Hickling

it's quite certain we can't swing the boat we shan't lose anythin by tryin retorted george so we set to work the buttercup is fifty feet long from the stern to the end of the bowsprit and we found it quite an impossibility to get her round although we tried to lift her bowsprit over the rond having disposed of suggestion the first there remained the alternatives of either towing out stern first which i scarcely need say would have been a most laborious process or fixing the weights on the mast lowering and quanting the boat through the bridge just beyond which a large dyke had been cut from the main channel the latter was the plan ultimately selected but when we attempted to again swing the yacht round we found it no easy matter as although there was plenty of water in the middle of the stream the sides were extremely fleet at last however with george on the quant and jack and i with lines attached to the stern and bow we just managed to accomplish our object after again quanting through the bridge and raising the mast to its normal position we found the wind so high that we had to stay to reef the sails but at last we were under weigh by eight o'clock the run through the cut was soon over and we enjoyed the sail over the lovely mere to the full on gaining the old meadow dyke we found we should have a head wind to contend with nearly all the way through and as tacking in so narrow a channel was quite impossible jack and i went ashore with a tow line there's no mistake about it mate this is having a constitutional before breakfast with a vengeance said john as we slowly made headway presently we turned a corner so to speak and the yacht drew away we however held on to the tow-line which was a good long one rather than jump aboard although george insisted that this would be the better course as it happened we were made to pay for our obstinacy we had allowed the buttercup to take the whole length when in pushing our way through some tall rushes we saw when too late a broad dyke immediately in front we had jumped several but this was one too many for us of course we had to let go the line and george yelled that he would bring the boat up this he did directly he could and then rode back for us in the dinghy one way and another we lost nearly half an hour by this little blunder and as i still insisted on getting to our proposed destination before breakfast signs of mutiny began to show it was a distinct relief when we at last emerged from the little dyke and again crossed the sounds i might perhaps say for the information of any who may come after me that the channel to hickling and catfield across the reedy expanse of heigham is quite distinct from the one we have just navigated a yacht coming through kendall dyke must keep an even course for a belt of reeds which stands out very prominently to the west of the lake arrived at this point and to gain the old meadow dyke the course must then be altered and the first of three large posts which are very conspicuous steered for by the time these are passed at a distance of say ten feet the mouth of the old meadow channel shows itself on the present occasion we were about to attempt another passage and on arriving at the belt of reeds i have just mentioned went about roughly speaking i should say at an angle of thirty degrees n w of our former course keeping straight ahead a river-like channel of very respectable width is gained and through this again a tiny lakelet called whitesley widens out this broad we crossed in fear and trembling expecting every moment to find ourselves on the mud but to our extreme delight no such catastrophe occurred Once across Whitesley, another river-like space appears, but rather more contracted than the one I have just mentioned.

This channel leads direct to our largest broad, but as there was a big wind blowing, we decided on this occasion not to attempt the passage, although we felt pretty confident we should have crossed in safety.

we pulled up if i may use the term just below an eel set from which we could command a very fair view of the lake when we had lowered the sails and made everything temporarily snug and whilst george started on the preparation of our long-delayed breakfast we had time to look about us to any who reach this point one fact must be especially apparent that is the extreme purity of the water at the spot where my yacht was moored i am quite sure there is not less than twelve feet of water and yet the bottom can be distinctly seen our morning meal over we busied ourselves with a regular clear-up the rain of the last few days had made not a few things very damp and wet and we determined to make the most of this glorious morning by getting everything dried our flag halyards looked quite gay with the various coloured socks we tied thereto george remarked that it seemed like a regatta whilst the main shrouds were called into requisition as a drying-ground for three or four pairs of flannel unmentionables c afterwards jack and i went ashore and gave the dinghy a thorough clean-out of which it was sadly in need when we started for hickling in the dinghy it was past eleven although both jack and i agreed it seemed almost impossible for the time to have passed so quickly the present was my friend's first sight of hickling broad and he was extremely delighted with its grand appearance this beautiful lake is the largest sheet of water in the district and covers between four and five hundred acres as i have before said the wind was blowing very strong raising quite respectable waves which as we rowed across washed frequently into the boat As we had no wish to get wet through, we ultimately decided to make for Catfield Dyke, and then, under the lee of the tall rushes which fringed the sides of the broad, to row to Hickling Stave.

By this means we managed to cheat the swell, although it made our trip very much longer than we expected or wished.

