Woods End Staithe

[Broads01]

I was watching one of Robin's blogs from a couple of years ago that I hadn't yet seen,  'Brinks Omega Day 2' and blow me the video shows somewhere I didn't know existed -  Woods End Staithe.  The video shows Robin turning east of Barton near the island and down a short dyke.  At the Staithe there seemed to be space for one small boat along with a few private moorings (most of which were empty on the day of filming). 

Last year I visited two places I knew existed but had never seen (Coltishall lock and Catfield Dyke). This year I can look forward to somewhere else brand new -  thanks to Robin.  I've only been coming to the Broads for 36 years! 

[LizG]

There used to be another dyke off Barton on that side Catfield Staithe. All attempts to find the original entrance failed at last year's Barton regatta. I have a late 1960s Hamilton's guide and it's mentioned there, we read the details, looked at the map but no joy. I am sure I rowed /paddled down in the 60s. In my years of boating I have never turned left half way down Catfield dyke, it used to be the navigable bit in the 60s and more recently the bit of the Yare by the rowing club.  Also I have just remembered Acle dyke...And under the railway bridge at Geldeston. On my wish list is to canoe to Aylsham and Bungay and any bits north of Honing that have water in. Have I missed anything?

[Vaughan]

9 hours ago, w-album said:

Have I missed anything?

The old bend of the Bure to the south of St Benets. I have been in there in a canoe, from Fleet Dyke and it may be still accessible

[Wussername]

1 hour ago, Vaughan said:

The old bend of the Bure to the south of St Benets. I have been in there in a canoe, from Fleet Dyke and it may be still accessible

Had a look last summer and it was very overgrown, you would struggle in a canoe.

[Vaughan]

That's a pity, it's lovely up there. It still shows on Timbo's Lidar images as quite a lot of deep water, so maybe a bit of portage of the canoe would be worth while?

I have remembered that when I went in there I was, that time, in a dinghy. Mind you, it was 40 years ago!

[marshman]

Me too Vaughan!! But probably 50 yrs ago !!! It is still around in bits but whilst it is overgrown it is still deep! You certainly cannot walk across it ,even in waders - several years ago I was working out there with big machines and we had to use the interlocking floats to make a proper crossing - none of these little sleeper mats!!

[Springsong]

I went in there about 35 years ago. I had an Atco boat impeller which I wanted to try out, we got a fair way in.

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[Wussername]

As I have got older I have looked upon quanting as a spectator sport. To be enjoyed by those people broad of beam and deep chested.
Whilst in my capacity of Quant Master, to threaten and cajole those less fortunate, we were near to St Benet's Abbey on the river Bure. The quanting was silent except for the laboured breathing of the poor unfortunate. Then all of a sudden we were no longer quanting on a soft yielding bottom (Gulp!) but for perhaps five or six yards, may be more, one could hear the rasp of shingle when we were close to or just past the original course of the Bure.
I am no expert on these matters but what caused the change, a gravel cattle crossing perhaps, a ford at low water, or more probably the debris from an old quayside or indeed fortification?
Andrew

[Springsong]

I was lucky enough thirty odd years ago to fly as low as one was allowed to or maybe even lower. One time was in a 1947 piper cub a high winged plane which flat out was maybe 70 to 80 mph. we used to find a good head wind and hover over the top of hire boats. The point of this story is that one could actually see the old cattle river crossings and the ancient paths across the landscape. Really very interesting even for a relatively uneducated, at least in this field , person such as myself. I remember there being a ford just up river of Wroxham Bridge one at the pub down river of Acle the Ferry, sorry having a senior moment. I cannot remember any more at  present. 

 

[LizG]

1 hour ago, springsong said:

I remember there being a ford just up river of Wroxham Bridge one at the pub down river of Acle the Ferry,

 

That's at Stokesby, footpath on the map on the other side goes to nowhere.  In 3RRs it is known for competitors to find the shallow bit

[Vaughan]

There was also Mautby Swim and Runham Swim, further downstream.

[Wussername]

20 minutes ago, Vaughan said:

There was also Mautby Swim and Runham Swim, further downstream.

Were they cattle crossing Vaughan?

[Vaughan]

Yes, cattle "swims". There was another one going across the river in Thorpe, which is nowadays called the Horsewater.

[Labrador]

2 hours ago, springsong said:

I was lucky enough thirty odd years ago to fly as low as one was allowed to or maybe even lower. One time was in a 1947 piper cub a high winged plane which flat out was maybe 70 to 80 mph. we used to find a good head wind and hover over the top of hire boats. 

