WROXHAM TO COLTISHALL.
[Picture: Decorative drop capital] The bridge at Wroxham is very narrow
and low. The mast, of course, had to be lowered, and the yacht quanted
under the road and railway bridges. A wherry passing under raised her
mast too soon, and damaged the ornamental vane, which consisted of the
inevitable figure of a Welsh girl with a high hat and holding a bunch of
leeks.
"There, I must have a new Welsh girl," said the wherryman.
"Why is such an emblem chosen in Norfolk, of all places?" asked Wynne.
"Some thirty years ago there was a wherry named after the famous Jenny
Morgan of the song, and she had such a vane. It took the fancy of the
wherrymen to such an extent that they all adopted it in the course of
time."
The river here is very narrow, and Wynne, who was steering, put the yacht
"on the putty" twice, before he could be induced to give up the helm to
the man, who professed to know the exact depth of every part of the
river. The river makes a very long loop to the south, just above
Wroxham. In this loop is Belaugh Broad, said to hold some very large
carp, but it is preserved. On the neck of the loop, on a high bank,
stands Belaugh Church, a prominent object for some miles, as you follow
the river. It is very picturesquely situated, and the view from it is
characteristic. Close by the church is a draw-well, with a pent-house
over it, well worth sketching. There is a pretty backwater, or old
channel of the river, near here, called "Little Switzerland," which is
worth rowing up, but unfortunately the owner objects even to artists
visiting it, and hence it must be considered as sacred ground.
It came on to blow very hard, as we finished the three-mile loop of
river, half a mile from where we entered it, and as the wind was fair,
the corners sharp, and the river narrow, we lowered the mainsail, and ran
up under the jib alone, to Coltishall, where we at once made a rush for
the butcher's, just in time to secure a piece of meat for our dinner
to-morrow, which, being Sunday, we intended to spend at Coltishall. The
village is superior to most Norfolk villages, and contains some old
houses with rounded gables, and a fine church.
[Picture: Dyke Near Coltishall]
The great business of the place is malting, and many men labour as
maltsters in winter and boat-builders in summer, so that summer is the
time to get a boat built at Coltishall, when either Allen or Collins will
build you one at a reasonable rate.
The fishing is very good in this portion of the river, and there are
great numbers of jack here, although they run rather small. In the
spawning season, the bream head up here in large numbers, and as there is
no close season in Norfolk, many anglers follow them up.
The first lock on this river is just above the village, and on the
bye-stream stands Horstead mill, a very fine specimen of the Norfolk
water-mill. It stands upon arches, and the stream runs under it, the
wheels, of course, being undershot. It makes a very effective picture,
seen from below, and, in fact, if you row your jolly up the left-hand
stream, as you go up, you will see very many lovely bits worth the
painter's attention. I have photographed some of them, as I can't
sketch, but photographs cannot depict the colour. It is in the soft
living light of these Norfolk scenes that their chief beauty lies, but
they cannot be depicted without the aid of colour, and only imperfectly
then.
The river is navigable for wherries and yachts drawing but little water,
right up to Aylsham, some eleven miles further; but there are two more
locks before reaching Aylsham.
[Picture: Ludham Bridge]
Coltishall is accessible by rail from Norwich, being the next station to
Wroxham, and lodgings are obtainable there. The jack fishing is very
good all the way.
[Picture: River Bure--Hautbois]
[Picture: Decorative chapter header]