South Walsham to St. Benet's & return, aboard a wherry yacht

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 South Walsham, a beautiful Broad with picturesque views seemingly a hundred miles from the rest of the world. We will be joined onboard by the Bishop and his party. Heading out of the Broad we join the River Bure by St Benet's Abbey and moor up. The open-air service begins at 3pm and lasts for 45-60 minutes. After the service, afternoon tea will be served onboard the wherry before our return sailing to South Walsham, arriving 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 at the Junction of Kingfisher Lane and Fleet Lane, South Walsham, NR13 6ED, by 1.10pm, ready for sailing at 1.30pm. The wherry will be moored at South Walsham Staithe, which is just 75 metres from the car park.  

We operate on "wherry time", subject to wind and tide, and so our arrival and any interim stops may not always be as planned.