when we at last landed we lost no time in making tracks for the village where we hoped to get a supply of fresh meat bread eggs c to our disgust however we found we were a day late for the butcher so for that day's dinner we should have to fall back on our reserve this by the way consisted of tins of mccall's pesandu ox-tongue which i can strongly recommend the general shopkeeper at hickling is i should think about as good a salesman as one is likely to meet our appearance of course betrayed that we were boating men and one way and another by the time we managed to escape from the store we were all laden with packages of very respectable dimensions i ought to add however that everything mr ward supplied was of first-rate quality we were just leaving the village when john who was a little bit ahead suddenly exclaimed i'm blessed if there isn't old joe allen with his man mark coming up the road old joe allen be it known was a yachting colleague owner of a beautiful little four-tonner called the violet here's a rum go said our friend as we met who should have thought of meeting you in this out-of-the-world place talk of the meeting of livingstone and stanley it was simply nowhere chaffed jack as we shook hands it then transpired that the violet had that morning fetched potter hyam and as her draught would not allow of her navigating the sounds they had sailed up in their dinghy as our friend had never been to hickling before we went for a stroll in company first leaving our packages at a convenient inn as there is not much to see this did not take very long and then we returned to the pleasure boat the name of the house that adjoins the staith the skipper of the violet very kindly offered to give us a tow over the broad and we were only too glad to accept his courtesy by the time we reached the buttercup where our friend left us as he wanted to see hawsey mere the wind had so much fallen that we deemed it advisable to shake the reefs out of the sails and start with as little delay as possible as we crossed the sounds we could see the white sail of violet junior far away up the old meadow dyke and dipped our flag as a sort of complimentary signal whether this was seen or not i must leave as i quite forgot to ask when we met later in the evening when we gained the hundred stream as the thurn is called above higham we turned up river which gradually narrows beyond martham ferry and again lowered sail at the mouth of the dyke leading to martham broad at this point the main channel appears to be lost in the marsh but jack and i attempted to force our way through the swampy jungle in this way we penetrated for perhaps fifty yards and then gave up further attempts as our olfactory nerves were assailed by odours the reverse of pleasant we now rode up martham dyke to the broad of the same name crossing which we landed at somerton staith where a large pleasure wherry was lying about half-way up the dyke was dammed across and beyond this about a dozen men were at work throwing out the soil looking down at the sturdy specimens of humanity engaged in this laborious occupation i could not help remarking to john on the great height of several of them This might have been a veritable land of giants, and, indeed, is the birthplace of Hales, who was seven feet six inches high, and weighed four hundred and fifty-two pounds.

End of author's note.

i have elsewhere hinted that reference to the weekly reports in land and water and the fishing gazette will give the best current information as to where the fish are on the feed whilst these reports must not be accepted as infallible so great being the glorious uncertainty of things piscatorial they form a very reliable guide as they are written by a practical man who has fished the waters for years it will have been noticed that nearly all the fishing headquarters which we passed on our trip are easily accessible by railway Horning Ferry is one of the exceptions, but Mr. Thompson will send a trap to Roxham Station, four miles, to meet any train by arrangement.

Those wishing to fish on Hickling Broad must obtain permission from Mr. James Nudd, who hires the Broad, which, I should say, is about three miles from Catfield Station, Eastern and Midlands Railway.

The wind on the next morning was from the northwest, a head wind for us, and there was little of it, so little indeed that we could not stem the tide and had to quant for three miles.

Then we came to the mouth of the River Thurne, leading to Hickling Broad, up which we intended to sail on our return from Wroxham.

The Bure turns off sharply to the west, and as the wind gradually gained in strength, we were able to dispense with the unwelcome labor of quanting.

The first noteworthy spot that we came to was St. Bennett's Abbey, situated on the north bank of the river.

Within sight of the dyke end is a tumbledown house with a thatched roof, broken-backed, and altogether so jumbled and ancient-looking that it makes a capital subject for a sketch.

In the afternoon we sailed quietly back to the cutter and took both boats back to the Bure and down it to St. Bennett's Abbey, which we reached by moonlight.

Wynn had taken a great fancy to the Latina, which had been lent to me by a friend, and as we wished to explore the broads about Hickling, all too shallow for the cutter, we decided to take both yachts up the Thurn to Higham Bridges and leave the cutter there, while we took the Latina up on the wide wild waters above the bridge.

The next morning we devoted to pike fishing at the mouth of the Thurn, getting our bait with a casting net.

Skating can be enjoyed in the depth of winter on the broads and rivers as much as in any place in England, the natural features of the country, with its rivers and watercourses, making it almost equal to Holland in this respect.

I have sometimes been on the beautiful crystal surface of Hickling Broad, about a square mile in area, with perhaps only a dozen other persons on it besides myself.

No fear of being knocked down by the crowded state of the ice here.

In very cold weather one may skate for miles and miles along the rivers, or, if the skater be nervous, he may try his fortune on the glassy covering of ice which surmounts the flooded marshes, with a depth of only about a foot of water, so that, if he should happen to go through, he can step quietly out again.

Chapter eleven of The Land of the Broads by Ernest R. Suffling.

This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.

Thurnmouth to Hickling, Martham, etc.

Oh, summer is a pleasant time, with all its sounds and sights, its dewy mornings, balmy eves, and tranquil calm delights.

Perhaps the baits are lost in the vegetation.

Bream are plentiful enough at Hickling and at Fritton to this day.

Do ruffs still abound near Norwich, of which Spencer wrote, Him followed Yare, soft washing Norwich wall, And with him brought a present joyfully Of his own fish unto their festival, Whose like none else could show The which they Ruffins call.

End of section two.

But the habits of the Mohawk compelled me to roll between the upper blankets.

And then, after a refreshing breakfast, I trained to Yarmouth, myself parting with the host and his fair daughter with a pleasant memory.

After a few hours spent at home, and with a fresh supply of necessaries, I went back to Potter on Saturday noon, put the Yar-Whelp's wing up, and made for Hickling, to my mind the wildest and most characteristic of the Broads, fuller of wild life and freedom than any.

And to it the rarest of our Broadland nesting-birds resort.