Nick Dennis
WCHA UK
Last weekend a few members of the UK Chapter met up for our annual Easter paddling meet. Our venue and host was Barton Turf Adventure Centre in Norfolk which is in the east of the UK. Our position at Barton Turf gives us immediate access onto Barton Broad, Sutton Broad the River Ant and the North Walsham & Dilham Canal. All of these form part of The Norfolk Broads, a collection of large expanses of shallow water surrounded by reed beds and connected by a network of rivers and dykes. The Broads were originally peat diggings which flooded. The area is now part of the UK National Park Group.
The first quarter of this year has been exceptionally wet and the water levels are very high. Above shows the flooded access to the staithe. We ended up using the adjacent Parish Staithe which was easier to access but still very muddy and soggy.
The majority of the group arrived on Thursday with one member joining us on Friday. People got to paddle on Thursday, Friday and Saturday but with the UK being battered by Storm Kathleen we all opted to pack up early on the Sunday and head for the shelter of home. Over the few days we had periods of very high winds and heavy rain showers but managed to get some good paddling miles under our hulls. The Centre catered for us with hearty breakfasts and evening meals and hot showers were a saviour.
Colin Whitehead was over from Canada and he made the very sensible decision to paddle tandem with his 12 year old granddaughter. I lent him my Chestnut Deer which, with a keel paddles beautifully. I paddled my Stewart River designed Pal, Sam his 1910 Chestnut Teddy, Alick his self built Peterborough stripper and Andy his 1930 Peterborough 16S which I had restored in 2022 and sold to him.
On the Thursday night we went to the pub to sample the craft brewery beer and have a meal. On Friday there were high winds coming up from the south across Barton Broad so we headed up the River Ant , Sutton/Stalham Broads and reached the museum of the Broads at Stalham which would be our turnaround point. We were mostly reasonably well sheltered but at one point it stair rodded with rain and on the return leg the wind shifted right onto our noses which made the last few hundred yards a real toil. But we did it and Colin celebrated with a mud roll back at the staithe much to everyones amusement.
On the Saturday the sun was out and although windy we opted to paddle up the River Ant and then onto the North Walsham & Dilham Canal which is a beautiful private canal in the process of being rewatered and brought back into use section by section. It is always a lovely paddle and never disappoints. There is a toll to be paid at an honesty box of £5 per canoe but it is well worth it. We didn't see any otters but did see a lot of Marsh Harriers and the occasional Kingfisher.
Above is Hunsett Mill one of the many drainage mills found within the Norfolk Broads. These were built to pump water rather than mill grain
The canal is wooded and sheltered initially but then opens out. It was used by steam and sailing wherries to transport grain out and coal in. The coming of the railways was the death knell for the canal but today it's interesting to see that the canal is coming back to life whilst the railway is now redundant as it was closed in the 1960's. The railway is now a cycleway and footpath much of which runs close to the canal.
Colin decided to try Sam's 12' Chestnut Teddy and liked it so much asked to repatriate it to Canada; the answer was a firm NO!
Andy was proudly displaying his WCHA burgee but at one point the trip was all to much for him and he just had to put his feet up!
The return trip was about 11 miles. We set off at 10am, got back for afternoon tea at 4pm, suppered, drank wine and some nice single malt and a couple of my leftover Fireballs, slept, got awoken by Storm Kathleen at 1am, took shelter in the Centre building and then made our way home on Sunday.
Thanks to all who attended. Colin's granddaughter for her first ever paddle, had a baptism of fire but coped admirably without complaint.
Cheers,
Nick
The first quarter of this year has been exceptionally wet and the water levels are very high. Above shows the flooded access to the staithe. We ended up using the adjacent Parish Staithe which was easier to access but still very muddy and soggy.
The majority of the group arrived on Thursday with one member joining us on Friday. People got to paddle on Thursday, Friday and Saturday but with the UK being battered by Storm Kathleen we all opted to pack up early on the Sunday and head for the shelter of home. Over the few days we had periods of very high winds and heavy rain showers but managed to get some good paddling miles under our hulls. The Centre catered for us with hearty breakfasts and evening meals and hot showers were a saviour.
Colin Whitehead was over from Canada and he made the very sensible decision to paddle tandem with his 12 year old granddaughter. I lent him my Chestnut Deer which, with a keel paddles beautifully. I paddled my Stewart River designed Pal, Sam his 1910 Chestnut Teddy, Alick his self built Peterborough stripper and Andy his 1930 Peterborough 16S which I had restored in 2022 and sold to him.
On the Thursday night we went to the pub to sample the craft brewery beer and have a meal. On Friday there were high winds coming up from the south across Barton Broad so we headed up the River Ant , Sutton/Stalham Broads and reached the museum of the Broads at Stalham which would be our turnaround point. We were mostly reasonably well sheltered but at one point it stair rodded with rain and on the return leg the wind shifted right onto our noses which made the last few hundred yards a real toil. But we did it and Colin celebrated with a mud roll back at the staithe much to everyones amusement.
On the Saturday the sun was out and although windy we opted to paddle up the River Ant and then onto the North Walsham & Dilham Canal which is a beautiful private canal in the process of being rewatered and brought back into use section by section. It is always a lovely paddle and never disappoints. There is a toll to be paid at an honesty box of £5 per canoe but it is well worth it. We didn't see any otters but did see a lot of Marsh Harriers and the occasional Kingfisher.
Above is Hunsett Mill one of the many drainage mills found within the Norfolk Broads. These were built to pump water rather than mill grain
The canal is wooded and sheltered initially but then opens out. It was used by steam and sailing wherries to transport grain out and coal in. The coming of the railways was the death knell for the canal but today it's interesting to see that the canal is coming back to life whilst the railway is now redundant as it was closed in the 1960's. The railway is now a cycleway and footpath much of which runs close to the canal.
Colin decided to try Sam's 12' Chestnut Teddy and liked it so much asked to repatriate it to Canada; the answer was a firm NO!
Andy was proudly displaying his WCHA burgee but at one point the trip was all to much for him and he just had to put his feet up!
The return trip was about 11 miles. We set off at 10am, got back for afternoon tea at 4pm, suppered, drank wine and some nice single malt and a couple of my leftover Fireballs, slept, got awoken by Storm Kathleen at 1am, took shelter in the Centre building and then made our way home on Sunday.
Thanks to all who attended. Colin's granddaughter for her first ever paddle, had a baptism of fire but coped admirably without complaint.
Cheers,
Nick
