Breydon and Beyond

THIS blog started life as a means of publicising my book, so in some ways it’s a little bit strange to plug someone else’s. But here goes anyway because Sheila Hutchinson has just published her ninth. Sheila specialises in detailed histories of out-of-the-way places. Her first was on the hamlet of Berney Arms where she grew up. Over the last ten years or so she has also chronicled The Halvergate Fleet, Burgh Castle and Haddiscoe Island. Each one has been a labour of love with her husband Paul. A local, she sits down and draws the stories from the old timers, while Paul does the research and checks the records. She held her book launch at The Ship in Reedham today. And it was great to see so many people with such a love of the area and its history – from wherry skippers to Breydon birders. Her latest book covers a wider brief than usual – the Yare from Breydon Water right up to Trowse. In other words much of it is Wherryman’s Way territory. It’s as good a read as ever, well worth the £9. …..Just make sure you buy my book too, if only to see the piece I’ve written on her remarkable contribution to east Norfolk’s local history.

Breydon’s two King Arthurs

BREYDON Water provides a suitably epic conclusion to the Wherryman’s Way. Somehow it manages to be simultaneously very close to and very remote from neighbouring Great Yarmouth. This vast tidal estuary is home to many thousands of wading birds who find their food beneath the inter-tidal mudflats. If you’ve walked all the way from Norwich this part of your journey will feel wilder, colder and longer than every other stretch. It’s also the latest location to get the Literary Norfolk treatment. Click here for a comprehensive guide to Breydon’s two King Arthurs – naturalist turned writer Arthur Patterson and journalist turned children’s novelist Arthur Ransome.

Berney Arms Windmill : open at last

AT LAST English Heritage has opened up the Berney Arms windmill. It may only be on Mondays during July and August, but after years of drift and delay it is undoubtedly a start. The best news of all is that English Heritage has teamed up with Steve "Tug" Wilson (see earlier posting) to make the visit possible. Now you get a great view of Breydon Water on board Steve's beautiful Southern Belle followed by what I am sure are spectacular aerial views from the top of the mill's 70-foot tower.

* To book call Steve on 07906 020225. The trips leave every Monday at 11.30am and 2.15pm.

Wherryman's Way: what's your favourite stretch?

HUMPTY Dumpty brewery partner Stephen George has been in touch. It turns out he and his family have become big fans of the Wherryman's Way over the last few years. For him the best bit is the stretch between Loddon and Reedham. "I love walking over those country lanes coming down to the ferry," he writes.
Which got me thinking. What's your favourite spot? Breydon Water, Wheatfen or maybe the newly-restored Hardley Mill? For me, the best places also happen to be the most inaccessible. All those windmills in the middle of nowhere between Reedham and the Berney Arms for example. Or The Slaughters, hidden until Rockland Broad until low tide. But having toyed with the ruins of St Saviour's Church and all that history bound up in Reedham Ferry, I'm plumping for Hardley Flood (pictured). It's stunningly beautiful, especially at dusk, and yet there's never anyone else there.

The Southern Belle - Queen of Breydon Water

LET me introduce you to the "star" of Chapter 13. He's Steve "Tug" Wilson, the skipper of the Southern Belle.
For the last three years Steve's converted steam boat has been running river trips from Great Yarmouth. I've often seen her distinctive red and yellow livery as I've walked the Wherryman's Way, but today was the first time that I've stepped aboard.

The Southern Belle is a grand old lady approaching her 85th birthday, but after a painstaking restoration by Steve and his son Colin, she looks in very good nick. Steve took us on her regular Sunday outing; across Breydon and then up short chunks of the Waveney and then the Yare.

In the process I saw this beautiful tidal estuary in an entirely new light. Wrecks of wherries loom out of the spray; traditional sailing cruisers heel dramatically in front of you. Steve's mate George stands on the prow pointing furiously as yet another tripper forgets the rules of the river and then lurches to starboard. For more photos go to flickr.

On board it was good to see local passengers; people who had lived in the area all their life but had never quite got around to seeing Breydon properly before. Steve reckons they account for at least 50 per cent of his trade.

You can get black and white photos from the 1920s and 1930s which show boats like The Pride of the Yare and Doris laden with passengers out for a jolly. It's fair to say that Steve doesn't quite pack them in like that yet. But if there's any justice in this world he should be. Go on, give it a go.

* The Breydon Water Explorer runs every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday at 1145. For more details of other trips call Steve Wilson on 07906 020225.

Breydon Water: Where's Whimbrel?

UNTIL the last decades of the 19th century, the banks of Breydon Water were adorned with a ramshackle collection of houseboats. They were home to a tough breed of men who managed to make a living from shooting birds and catching fish. Author Arthur Patterson immortalised these so-called "Breydoners" in several of his books including Wildfowlers and Poachers.
Anyway, when I last walked the length of Breydon Water back in August 2007 there was still one reminder of that era - a blue-green houseboat called Whimbrel.
At least she looked as if she was from that era; a battered old shed, somehow shoe-horned into a leaky hull and kept off the flats with a precarious combination of masonry and timber. Flimsy no doubt, but given the history I would have made her a listed building.
So it was sad to retread my steps today on this final stretch of the Wherryman's Way (just under ten miles from Reedham to Yarmouth on a warm February afternoon) to find she has completely disappeared. I think I found the very spot and I think it was arson that did for her. If so, what a sad end to the last tangible relic from a long-gone era.