This is an interesting use for a shopping trolley in Beccles…..
Category: UK
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Norfolk Broads – Albion Wherry
For the last three years I’ve organised the Hike Norfolk trip to the Norfolk Broads, which has included hiring a Broads cruiser from Wroxham. Last year we were walking around Ranworth for our lunch break and we saw the Albion wherry and the volunteer on board mentioned about it being available for hire. So, I decided that was a marvellous idea and that’s what twelve of us did for this year’s maritime expedition.
The Albion wherry was first built in 1898 and remained in use carrying cargo around the Norfolk Broads until the middle of the twentieth century.
The Norfolk Wherry Trust took the boat over in 1949 and initially continued with carrying cargo, but it had a couple of little incidents when it sank twice and it was agreed that this wasn’t ideal. So from 1961 it was decided never to carry cargo again, just carrying passengers around the Broads.
Our boat is ready to sail.
This photo was taken out when we were taken out in small groups using the wherry’s dinghy to get photos of the wherry itself.
A swan.
The sail, which is 1,200 square feet in size.
This subtle little thing is the Quant Pole, which lets the crew punt the boat along. We had three crew aboard the Albion and they were all helpful and enthusiastic.
The downstairs quarters of the boat, which can be used for overnight hire, so hence the bunks.
Getting the food ready. Susanna and I had heated the water up for coffees and teas, a process that took considerably longer than we had expected. There is an oven and basic cooking facilities on board, all fuelled by gas.
Our picnic on board.
The view of the Norfolk Broads, we went from Oulton Broad to nearly into Beccles.
Part of the wherry, I don’t know the technical term….
A dragonfly.
All told, it was a warm day and the twelve of us from Hike Norfolk were very fortunate with the weather. Although I thought that it was too hot…. Sitting downstairs was though much cooler, so it was handy to have the option of where to sit and there were plenty of spaces around the wherry.
It was only when I went on the dinghy to circle the wherry that it was clear just how beautiful the Albion is, and many people had taken photos of the wherry during the day as we went past.
For any group or so, a charter for the day is recommended, especially as it isn’t that much more expensive than taking out a Broads cruiser for the day. And this is certainly more of an experience.
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Fakenham – Aldiss (Heritage Trail 6)
Part of the Fakenham Heritage Trail, this is number 6, the former Aldiss store which unfortunately burnt down in 2014. The fire was caused by an electrical issue and it destroyed the department store which had been built in the early twentieth century. Aldiss had already moved out of the store to another location in Fakenham and the building was being used by The Original Factory Store, who have since moved back into the newly built replacement premises.
I hadn’t previously paid much attention to this arch, which goes through from the market place to Fakenham Church. But, as the signage notes, it was built over at some stage by Stewardson for his printing business.
And the same passageway coming from the direction of the church. Fortunately, the church wasn’t damaged during the fire, although there were some initial fears that the fire might spread.
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Fakenham – Heritage Trail
I was bemused yesterday, although that’s certainly not for the first time…. I noticed that there were numerous heritage numbers and maps in Fakenham which I was sure I hadn’t seen before. It transpired that I hadn’t, they were installed in early 2019 and are encouraging people to discover the history of the town.
The project was funded by the European Union, which is marvellous, and it’s a nicely put together trail. Unfortunately I only noticed it before I was leaving Fakenham, but I will go around the rest of it next time I’m in the town.
In an article in the Fakenham Times, it was reported that:
“Fakenham Town Council has received an EU grant of £33,500, as well £8,000 from North Norfolk District Council’s Big Society Fund, to produce the Fakenham Heritage Trail, along with town council funding.
The trail will lead people on a tour of 29 of the town’s most iconic sites and will also include two town maps, one by Fakenham Library and one by the town sign, with plans to landscape the area by the library in order to improve the entrance to the town centre.”
I’ve seen a lot of projects such as this across Europe, and it’s excellent to see that Fakenham also took a similar initiative.
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Peterborough – Brewery Tap
I’ve managed to miss visiting the Brewery Tap during my previous visits to Peterborough, but it seemed well reviewed and worth trying. They stock beers predominantly from Oakham Ales and the pub is also known for its Thai food, which did look rather tempting. It was formerly an employment exchange and CAMRA note that the building was recently nearly demolished.
I asked if there were any dark beers on, but there weren’t. I didn’t have huge expectations of that given it’s the height of summer, but I went for Citra which I’ve had before. It was at the appropriate temperature and it tasted well kept, but I was surprised at how lacking in taste it was. Personally, I thought the brewery notes of the beer having a “pungent grapefruit, lychee and gooseberry aroma” as perhaps just a little aspirational. Citra hops are a bit of a US thing, and my experience of similar beers there is that they have a much punchier citrus flavour and a more refreshing taste.
Anyway, back to the Brewery Tap. It was pretty much empty when I visited, which is a shame as it’s a sizeable venue and the lunch menu looked interesting and creative. The staff were all friendly and helpful, with the pub being clean and well presented.
