The Boathouse takes private hire for 50 to 250 guests, from company meetings and conferences to birthday parties and full wedding days with a ceremony, a seated meal and an evening party. The venue is The Boathouse Ormesby Broad, a refurbished pub, restaurant and wedding venue on Eels Foot Road in Ormesby St Michael, in the Norfolk Broads north of Great Yarmouth.
Seminars and company events
The function rooms can be booked for daytime meetings and conferences as well as evening events. The venue lists full wifi, audiovisual equipment and screens for presentations, and a boardroom layout appears among its set-ups. Groups start at 50 people and can reach 250 depending on the layout. For a team day, the waterfront, the gardens and the decked terrace give room for breaks outside, and guests who travel from further away can stay in the rooms and lodges on site. Corporate packages are not detailed on the website, so the agenda and menus are agreed with the team when the date is set.
Weddings and receptions
Weddings are the main activity. Outdoor ceremonies take place on a large deck that reaches out over the water, set with an arbor and rows of seats, suited to 50 to 120 guests. When the weather turns, the Ceremony Room offers an indoor option with sliding glass doors facing the Broad. Registrars are booked through Norfolk County Council, not through the venue. After the ceremony, couples can use the Edwardian launch Gentleman Jim for short trips on the water with their guests. Drinks and canapes follow in the reception and bar area between the main rooms or on the decked terrace. Viewings are by appointment only.
Rooms and capacities
The Breakfast Room, next to the Ceremony Room, seats up to 120 guests at round tables and holds a dance floor for up to 250 in the evening, with its own private bar. The event hall has wooden floors and exposed beams, and the function rooms open through large glass doors onto the decking. Outside there are kept gardens, a white gazebo by the water and the deck itself. General private hire runs from a minimum of 50 to a maximum of 250 people, depending on the room layout.
Accommodation
Bed and breakfast rooms in the main building and a group of woodland lodges let guests stay overnight. A dedicated form handles accommodation requests for weddings. The website does not give the number of rooms or lodges, so the count is confirmed with the venue.
Catering
Food is prepared by the venue. For private hire, menus include a hog roast, a barbecue, finger buffets and hot dishes, and a three-course seated dinner can be arranged. Wedding menus and rates are set out by year on a dedicated page. The pub and restaurant also serve diners outside of private events.
History and setting
The Boathouse is a full refurbishment of the former Eels Foot pub and its boathouse. It sits in about 11 acres of parkland on the edge of Ormesby Broad, one of the Trinity Broads, with the water visible from the main rooms.
Getting there
The address is Eels Foot Road, Ormesby St Michael, NR29 3LP. Great Yarmouth is the nearest large town and rail station, and Norwich International Airport is the nearest airport.
