Acle

Of course the nest did not always stop in the same position, but it was very evident that the parents thought this nothing unusual, for they successfully saw their labours ended.

A low, one-arched bridge, just above the marsh level, crosses a wide ditch at Tunstall, near Acle, a few miles from Yarmouth.

The railway runs over it, and a stout iron rod bisects the arch only a foot or two from the water.

On this rod, in eighteen ninety-six, two pairs of swallows balanced their nests, each very like an inverted saucepan lid in shape.

Eighteen ninety-eight, January the seventeenth, young sparrows reared since Christmas of eighteen ninety-seven are to be seen flying about on Trafalgar Road.

Three weeks prior to this date, some young starlings were hatched at South Town.

May the twenty-sixth, nest of pied wagtails in an old pail hanging on a wall at Tunstall near Acle.

August the eleventh, quite a number of crossbills invaded a South Town garden where, to the annoyance of the gardener, they commenced plucking his cherries and gooseberries.

At Stokesby there are awkward bends in the river, shaped like a double-ended meat hook, and what you gain on one rounding you lose by being wind-pushed into the next, where the reeds jut out aggressively into the river.

At the speed we started for Acle, we dared not prophesy our arrival.

I wondered if they were to mow these bristling reeds, as they have done the hedgerows, not that hedge-trimming has lessened road dangers, but rather increased them, would it be easier and safer to negotiate the corners.

Then the drifting marsh hay further hampered us, even impeding the rudder by fouling the pintles and the gudgeons.

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And I wished heartily they would come and save me from the thunderflies that lit upon my face.

Then the wind had pity on us and bustled us, giving us an excellent slant of it that soon landed us at Acle.

Oak lay of the ancients, Ake lay of the rurals, and Achel of the stranger folk.

Strictly speaking, the shooting over the Crown rivers is free, but this does not give persons a right to shoot an inch over the banks.

Looking to the fact that the Bure is very narrow and passes through private game preserves, let me earnestly entreat visitors not to fire off guns either at birds or at bottles, which last amusement appears to be a favourite one above Acle Bridge.

The sport to the visitors is nil, while the annoyance to the riparian owners is extreme.

The riparian owners are generally willing to afford the well-behaved public all reasonable facilities for enjoyment.

Chapter four of the Handbook to the Rivers and Broads of Norfolk and Suffolk by George Christopher Davies.

This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.

Chapter four, Yarmouth to Acle.

On going back to the yacht, we found that she was moored in the North River or Bure, having been quanted under the two fixed bridges, and the mast was being slowly raised.

several times we appeared to be making up to the craft and then she would shoot ahead whilst we are endeavouring to overtake her it may be as good a time as any to give some particulars of these barges i have already described the premier wherry yacht zoe but her trading compeers i scarcely need say are not so elaborately fitted up of wherrymen and their craft a great deal could be said but i should think more suitable craft for the navigation of rivers of the norfolk type were never devised They are worked by means of one hewed sail, fixed well forward, and are entirely distinct from keels, which carried their sails amidships.

In the early part of this century, however, both descriptions of barges were employed, as is proved in the introduction to the Norfolk Tour, published in 1829, where it is said that the general navigation from norwich to yarmouth is performed by keels and wherries when and how the former description were last used i have been unable to ascertain but undoubtedly the retention of the latter form is really an illustration of the survival of the fittest i have sometimes wondered why craft of the norfolk wherry type could not be employed on the canal-like rivers of the fen district many a time i have watched a string of lighters on the ooze between littleport and ely and felt that the present system of horse-towage might be exchanged for some more rapid method it may be urged that the frequent bridges would militate against the successful employment of mastered vessels all i can say in answer to this is that our wherrymen treat bridges as very trifling affairs i have often watched them when in full swing lower first the sail and then their enormous mast and shoot a bridge without losing way there is one item in a wherry's outfit which calls for special comment the quant this is a long pole of eighteen to twenty two feet long with a turn knob at the top called the bot and a toe of iron with a projecting shoulder to prevent it slipping too far into the mud in its use the men are very great adepts the bot forms the shoulder-piece and by firmly fixing this just above the armpit great power is obtained having placed the quant in position with its toe resting in the bed of the river or perhaps stuck into the rond if there is sufficient depth of water to allow of the wherry coming close to the side the wherryman or yachtsman as the case may be walks slowly aft and of course the craft shoots ahead all this sounds very simple and struck by the apparent ease of the process many a novice who comes here for his holiday will probably thirst to acquire the art i ought not to damp such a one's ardour but he may rest assured that like a good many other things in this world it is not by any means so easy as it looks to leave quants and wherries in general for the wherry in particular which we were racing up the bure i have as a faithful chronicler to admit we were beaten when about seven miles from yarmouth the wind had lulled so considerably that we stopped to shake out the reefs and our rival by this means got such a long start that it became an impossibility to overtake her from this point up stream the general characteristics of the surrounding country undergo a change and the landscape becomes much more interesting instead of a boundless view of never-ending marsh which although under certain circumstances as i have said before is beautiful enough in its way scarcely possesses one redeeming feature glimpses of woodland now appear within about two miles of acle bridge the first noteworthy point is reached This is Stokesby Ferry Inn, where the first Buir ferry crosses the river.

