CHAPTER VII.
wroxham to coltishall.
“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.
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.