31 October.
The programme invites residents to experience the city’s rivers in new ways, from wildlife walks, following live music along the riverbank and discovering archive films beside the Wensum, to looking for bats, joining family storytelling and contributing to a community poem.
Events will take place at locations across Norwich, including Wensum Park, Dragon Hall, The Lion’s Den, City Hall, Riverside Walk and Sweet Briar Marshes.
Festival highlights include:
- Folk on the Water: a live performance by Norwich duo Lassie, who will perform from a canoe while audiences follow along the riverbank, blending river scenery with live folk music.
- Discover the Hidden World of Norwich’s Chalk Rivers: A talk at City Hall by naturalist, writer and Norfolk Wildlife Trust ambassador Nick Acheson.
- Riverbank Storytelling: Interactive sessions where children can meet the Wensum Rat Riders and create creatures inspired by the river’s wildlife and folklore.
- Film Trail: The River Remembers: An intimate 45-minute riverside trail, featuring archive films exploring Norwich’s changing relationship with its waterways.
The festival will also feature guided walks, a community litter pick, a photography session and more.
For details of the full programme please see our Where the River Meets Us page.
The Wensum is the river upon which Norwich was founded. In the Middle Ages, stone from Caen in Normandy was transported along the river to build Norwich Cathedral and Norwich Castle, while Cow Tower was built on its banks as part of the city's defences. For centuries, the river carried essential goods to enable local, regional and global trade.
Today, the Wensum is recognised as one of the world's rare chalk rivers, a habitat found in only around 200 places in the world with 85% of them in England. Its upstream reaches were designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1993 and support species including kingfishers, otters and water voles. Its lower reaches, including a section flowing through the medieval city centre, lie within the Broads National Park, forming a nationally important ecological and heritage feature.
The River Yare is both a cherished landmark and an important haven for wildlife. Its waters contribute to Norfolk's drinking water supplies through their connection to the underlying chalk aquifer. The river corridor includes a network of important wildlife sites, with riverbanks, wetlands and grasslands designated as County Wildlife Sites (CWS) and containing areas of lowland fens which are Irreplaceable Habitats and one of England's rarest and most threatened habitats.
Councillor Lucy Galvin, leader of Norwich City Council, said:
“Norwich is a city founded on its rivers. We are here because the rivers are here. Where the River Meets Us is an invitation to think about why these waterways matter for Norwich’s future.
We hope the programme will encourage residents of all ages to spend time beside the river and see this important part of Norwich from a different perspective.
Every event is free and takes place across the city. With the festival falling in half term, we hope people will come along and discover somewhere new on their doorstep.”
Where the River Meets Us is being delivered with support from programme partners including Norfolk Wildlife Trust, The Broads Authority, National Centre for Writing, Norwich Tales and Trails, 185 Drayton Road, Shoot Film Norwich and Just Shoot Film Photolab. The festival artwork has been created by local illustrator Trish Fried Rice, inspired by riverbank life, native wildlife and vintage travel posters.
