A Day Out on the Wherry Albion

Wednesday 19th of June 2024

• boat
• broads
• day-out
• norfolk
• sailing
• trip
• wherry

One of the members of my local photography club is involved in maintaining an old wherry – boats which were used to transport goods around Norfolk before trains and cars became common. I and some other members of the club were offered the chance to spend a day on one of the wherries, the Albion, with the provisio that we provide the Norfolk Wherry Trust with a few pictures each for promotional purposes.

From the storage dock we raised the sail and headed towards the River Thurne, there turning to the north east and following along the river for several miles.

The weather was very warm, the air hazy, the sky virtually cloudless. This meant plenty of water traffic, but also a very sedate sailing pace, requiring frequent use of a motor dinghy to keep us moving.

Part way along, a couple of us went out on the dinghy to get some ‘exterior’ shots of the wherries.

After a few miles along the Thurne, we turned north on to Candle Dyke, heading towards Hickling Broad, where we would stop for lunch. In addition to some food, I rather foolishly only brought along a tiny flask of water for the whole day, which was woefully inadequate since the water on the wherry was unsuitable for drinking cold.

After lunch it was time to head back, and we soon got a bit of relief from the heat: a few clouds appeared, and the wind picked up slightly.

Finally, as we neared home base, it was time to lower the sail get the boat ready for storage again.