Ranworth to St. Benet's Abbey and return, with afternoon tea on board

St Benet's Abbey lies deep in the Broads, close to the confluence of the River Bure and the River Ant. It was the only Norfolk monastery founded in the Anglo-Saxon period which continued in use throughout the Middle Ages, and was a thriving monastery in the 12th Century. Every year an open-air service takes place in the Abbey ruins, conducted by the Bishop of Norwich, and this service is the focus for today’s sailing. 

The sailing begins at Ranworth from where we sail across Malthouse Broad and out on to the river Bure, turning downriver to St. Benet's Abbey.  We will be following another wherry yacht which will be conveying the Bishop of Norwich and his party.  The wide reedbeds and marshland reveal the iconic abbey gatehouse ruins as we sail to our mooring.  A short walk takes you to the abbey church site where the service takes place at 3:30pm and lasts 45-60 minutes (you may want to bring a rug or folding chair).  On your return to the Wherry Yachts we enjoy afternoon tea with the other guests before sailing back to Ranworth where we aim to be back around 7pm.

This sailing will be aboard one of our three wherry yachts: Olive, Norada or White Moth. These surviving wherry yachts were all built by the Wroxham based boatbuilder and designer Ernest Collins. They spent over three decades within his hire fleet, followed by a period of mixed fortunes in private ownership after World War II, before they were reunited in 2012 by the Wherry Yacht Charter Charitable Trust. 

Please park in the car park of St. Helen's Church, Ranworth, NR13 6HS and make your way to the public staithe by 1:15pm where a crew member will meet you.

We operate on "wherry time", subject to wind and tide, and so our return time may not always be as advertised.