Being honest, it all felt a little tired and behind the times, but it was comfortable and clean. The food seems really well reviewed and it seemed a shame that their pub was pretty much empty, but perhaps it’s a lot busier in the evenings. Certainly a good location though for a larger group as it’s spacious and everything seemed organised. I only discovered later on that there is a discount for CAMRA members and also a reduced price beer of the month.
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Bixley – Saint Wandregesilius Church (Leslie Fenn)
I spent the morning at Norfolk Record Office and was researching the church at Bixley for some time. That task was made much easier by the research work of a gentleman named Leslie Fenn (1910-1989) who was an amateur local historian who had a special interest in the church.
He has compiled a large A4 ring binder full of information about the church, which can be seen on request at Norfolk Record Office. His researches have been extensive and the files contain copies of letters from the British Library and other locations when he had paid for information to be sent to him.
Fenn was the headmaster at Redenhall Secondary Modern School towards the end of his career and his fascination with history throughout his life shines through just from this one folder full of documents. He was a Lay Reader at Bixley Church and had a huge interest in the history of the building. I dread to think what he’d have thought of the arsonist who destroyed the church and also at the lack of repairs being made to the building.
Certainly future generations benefit from the work of people such as Leslie Fenn, their contribution to local history might be small individually, but is beyond measure when looked at collectively with the work of many other men and women like him.
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British Airways (Heathrow T5 to Baltimore)
This post is more just to upload the photos than anything else, as I can’t remember much else about the flight now. I flew from London Heathrow T5 to Baltimore on an A380 in August 2015. Unfortunately, the photos aren’t very clear, but since they’re the only ones I’ve got of that flight, they’ll have to do.
I was travelling in Club World and obviously I wasn’t paying since otherwise I’d have been in World Traveller.
The aircraft at Heathrow T5.
The Club World cabin during the boarding process.
This happens too often….
The starter and salad.
Corn fed chicken, mashed potato and batons of carrot.
Some sort of mousse.
An ice cream from later on during the flight.
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Heathrow – Security Scanners
From Business Traveller, this will be a significant improvement for travellers. The number of passengers who still seem surprised that they have to remove liquids, even though they’ve passed 22 signs telling them, never ceases to amaze me.
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Flights – London Heathrow T5 to Hamburg (British Airways)
This is aircraft G-EUPO after it had landed in Hamburg Airport, arriving on time from London Heathrow T5. The aircraft is an A319 which BA have owned and operated since 2000.
I was able to board in the first group which was fortunate as the flight was nearly full. The aircraft could have been a little cleaner, but it looked well maintained and in good order. I was in an exit row seat which was sufficiently spacious and comfortable.
There was a crew member who seemed to be new and he was being ultra efficient in term of his security protocol. I’d far rather that he was like that than not caring, but he had a passenger remove a book from the seat pocket as they were in an exit row, which seemed slightly excessive. At the end of the flight the same crew member tried to get the customer in front of me to return his seat to the original position, which confused the seat occupant as he was in a seat which didn’t even recline. The crew member was polite though, and I liked his enthusiasm, with the entire crew seeming to work well together.
From the in-flight menu, this is the page which brought British Airways to the attention of that media titan, the Daily Mail. The afternoon tea doesn’t include a cup of tea, which is only sort of mentioned in the description.
The flight was fifteen minutes late in leaving Heathrow T5 due to congestion at the airport. The pilot explained he’d be remaining at the stand, as opposed to waiting in a queue on the runway, in a bid to save fuel. The pilot gave regular updates and fortunately he was able to make up time during the flight so we landed on time.
This was yet another comfortable flight with British Airways, nothing spectacular, but efficient, well managed and organised.
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Isle of Wight Trip – Day 6 (Cowes Floating Bridge)
I don’t think that I’ve been on a chain ferry before, even though there is apparently one at Reedham. This service runs between East Cowes and West Cowes, with the journey time being just a couple of minutes.
The information board showing the current list of charges to cross the River Medina on the ferry. There’s a ticket machine to buy tickets, although there’s also a ticket inspector who can sell tickets and they accept cash or cards. There’s no option to buy just a single ticket, as they’re sold as returns.
The ferry after all of the cars and pedestrians had crossed. We got on at this point to travel from East Cowes to West Cowes. There was a rowing boat service offered between the two towns from the early eighteenth century until 1859, when a steamboat service was introduced.
The current chain ferry is the sixth one to ply the waters, with the fifth one being withdrawn from service in January 2017 after forty years of service. The new ferry operates from around 05:00 until just after 00:00 and it carries around 1.5 million pedestrians per year and around 400,000 vehicles.
Looking at a newspaper article from 1930 there were 1.4 million pedestrian crossings, so the number of people needing to use the service hasn’t changed. As there are no other crossings over the River Medina, the alternative is to go down via Newport, which adds around thirty minutes to a car journey.
There’s a pedestrian area on two levels as well as the facility to carry twenty cars. There’s some seating available, although since the journey is so short, there are no other facilities.
The ferry landing in West Cowes. We took this ferry as part of our coastal walk around the Isle of Wight, so it presented an interesting and intriguing way to end our walk back into West Cowes from where we had started.