In the event of being unable to obtain staying quarters at Acle, I should say visitors might do worse than adopt this as temporary headquarters, as Host Thirtle has the name for making travellers comfortable on reasonable terms.

as we slowly tacked past the village which is very near to the river it looked very picturesque in the half twilight just above stokesby come herringby to give it its full name and on the same side of the river is the sluice through which a large section of the broads is drained this is called the muck fleet and possibly later on we may explore its diminutive channel it was a great deal later than we had expected when at last acol bridge loomed through the darkness and we were heartily glad to find ourselves once again within the pale of civilisation The inner man of the buttercup's crew had for some time previous to our stopping been complaining, and when at last dinner was on the table, the pièce de résistance, which consisted of roast lamb and mint sauce, was attacked with a vigour which proved beyond a doubt the keenness of our appetites.

one incident during or rather as it proved nearly at the end of our meal provoked a general laugh at my expense the hampers which arrived that morning at yarmouth contained a fresh supply of good things it will be remembered that these were unpacked very hurriedly and during this process i saw john place in one of the lockers a pie i had jumped to the conclusion that this was a fruit tart so i inquired if any one cared for sweets this was generally assented to but as george handed the pie into the cabin its dimensions called for remark as being unusually large my readers will judge of my chagrin when on cutting into it it proved to be of the veal and ham persuasion a

On returning to the village about two hours later, we were met by the bus, but, to our surprise, Braddy was not amongst the occupants.

The driver, however, handed us a letter from our missing friend, who therein expressed his regret that another engagement would prevent his turning up.

as i have already remarked we did not intend using our canvas and i dare say some may have wondered what in the world we proposed doing with ourselves during the day the fact is we were bound on a journey to a section of the broad district drained by a tiny channel called the muck fleet which i have referred to elsewhere this dyke empties between stokesby and acle and is so small that only the very smallest craft can get up it happened that i had never explored this diminutive waterway although the broads of which it formed the outlet were well known to me By reference to the map, it will be seen that the muck fleet runs into the river some distance from Acle Bridge, and the first part of it is parallel with the bridge reach.

Of course the nest did not always stop in the same position, but it was very evident that the parents thought this nothing unusual, for they successfully saw their labours ended.

A low, one-arched bridge, just above the marsh level, crosses a wide ditch at Tunstall near Acle, a few miles from Yarmouth.

The railway runs over it, and a stout iron rod bisects the arch, only a foot or two from the water.

On this rod, in 1896, two pairs of swallows balanced their nests, each very like an inverted saucepan lid in shape.

Three weeks prior to this date, some young starlings were hatched at South Town.

May the 26th.

Nest of pied wagtails in an old pail hanging on a wall at Tunstall near Acle.

August the 11th.

Strictly speaking, the shooting over the Crown rivers is free, but this does not give persons a right to shoot an inch over the banks.

Looking to the fact that the Bure is very narrow and passes through private game preserves, let me earnestly entreat visitors not to fire off guns either at birds or at bottles, which last amusement appears to be a favorite one above Acle Bridge.

The sport to the visitors is nil, while the annoyance to the riparian owners is extreme.

The riparian owners are generally willing to afford the well-behaved public all reasonable facilities for enjoyment.

This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.

Chapter four.

Yarmouth to Acle.

