Entrance to Wells

[fergie_mac66]

ordinance survey

Hi fergie_mac66,

I was planning of doing a Wells to Morston trip up the creek soon but there seems
to be a bridge of some sort about a third of the way between the two; at least
according to google earth. Any idea what it is and if its still there?

Agree about the entrance. Can be very scary in daylight god knows what it
would be like at night. We had engine failure in a very strong westerly shortly
after just having passed the Lifeboat building on the way in. No great drama
but if it had conked out 5 or ten mins earlier it would have been a very different
story in 2-3m waves.

jono

Not been that way but cannot see a bridge on the ordinance survey open data map have a look here

http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/opendata/viewer/

doesnt mean there isn't one tho ! Sorry cannot help might be worth putting a note on the visitors book here

http://www.wellsharbour.co.uk/cgi-bin/3d/3d?action=gblist&page=40 asking locals

Not sure whether you would get a reply quickly but bob the harbour master looks at it and replies sometimes he would probably know.

 

[fergie_mac66]

Hi fergie_mac66,

I was planning of doing a Wells to Morston trip up the creek soon but there seems
to be a bridge of some sort about a third of the way between the two; at least
according to google earth. Any idea what it is and if its still there?

Agree about the entrance. Can be very scary in daylight god knows what it
would be like at night. We had engine failure in a very strong westerly shortly
after just having passed the Lifeboat building on the way in. No great drama
but if it had conked out 5 or ten mins earlier it would have been a very different
story in 2-3m waves.

jono

Having looked at google earth I think you ar right there is a foot bridge guess to get to Morston you would have to portage the dingy around the bridge .
Or go via sluice creek over the top then in up the Morston channel

 

[jono_howlett]

creek

Having looked at google earth I think you ar right there is a foot bridge guess to get to Morston you would have to portage the dingy around the bridge .
Or go via sluice creek over the top then in up the Morston channel

Yes that would be the route as the dingy is a bit too heavy to carry though with a bit of
luck it might fit underneath with the mast down.

jono

 

[MrCramp]

Wells to Morston

Just been looking at this trip as I fancy bringing my dinghy down to do it one weekend. From what I can see Spring High Tides are early morning and early evening so I suppose the trip is best done in a couple of months time when the mornings are lighter. I guess a very early start maybe 5am would be required.

Having done similar trips on the East Coast, I think it is easier, and more fun, if a number of dinghies make the trip together. If the lead one goes aground it can be pulled off by another. I don't fancy padling in mud unless it cannot be avoided. My Tabut Yak is very light so 2 people can carry it with the engine attached.

If anybody fancies doing this sometime in company please let me know. I suspect I would stay overnight somewhere, either camp, a bunkhouse, or a B&B.

 

[jono_howlett]

creek

Wells to Morston

Just been looking at this trip as I fancy bringing my dinghy down to do it one weekend. From what I can see Spring High Tides are early morning and early evening so I suppose the trip is best done in a couple of months time when the mornings are lighter. I guess a very early start maybe 5am would be required.

Having done similar trips on the East Coast, I think it is easier, and more fun, if a number of dinghies make the trip together. If the lead one goes aground it can be pulled off by another. I don't fancy padling in mud unless it cannot be avoided. My Tabut Yak is very light so 2 people can carry it with the engine attached.

If anybody fancies doing this sometime in company please let me know. I suspect I would stay overnight somewhere, either camp, a bunkhouse, or a B&B.

Hi MrCramp,

Sounds an excellent idea. I was toying with going last week but the light is the problem; well that and the rain/cold etc. What similar trips have you done on the North Norfolk coast? Have you done Norton creek and round Scolt head ie Brancaster - Burnham Overy Staithe?

jono

 

[fergie_mac66]

Yes that would be the route as the dingy is a bit too heavy to carry though with a bit of
luck it might fit underneath with the mast down.

jono

Pretty sure you wont get under the bridge one or two of them about in rspb sites and they are very very low .

I am sure you know this but for anyone who doesn't one extra complication to bear in mind in the , perhaps, hr up to high water ,during the stand, and , perhaps the hr after high water, at high springs the channels are coverd and thus invisible . used to have some pictures but i cannot find them at mo' of high tides. Bound to be some on the wells web site. as for paddling in mud the channels tend to be vertical steep sided and even the shallow ones tend to be more than waist deep.Makes an interesting trip!

 

[fergie_mac66]

A lot of the pictures seem to have gone of the wells site and this is the only one that shows the channels at high springs!

http://www.wellsharbour.co.uk/gal/hightide/marsh.htm

 

[MrCramp]

Hi MrCramp,

Sounds an excellent idea. I was toying with going last week but the light is the problem; well that and the rain/cold etc. What similar trips have you done on the North Norfolk coast? Have you done Norton creek and round Scolt head ie Brancaster - Burnham Overy Staithe?

jono

Not done any similar trips in Norfolk, done them further south on the upper Deben and the Walton Backwaters (when I should have been working on my boat).

yes Fergie
Need to start these trips as the tide comes in so we can see where the channels are. Perhaps take a load of 6ft canes with us so we can mark the channel so we can come back down it as the tide goes out if we have to.

I don't want to get in the drink/mud which is why I say it is easier with at least two boats. Perhaps it could be done on a bigger neap tide.

 

[jono_howlett]

Creek

Pretty sure you wont get under the bridge one or two of them about in rspb sites and they are very very low .

I am sure you know this but for anyone who doesn't one extra complication to bear in mind in the , perhaps, hr up to high water ,during the stand, and , perhaps the hr after high water, at high springs the channels are coverd and thus invisible . used to have some pictures but i cannot find them at mo' of high tides. Bound to be some on the wells web site. as for paddling in mud the channels tend to be vertical steep sided and even the shallow ones tend to be more than waist deep.Makes an interesting trip!

It seems Im just going to have to go and have a look at the bridge but it dosent sound promising.

High tide stuff. I have made exactly this mistake in the past and lost the channels. Nothing like floundering around in Norfolk mud miles from anywhere!

jono

 

[smartcom]

Hi,
I can't help with current information about Wells, but why not think about participating in TeamSurv (http://www.teamsurv.eu)?
We're getting people to log GPS and depth data from their instruments - we supply a data logger on free loan that works with NMEA0183 and Seatalk. This is then uploaded to the web site where we apply tidal and other corrections. You can see the initial results online, and at the moment we're doing more advanced data processing to produce chartlets which will be available to be downloaded from the site in due course.

 

[CX54WEK]

We visited Wells for the first time last summer, we absolutely fell in love with the place. So much so that we are taking the boat back there again this summer for a few days. Its a great place to chill out and unwind.

The channel was quite clearly marked but we found that it was quite shallow in parts. We made the mistake of following the fishing fleet out about half an hour before the Harbour Master recommended we leave, we wont do that again in a hurry!!

The new pontoons almost dry out at low water. We had to lift the drive to ensure we didnt bury it in the mud.