Daily Mail - 21.08.2019

Page 27

NORFOLK ABROAD

Venetian waterways

of Great Yarmouth

restored to glory

Gondola but not forgotten: More than 50 years ago tourists enjoyed rides in swan-shaped boats, however the waterways fell into disrepair and were drained

IT may lack singing gondo- By Andrew Levy

liers, medieval piazzas and

a view of the Doge’s Palace.

But Great Yarmouth has

designs on being the Venice of

the East... East Anglia that is.

The Norfolk resort celebrated

the reopening yesterday of its own

version of the Grand Canal – a

boating lake known as the Vene-

tian Waterways. The attraction

opened in 1928 but eventually fell

into disuse. Now, after a £2.7mil-

lion restoration, the waterways

are back to their former glory.

They were built on reclaimed

land following the construction of

a sea wall. Gardens and illumina-

tions were added and the salt

water replaced with fresh to allow

skating in winter. Tourists enjoyed

rides in large boats carved in the

shape of animals.

But their popularity declined

and in the 1980s the planted areas

were laid to grass. The lake was

drained in 2014.

Now visitors will again be able to

hire a rowing boat or pedalo and

tour the seven bridges, cafe,

thatched shelters and gardens.

Volunteers helped replant the

park, the buildings have been

restored and more than 5,000 tons

of stone repositioned.

Day tripper Katie West, from

Birmingham, said: ‘I didn’t even

know this place existed. It’s amaz-

ing. It feels like you’re somewhere

completely different.’

Graham Plant, chairman of the

borough’s economic development

committee, said: ‘The Waterways

has regained its magical sparkle

and will improve further still as

the restoration continues. At 91

years old, it remains one of our

most beloved tourist attractions.’

Gondola rides

from about £30pp

for 30 mins

EAST ANGLIA Vs LA SERENISSIMA

Great Yarmouth Venice

Sea Life Centre, Britannia

Pier and Theatre

Rialto Bridge,

La Fenice opera house

Famous

people

Famous

landmarks

The Singing Postman,

Black Beauty author Anna

Sewell, Myleene Klass

Antonio Vivaldi,

Giacomo Casanova,

Marco Polo

Cost of a

cappuccino

£2.50 in Sara’s

Tearooms on

the seafront

About £18.80 (including

music charge) in Caffe

Florian in St Mark’s Square

On the

water

Take out a rowing

boat for £8 for 30 mins

for up to four people

Reborn: The

waterways

have been

restored at a

cost of £2.7m

Gondola but not forgotten: More than 50 years ago tourists enjoyed rides in swan

GLORY YEARS

Page 27

n-shaaped boats, however the waterways fell into disrepair and were drained

LAST YEAR

of five for healthiness. Although Britain

came out on top, it did so with an overall

score of just 2.83. Experts stress that too

many people are still harming their health

with what they eat.

More than half of all food bought in the

UK is processed and a study in the Lancet

medical journal blames poor diet for

almost one in every six deaths. That’s

almost 90,000 lives every year, a figure

which is poised to overtake the death toll

from smoking.

In the Oxford study, published in the

Obesity Reviews journal, Britain beat the

US (2.82) by a whisker, with Australia third

on 2.81. India had the lowest rating of 2.27

then China on 2.43 and Chile with 2.44. The

UK also had the lowest level of sugar in

food at 3.8 grams per 100g, less than half

the 8.5g per 100g in China.

Co-author Professor Bruce Neal, of the

George Institute in Australia, said pack-

aged food is taking over the world.

‘Billions of people are now exposed to

very unhealthy foods,’ he said. ‘The obes-

ity crisis is just the first ripple of a tsunami

of dietary ill health that is coming for us.

‘We have to find a way that the food

industry can profit from selling rational

quantities of quality food, rather than del-

uging us with unhealthy junk. There are

few greater priorities for human health.’

PACKAGED food in Britain came out as the

healthiest in the world in a major study.

Rigorous tests on food and drink from 12

nations put the UK at the top of the table,

followed by America and Australia.

The research, led by Oxford University,

analysed more than 400,000 products

over five years to 2018.

Everything from ready meals and super-

market sandwiches to crisps and fizzy

drink was analysed for levels of sugar, sat-

urated fat, salt, calories and key nutrients

such as calcium, protein and fibre.

Each product was given a star rating out

Packaged food in UK

is ‘healthiest in world’

By Ben Spencer

Medical Correspondent

Picture: GEOFF ROBINSON

Daily Mail, Wednesday, August 21, 2019