Opposite the ruins is a dyke, down which a wherry turned.
“Where does that lead to?” asked Wynne.
“To South Walsham Broad, which is a mile and a half down it; and, although wherries can sail down, this boat, which draws about five feet six inches, cannot. Still, we can go down in the jolly, or, if you like, stay here, and fish for perch. This is a noted spot, because there is a hard gravelly bottom, and, by the way, we might have stopped at Thurne mouth, which is a good place for pike.”
“I like exploring these dykes, so I vote we go down to the Broad.”
So we started, and overtook the wherry, which had been aground, and she gave us a tow down. The Broad, which was formerly one sheet of water, has, by the growth of reeds and plants, been divided into two portions. There was nothing particular to be seen in the first one; but on rowing into the further Broad, we saw a cottage on the right bank, which, with its long, low thatch, deep eaves, its honeysuckles and roses, its trees and its landing-place, formed a most tempting object for a sketch, and one the artist would do well to seek. The Broad is private, save for the navigation across one part of it to South Walsham, and the fishing is preserved. The old course of the river formerly made a horse-shoe bend down towards South Walsham, and the present straight channel by the Abbey ruins is an artificial cut. The site of the Abbey is an island of solid ground in the midst of a great extent of marsh. When we got back to the boat we saw the man fast asleep on the counter, with his rod in the river, in tow of a large perch, weighing one pound and a half, which we secured.
About a mile further, on the right hand, as we ascend the river, is the mouth of the river Ant, leading to Barton Broad and Statham, of which more anon.
“The river is getting uncommonly pretty,” said Wynne, “and this slow tacking enables me to see it to advantage, eh! How close we steer to the fishing boats! and, pray tell me, why do fishermen in Norfolk wear such extraordinary hats! Here is another dyke. Can we sail down it?”
“If we only drew four feet of water, we could go on to Ranworth Broad.”
“Then, on my next cruise here, I will get a yacht that does not draw more than a wherry does. It is absurd to have such deep draught yachts where there are so many shallows. Let us row down.”