Upcoming events this year

We have lots of events to tempt you this year, and will be making an appearance at various local events with an information stall and merchandise and raffle tickets where possible. As well as the listings here, you will find these events on a handy calendar below.

Main events

First Sundays of each month, May-September - guided walks along Wherryman's Way: Adults £4, under-12s £2, pre-booking not required - just turn up on the day. Lunch is not included but there is a convenient pub for all of them and a suggested time if you wish to book your own table (phone number given).

Sun 2nd May: Wherryman's Walk 1

Meet at Coldham Hall Tavern, Surlingham, NR14 7AN, ready to walk at 10am (7 miles), suggest lunch 1pm (01508 538366)

Sun 6th June: Wherryman's Walk 2

Meet at Rockland St Mary staithe, opp. New Inn, NR14 7HP, ready to walk at 10.30am (5.5 miles), suggest lunch 1pm (01508 538403)

Sun 4th July: Wherryman's Walk 3

Meet at Loddon staithe car park, NR14 6ET, ready to walk at 10am (7.5 miles), suggest lunch at White Horse, 1.30pm (01508 520250)

Sun 1st Aug: Wherryman's Walk 4

Meet at Reedham railway station, NR13 3JF, at 9.45am to catch the 9.56am train to Berney Arms (£1.90); (5 miles), suggest lunch at the Lord Nelson on the quay, 12.30pm (01493 701548)

Sun 5th Sept: Wherryman's Walk 5

Meet at Great Yarmouth railway station, NR30 1SD, ready to walk at 10am (5.5 miles) to Berney Arms, suggest lunch there at 12noon; train to Great Yarmouth at 2.02pm (£2) (01493 700303)

23rd May - afternoon tea at Stody Lodge Gardens. These beautiful rhododendron and azalea gardens are only open on Sundays in May each year, and each open day offers tea and cake served by, and in aid of, a local charity. We are lucky enough to have been offered the 23rd May and will be there with teapots at the ready and plenty of delicious home made cakes to tempt you! So please come and join us, enjoy the gardens and the tea, and help us to raise some much-needed funds. The gardens are open 2-5pm, admission is £4.50 with children under 12 free. Admission charges go to Stody and we benefit from the tea and cake sales.

11th June - talk from Steve Silk, local author of a book on the Wherryman's Way which is being published in May/June. This promises to be a very interesting and enjoyable evening, and we are delighted to have the Surlingham Ferry House as our venue. The talk starts at 7.30pm, and you can book a table for dinner in the pub beforehand if you wish. Admission free, but donations to WYCCT are requested. There will be books available to buy on the night.

Friends' event, 26th June - RAF Neatishead radar museum tour (Friends and their guests welcome)

Meet at the museum at 10am, £4 per person. Optional lunch (at own cost) at White Horse, Neatishead, 1.30pm. Contact Katy to book.

Stalls at other events
17th April - Wymondham St George's Day event, 1.30-5.
1st-3rd May - Ludham Church arts & crafts event, 10-5 daily.
20th June - model boat displays, Museum of the Broads, Stalham, 10.30-4.
1st-8th August - Ludham Church (as part of Open Churches Week) 10-5 daily, and fete (8th), 2.30-4.30.
20th-22nd August - Vintage Wooden Boat Association National Rally, Beccles quay, 12-5 Fri, 10-5 Sat, 10-12 Sun.
12th September - Window on Aylsham event, historical activites and stalls plus a talk from Matthew Rice, Aylsham Town Hall and surrounds, 2-5.
25th September - street collection, Roy's of Wroxham (food hall).

Events still to be confirmed
July, National Parks Week - event with the Norfolk Wherry Trust.
Late August/Sept - another Friends' event.
4th-5th September - Great Yarmouth Maritme Festival, South Quay. (The festival is on, our partcipation is TBC.)
October - quiz and supper, Wroxham.
November, January and March 2011- archive film shows in conjunction with the East Anglian Film Archive. Venues to be confirmed but we are looking at Norwich, Beccles and Holt.

