File:The River Nar west of Narborough village - geograph.org.uk - 1638864.jpg

English: The River Nar west of Narborough village. The cottages seen in the background are called Barge Cottages > 1638867 and serve as holiday lets. The path seen at right starts at River Close, turning off Main Road > 1637659 and connecting with the Nar Valley Way which follows the course of the river.

The Nar Valley Way long distance footpath is 34 miles long and runs from King's Lynn to Gressenhall. It is contained almost entirely within the watershed of the River Nar. The Nar Valley Way links with other long distance routes such as the Wash Coast Path at King's Lynn and the Peddars' Way at Castle Acre.

The River Nar is a tributary of the River Great Ouse. It rises near Litcham > https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/504461 and flows 15 miles west through the villages of Castle Acre > https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/686490 and Narborough > https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1637659. When in the mid 18th century the Industrial Revolution gathered pace the River Nar was already a major navigation. At that time it was owned by the Marriott family, Lords of the Manor from 1857 - 1875, and used to bring in timber, coal, grain, malt and bones from Kings Lynn by horse drawn lighters or barges, carrying up to 10 tons. Return cargoes included sand and gravel from Pentney pits and bonemeal fertilizer from Narborough Bone Mill > https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/630814. The river was canalised to connect the village of Narborough to King's Lynn and beyond: the Nar system included one pound-lock, and ten staunches were built in the five miles below the village. Navigation to Narborough ended in 1884, although steam tugs and barges still used the lowest reaches of the river until well into the 20th century, notably those of the West Norfolk Farmers Manure Company which brought ammonia-rich gas water to their factory from Cambridge gasworks until 1932.