On going back to the yacht we found that she was moored in the North River or Bure, having been quanted under the two fixed bridges, and the mast was being slowly raised.

Strictly speaking the shooting over the Crown rivers is free but this does not give persons a right to shoot an inch over the banks.

Looking to the fact that the Bure is very narrow and passes through private game preserves let me earnestly entreat visitors not to fire off guns either at birds or at bottles which last amusement appears to be a favorite one above Acle Bridge.

The sport to the visitors is nil while the annoyance to the riparian owners is extreme.

The riparian owners are generally willing to afford the well-behaved public all reasonable facilities for enjoyment.

The big pole masts of these river yachts are very heavy and unwieldy, and I am always glad when the operation of lowering and raising them again is safely over.

Sometimes they have lead weights permanently fixed to the heel of the mast, which latter swings in a tabernacle, but generally lumps of ballast have to be shifted and hooked on, a troublesome pinch-finger business which I avoid in my own yacht by using a tackle and blocks.

Of course the wind was fair, as our course up the Bure lies north for a mile or two, and then due west as far as Acle, and it is well when it is fair, for the next twelve miles are very uninteresting.

There is nothing whatever to see, except eel sets and boats.

At Stokesby there are awkward bends in the river, shaped like a double-ended meat hook, and what you gain on one rounding you lose by being wind-pushed into the next, where the reeds jut out aggressively into the river.

At the speed we started for Acle, we dared not prophesy our arrival.

I wondered if they were to mow these bristling reeds, as they have done the hedgerows, not that hedge-trimming has lessened road dangers, but rather increased them, would it be easier and safer to negotiate the corners.

Then the drifting marsh hay further hampered us, even impeding the rudder by fouling the pintles and the gudgeons.

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And I wished heartily they would come and save me from the thunderflies that lit upon my face.

Then the wind had pity on us and bustled us, giving us an excellent slant of it that soon landed us at Acle.

Oak Ley of the ancients, Ake Ley of the rurals, and Ackel of the stranger folk, a not unpleasant village with a pretty church, a busy street, and a dangerous motoring corner, not unlike a bent bottleneck which the baker on the spot assured me was the safest spot in Norfolk.

I ought not to damp such a one's ardour, but he may rest assured that, like a good many other things in this world, it is not by any means so easy as it looks.

to leave quants and wherries in general for the wherry in particular which we were racing up the bure i have as a faithful chronicler to admit we were beaten when about seven miles from yarmouth the wind had lulled so considerably that we stopped to shake out the reefs and our rival by this means got such a long start that it became an impossibility to overtake her from this point up stream the general characteristics of the surrounding country undergo a change and the landscape becomes much more interesting instead of a boundless view of never-ending marsh which although under certain circumstances as i have said before is beautiful enough in its way scarcely possesses one redeeming feature glimpses of woodland now appear within about two miles of acle bridge the first noteworthy point is reached This is Stokesby Ferry Inn, where the first Buir ferry crosses the river.

In the event of being unable to obtain staying quarters at Acle, I should say visitors might do worse than adopt this as temporary headquarters, as Host Thirtle has the name for making travellers comfortable on reasonable terms.

as we slowly tacked past the village which is very near to the river it looked very picturesque in the half twilight just above stokesby come herringby to give it its full name and on the same side of the river is the sluice through which a large section of the broads is drained this is called the muck fleet and possibly later on we may explore its diminutive channel it was a great deal later than we had expected when at last acol bridge loomed through the darkness and we were heartily glad to find ourselves once again within the pale of civilisation The inner man of the buttercup's crew had for some time previous to our stopping been complaining, and when at last dinner was on the table, the pièce de résistance, which consisted of roast lamb and mint sauce, was attacked with a vigour which proved beyond a doubt the keenness of our appetites.

one incident during or rather as it proved nearly at the end of our meal provoked a general laugh at my expense the hampers which arrived that morning at yarmouth contained a fresh supply of good things it will be remembered that these were unpacked very hurriedly and during this process i saw john place in one of the lockers a pie i had jumped to the conclusion that this was a fruit tart so i inquired if any one cared for sweets this was generally assented to but as george handed the pie into the cabin its dimensions called for remark as being unusually large my readers will judge of my chagrin when on cutting into it it proved to be of the veal and ham persuasion a