Hippersons Boatyard, Beccles

Gillingham Dam sits on the Suffolk side of the River Waveney, just where Beccles begins to give way to the Southern Broads. Hippersons Boatyard has occupied this stretch for generations — first as a working yard offering moorings, storage, and boat repairs, and more recently as a self-catering holiday destination with six floating accommodations ranging from houseboats to a glamping pod that claims to be the first of its kind in the United Kingdom. Rates start from £120 a night. The workshop is still there, still taking fibreglass and wooden boats for hull painting and interior refit work. The holiday side has grown around it rather than replacing it.

What's on offer

The accommodation splits into two broad types. The houseboats — Coot Club, Swallows, and a third — sit in the yard's mooring basin just off the main river. Each sleeps four. Pets are welcome on all three, as well as on Secret Garden, a glamping pod set in its own private field on the edge of Beccles. Secret Water is the outlier: a luxury floating glamping pod moored on the river itself, described on the site as the first of its kind in the UK. It is pet-free. Included in the hire price is use of a row boat; an upgrade with a basic sail pack is available for those who want it. Secret Water was made possible with support from the LEADER fund, a rural development programme, which gives some indication of the ambition behind it.

Secret Water

Of all the accommodations, Secret Water is the one that earns the most attention in the evidence. It faces Old Beccles bridge and the quay, and the deck at the front is positioned to catch both sunrise and sunset. The site describes it as a base for romantic breaks and special occasions, as well as for families after what it calls a 'Swallows and Amazons' experience — a reference that fits the setting well enough. The river view from a stationary boat is a different thing from the view from a moving one: slower, more attentive to what's actually there. Marsh harriers, herons, and other wildlife are noted as regular sightings by guests.

The boatyard's record

Hippersons received the Glamping Accommodation of the Year award in 2025 — the judges' remarks are quoted directly on the site. It has also been listed in the top 10 per cent of hotels worldwide on TripAdvisor for five consecutive years: 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025. In 2025 it received a Visit England Bronze Award placing it in the top three glamping destinations nationally. These are not incidental details — for a small, independent boatyard on a Suffolk river, that kind of sustained recognition across multiple platforms over several years says something about consistency.

On the water

Day-boat hire runs Tuesday to Saturday, 09:00 to 17:00. The electric day boats are self-drive; staff brief hirers on tides before departure, since the direction of travel affects how the river behaves. There is also a pedal boat for two — a bicycle-powered craft that moves slowly enough to get close to wildlife without disturbing it. Guided canoe tours are available, as are paddleboards and kayaks. The site also mentions a 'Water and Wine' package, though the specifics of that aren't detailed in the available material. Beccles itself is described by the local tourism body as Suffolk's 'Gateway to the Southern Broads', which gives a sense of the range of waterway accessible from here.

Pets and practicalities

The pet policy is worth noting clearly: dogs are welcome on Coot Club, Swallows, the third houseboat, and Secret Garden, but not on Secret Water. The boatyard is also a Caravan Club Certified Location for up to five caravans, on the bus route to Norwich, and within walking distance of Beccles town centre. Diesel and pump-out services are available from the service pontoon for those arriving by boat. The phone number is 01502 712 166; the email is info@hippersons.co.uk.

The setting

Beccles sits on the Norfolk-Suffolk border, and the Waveney marks the boundary between the two counties along much of this stretch. The Broads National Park begins effectively at the boatyard's doorstep. The landscape here is flat and wide-skied — reed beds, grazing marsh, and the slow brown river threading between them. It is not dramatic countryside in the upland sense, but it has a particular quality of light and openness that people either find compelling or don't. The wildlife list — marsh harriers, herons — suggests the reed margins are in reasonable health. The boatyard's own environmental page exists, though its contents aren't detailed in the available material.