Work continues on the boat base

11th February 2010
At the beginning of 2009 we embarked on an ambitious fundraising exercise to ensure sufficient funds were in place to commence phase two of the base building work, including dredging, piling, quay heading and replacement of workshops and sheds. Our target was £100,000, so with HLF match funding of 38.5% this meant securing approximately £72,200 ourselves. We achieved this as follows: The Wherry Tour was very successful with donations, merchandise and sailings income totalling £25,000. The crew's volunteer time allowed us to draw down £20,000 from the HLF in 'non-cash' contributions. We received further donations of £22,000 and offers of loans from two Friends, allowing work to begin as planned.

So far, two sheds and an important covered work area have been replaced, the boat basin has been dredged, and piling and quay heading are continuing. The boat shelter and workshop are now being replaced, and the old slipway has been removed and fabrication begun on the new steelwork. Work is scheduled for completion in mid 2010.

2009 Wherry Tour raised £25,000 - thank you for your support

30th November 2009
The 2009 Wherry Tour, "Hathor's Farewell", raised £25,000 through sailings, merchandise and donations. We would like to thank all of our passengers and visitors, and of course our hard-working volunteer crew, for making the tour such a success. In particular, the crew's efforts have allowed us to draw down an additional £20,000 from the Lottery fund, making an enormous difference to our financial position. Although we have to say a fond farewell to Hathor for the next few years, it's vital that we don't forget the all-important subtitle to the tour: "your chance to safeguard her return". On that, the work certainly continues, and we do still need your help and support. Watch this space for more events and ways in which you can support Hathor, Olive and Norada and our boat base rebuilding project.

Photo competition winners announced

31st October 2009
Following a late flurry of entries for our photo competition, the results are now available. Thank you to all who entered. Look out for some of the images on merchandise in 2010. We also hope to display entries alongside some of our information stalls (see above), space permitting.

2009 tour concludes

20th September 2009
On July 25th Hathor left Wroxham on the last leg of her 2009 tour - she returned on September 17th to a warm welcome from more than 80 well-wishers attending her Farewell Dinner at the Hotel Wroxham. Guests enjoyed a three-course meal, music from some talented local musicians, and were invited to join in an unexpected musical tribute courtesy of crew member Charles Bartram, after which glasses were raised to Hathor to wish her a swift return. Skipper Peter Bower spoke about this year's tour as well as some aspects of Hathor's history, and trustee Jane Bryant concluded with thanks to Peter, crew and other volunteers, Friends and supporters, and the event's organiser Pauline Simpson. A raffle was also held and raised over £350, in addition to over £400 from the dinner itself, with further donations still to be counted. It was a chance for all of us to mark the occasion, and also focus on the need to continue our hard work in order to restore the base and complete the work on Olive and Norada before we can then bring Hathor back into sailing order. On 18th September, without undue ceremony, Hathor was quietly quanted back to base at Barton House.

Royal Norfolk Show

1st August 2009 Thanks to the fine folk who brew Wherry Bitter, Woodforde's, we had a presence at the Royal Norfolk Show for the first time in 2009. We were able to gather donations and talk to show visitors to try and recruit more Friends. We really appreciate this support from Woodforde's and hope to do more with them in the future.

Friends' Chairman goes the distance to support the wherries

6th July 2009 On 28th June, chairman of the WYCCT Friends' Committee, Katy Walters, raised sponsorship for the Trust by completing a half-Ironman distance triathlon. The event consisted of a 1.9km lake swim, a 92km bike and a 21km run, and despite bike problems and scorching heat, Katy completed it in 7:00:32, raising over £600 in the process. She said: "It was definitely the hardest thing I have ever done, but the thought of all the support I had from friends and family really kept me going. Immediately afterwards I thought 'never again', but soon enough I found myself thinking that if I did another one I could surely get a faster time!" Read the pre-race article in the Evening News.

Olive's centenary

6th July 2009
In June, wherry yacht Olive's centenary was marked with a low-key occasion at WYCCT's Wroxham base involving four members of the family of her original builder, Ernest Collins. Read the full article from the Eastern Daily Press.

Raise a glass to Hathor!

21st May 2009 You'd better be quick to enjoy a very limited edition from Blackfriars Brewery: 'Hathor Bitter'. The beer was launched at the Great Yarmouth Beer and Cider Festival. Kindly sponsored by the Wherry Lines, a donation will be made to WYCCT for every bottle sold! We had some reserved just for members - but it is now (February 2010) sold out.