 

Was that the one that used to fly out of a field near South Walsham Barry?

[Springsong]

Yes that's the one it belonged to a chap named Marjoram. I never met him as the poor chap had been killed on the A47 some years previously, his wife still let a couple of people fly it. The fuel gauge was a piece of welding rod in a cork through a hole in the engine cover, when it disapeared  you were gliding.

[BryanW]

Just been looking at my 1978 Hamiltons and thought I would attach a couple of scans.  Interestingly the text indicates that there were public moorings off Barton Broad on the east side "A public staithe with good moorings provided by Broadland Owners Association is also in this section" A10L  A boathouse (B H) is indicated both just north of Pleasure Hill on the east bank in an inlet and, also, somewhat further north in A11L.

[Timbo]

That's superb Bryan...I'm going to have to get me one of those books! It prompted me to spend a half hour browsing the historical maps of the area to discover what we call Pleasure Hill...probably isn't, the water level in Barton was much higher in antiquity and my new favourite Broads Placename in 'Deadman's Hole'!

2014 OS Map

1988 Aerial Photo

1946 Aerial Photo

1879 OS Map

1797 Faden Map

[Broads01]

Woods End Staithe is also on Richardsons holiday map.  I now know not to be a clever clogs and not bother to open the map because I think I can see the whole map in my head. 

[BryanW]

Love the old maps Tim.  I guess the dotted line on the 1879 OS map is a ferry across to Neatishead or Gays Staithe, because Hamiltons mentions a shoal running from the Neatishead channel towards Catfield.  Looking at Google Maps the moorings at Woods End are very clear.

What it needs is someone with a shallow draught boat equipped with GPS and a depth sounder to explore. don't think I will try with a hire boat as much as I would love to.  Google maps is showing the location to the entrance as 52.738967 1.500352 so it should be easy to find with GPS.

[Timbo]

Hi Bryan,

The dotted line on the 1879 map is the Parish Boundary. Parish boundaries followed the courses of rivers. So here we have a good opportunity to follow the course of the old river Smale as it was called before they changed it's name to the Ant when they produced the Fadden Map.
 

The ruler straight parish boundary across the broad is exactly that the surveyor ruled a line on the map to delineate the new parish boundary once the river had been diverted through the Broad. From Woods End the bottom of the Catfield Wood the original path of the river would have followed the eastern bank of the Broad northwards.

I've traced the parish boundary and the path of the old river to the south below.

[LondonRascal]

Fascinating!

I remember when I filmed Woods End Staithe (the video below will play from the point we cruise to the Staithe) being rather worried about depth and moreover what would 'people' say for this to be publicised in such a fashion - hence my quote on the video from Jacques Cousteau:

“When one man, for whatever reason, has the opportunity to lead an extraordinary life, he has no right to keep it to himself”

It is allowed to be cruised to and moored at. and without use will be forgotten so why keep such things to oneself?

Omega has a draft of about 3ft and she was okay - B.A has a depth log - the issue is the Staithe is pretty small - 30-35ft of mooring, and around it is private mooring and property and a bunch of tree roots plunging into the water making turning here a tricky thing in a longer boat - also I'd imagine in the season the mooring would be pretty overgrown but worth knowing about as a 'secret' place out of the way.

 

[LizG]

6 hours ago, BryanW said:

A boathouse (B H) is indicated both just north of Pleasure Hill on the east bank in an inlet and, also, somewhat further north in A11L.

 

 

The one further north in A11L was the one I tried to find in the summer and was the one I paddled down in the late 1960s which I believed to be 'Catfield Dyke' as opposed to the one off Hickling Broad

[BryanW]

21 hours ago, w-album said:

The one further north in A11L was the one I tried to find in the summer and was the one I paddled down in the late 1960s which I believed to be 'Catfield Dyke' as opposed to the one off Hickling Broad

Sorry, I was rather confused about which one you meant.  On Google Maps the one in A11L (52.744336  1.499050) does show up but the entrance looks rather overgrown, I suspect you may need a chainsaw.

[BryanW]

Just had a thought (unusual I know); maybe Lord Paul could investigate with his drone.

[LizG]

1 hour ago, BryanW said:

On Google Maps the one in A11L (52.744336  1.499050) does show up but the entrance looks rather overgrown, I suspect you may need a chainsaw.

 

Bit more than a chainsaw, the entrance was just a mass of reed/sedge - infact it was a bad move to even force my way through what I was pretty sure was the entrance based on the map and features in the background.  In a rowing boat with oars I was blown on completely (it was windy) and got very tangled up with the underground vegetation to the point i was almost stuck!