Alderfen Marshes is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Home to an abundance of wildlife, the marshes are carefully managed as a wetland conservation area; visitors enjoy close encounters with the local wildlife including water deer, marsh harriers, butterflies, herons, dragon flies and more.

Canadian canoes, available on site to hire, offer the chance to see kingfishers, otters, water voles and shoals of fish enjoying these tidal inland waterways. Situated a short paddle from the River Yare and Surlingham Broad, a quiet backwater on the Norfolk Broads, Alderfen Marshes provides the perfect opportunity for individuals, groups and teams to really get away from it all.

The marshes also offer the natural environment for willow production, harvested as a sustainable, carbon-neutral source of firewood as well as for green woodcarving, willow-weaving and living willow structures.