OULTON BROAD.
[Picture: Decorative drop capital] In the night we were awakened by the
sound of very heavy rain pattering on the deck and cabin roof, and
presently we discovered that the recent very dry weather had opened the
seams of the wood, and sundry persistent droppings evaded our attempts to
escape them.
"My nose is wearing away with one dreadful drop."
"Then open your mouth and catch it. Oh!"
"What's the matter?"
"A drop went splash into my eye!"
We made merry for a time, but presently it clearly became a case of "a
drop too much," and we sat up in despair. Just as things were getting
uncomfortably wet, the storm passed off, and the morning dawned with a
wondrous clearness and brilliance, while the air was full of the sweet,
earthy scents that arise after rain. The reeds were fresher and greener,
and the grasses and flowers glittered in the sun, like the radiant
ripples on the water. And so, amid the songs of birds and the quickened
joy of nature, we bowled along down the Waveney at a merry pace, and in
two hours we had reached the mouth of Oulton Dyke, the sharp turn into
which necessitated a heavy gibe.
[Picture: Oulton Broad]
A mile and a half of this and Oulton Broad opened out before us. This is
the most civilized of all the Broads, and is always gay with yachts
sailing about, and populous with yachts lying at their moorings. It is
of an irregular shape, and in the bight, or "ham," at the north-east end
of it, the yachts are thickly clustered. Also, for what reason it is
hard to say, many of the old and worn-out fishing smacks of Lowestoft are
brought into this corner, and moored against the bank, where very many of
them have sunk, and all are picturesque in the extreme. Some large sea
yachts also use this bight as a laying-up place for the winter. The
river yachts and sailing boats are of every size and rig, and a paddle in
and out among them is of interest to a nautical mind. At the lower end
of the lake is a lock which gives access for sea-going vessels to Lake
Lothing, which is a tidal lake, two miles long, ending in Lowestoft
harbour and the sea. By the lock is one of the most charming hostelries
it is possible to conceive. It ought to be called the "Angler's Rest,"
were it not already called the "Wherry Hotel." Here there is capital
accommodation for anglers, and boats, bait, etc., are provided at
reasonable rates. There is also another comfortable inn, called the
"Commodore," and there are two smaller inns, the "Waveney Hotel"--the
landlord of which, George Smith, is an excellent waterman--and the "Lady
of the Lake." The railway station is close by, and is now called Oulton
Broad Station, but was formerly Mutford, that being the name of the
village at the east end of the Broad. The village is very prettily
situated between the two lakes, and is only two miles from the sea.
There are lodgings to be had there, and for a place combining the
attractions of lake, river, and sea, it has few equals. Of course, the
Broad is within easy reach of Lowestoft, the most attractive
watering-place on the coast of Norfolk and Suffolk. It has a fine pier,
good houses, cliffs, a capital harbour for yachts, a harbour for fishing
vessels, where the artist will find much that is picturesque, and an old
part of the town on the higher ground to the north, which has many
features of interest. It has not the noise and bustle of Yarmouth, but
it is gay enough for reasonable people.
At Lowestoft, facing the harbour, is the club house of the Norfolk and
Suffolk Yacht Club, and annual visitors to Lowestoft would find it an
advantage to join the Yacht Club for the sake of the conveniences
afforded by the club-house.
Oulton Broad has plenty of fish in it, and the fishing is free. When the
rivers are flooded, and the rank water off the marshes pours into the
river, the fish of all kinds crowd into the purer waters of the Broad in
surprising numbers. Formerly it was noted for its perch, but for some
time they appear to have decreased in numbers. Lately, however, they
have been more freely caught. In a few more years the benefits of the
Norfolk and Suffolk Fisheries Act will be more widely felt, as the
abundance of small fish in the rivers plainly testifies. Pike are
present sometimes in great quantity, but the supply seems to fluctuate
considerably. For a few weeks each season they seem to be uncommonly
numerous, and large catches are made. Then they fall off, and none are
caught for some time.
The shooting on the Broad is also free, and in the large room at the
"Wherry Inn" is a most attractive collection of fishes and birds, which
have met their death in this locality.
The most interesting and tantalizing inhabitant of the Broad is the grey
mullet, large shoals of which may be seen disporting themselves on the
surface. They run to a large size, and seem to average two or three
pounds in weight. Anglers cannot catch them as a general rule, but some
persons say that they have succeeded, using small hooks baited with
strange baits, such as the beard of an oyster, or a bit of boiled cabbage
stump. I fancy that by using a fly cast, buoyed at intervals by bits of
cork, and having small hooks baited with gentles, and then paying out a
long line so as to cover a shoal, some sport might be had. At all
events, the experiment is worth trying some day when there is no wind for
sailing. The mullet, when alarmed by a net or other obstruction, has a
habit of leaping high out of the water, and frequently leaps into boats.
Once, while I was sailing through Reedham Bridge, a grey mullet, of four
pounds in weight, leaped into the jolly-boat towing astern, and was
captured.
[Picture: Ruffe] At Oulton the mullet are often shot with arrows having
heavy lines attached, while they are accidentally confined in the lock
between the Broad and Lake Lothing.
Well, we spent the rest of our holiday at Oulton, and as I was saying
good-bye to Wynne at the station, I asked him what he thought of the
Broads.
"The finest places for boat-sailing and bottom-fishing in England. I
shall bring a boat here in the winter for wild-fowl shooting on Breydon,
and I shall certainly come again next summer."
So ended our cruise.
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