Exploring the Aylsham Navgation

Canoe trip down the Aylsham Navigation

November 2019

I spent much of my adolescence messing about on the River Bure near my home village of Coltishall in Norfolk. If I wasn't swimming in it I was fishing, sailing or canoeing. 

One way or another I always seemed to find myself somewhere near the river, and often on the reaches above Coltishall Lock which comprised the Aylsham Navigation, before it was washed out in a huge flood in 1912.

I have always fancied making a canoe trip along the old navigation and a few weeks ago I have the opportunity to do just that, accompanied by my son Dan.

We sent a day travelling from Aylsham to Coltishall in a canoe rented from The Canoe Man, taking advantage in a small window of opportunity when the river level subsided enough to make the passage possible.

I took my trusty GoPro with me and made thee videos of the trip into which I have woven an account of its history, along with my recollections of life on the river in the 1970's.

For those of you without a YouTube account her are three links to the videos:

Episode 1 - Aylsham to Burgh

Episode 2 - Burgh to Buxton

Episode 3 - Buxton to Coltishall

Horstead Mill - Autumn Colours

Horstead Mill - Autumn Colours

November 2011

We recently attended my mothers 80th Birthday celebration in Norfolk and our return took us past Horstead Mill, one of my favourite locations.

I realised that Belle had never seen this spot, and maybe, just maybe, there would be some beech leaves clinging to the branches of the trees near the site of the old lock keepers cottage.

We walked over and were rewarded with a splendid autumnal display.

If I were to be cremated I would like my ashes sprinkled here - but as I plan to be buried that could be a little difficult.......

Horstead Mill and Coltishall Lock

Horstead Mill and Coltishall Lock

River Bure / Aylsham Navigation

7th December 2010

This is one location in North Norfolk hat draws me back time and time again.

Horstead Mill - November 2010

Its a pretty enough spot but the real reason for my return visits is it's nostalgic connection with my youth. This was my playground where we used to swim, fish, canoe and do all the sort of stuff you would expect of a Swallows and Amazons life.

Coltishall Lock - with a film of ice

These days it's all sanitised and cleaned up. All the nettles and brambles are gone and it's been transformed from a wasteland to a public amenity, and it's all the better for that. Normally I am saddened by the loss of rough untamed edges, but if this means that more people can enjoy this oasis of tranquility then it has to be a good thing. I guess I am saying that I if were on the local  council and wanted to do something positive with the site (rather then see it sold for yet another mill conversion) I would do very much what has been done.

Coltishall Lock Pool - current head of navigation on the River Bure

I came past one snowy day and couldn't resist a peep. The footprints in the snow showed that others had been there before, but for the duration of my late afternoon visit I had the place to myself. These photos show how changing seasons have an impact on a location and, like canals, there are different things to be enjoyed on each occasion one visits.

Avenue of trees above Coltishall Lock

My gripe, minor though it it, are the big warning signs prohibiting swimming or diving in the mill pool. They are inevitable in our nanny state, but I truly hope they are as casually disregarded by the locals as they used to be. Sure the place has its inherent risks but that's all part and parcel of swimming in open waters.

Aylsham (River Bure) Centenary

Centenary celebration of the closure of the River Bure           July 2010   Given my interest in the Aylsham Navigation which follows the course of the upper Bure from my childhood home in Coltishall to Aylsham in North Norfolk, a forthcoming celebration ro rival the Olympic Games in 2012 has been brought to my attention. Stu Wilson is the catalyst for some form of comemorative event to mark the closure of the navigation on 26th August 1912, the day of the great flood. I think every village has a record of "a great flood" but this one was very real and washed away all the locks leaving one wherry stranded half way up. They are looking for enthusiasts to get involved and make this happen. This waterway is ripe for restoration with few blockages, loads of water,  just some missing locks. So if you fancy raising the profile of this navigation drop Stu Wilson a line as detailed below. Hello,   I have written to you all before about my idea of commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Aylsham Navigations closure which is on August 26th 2012. For a succesful event we need to start planning very soon. I'm very pleased to say that Aylsham Town Council at their meeting last evening backed this proposal in principle and so it is now time to move to the next step.   At some point in September of this year I will call a meeting to discuss this idea to be held at Aylsham Town Hall. I have already had a lot of positive feedback and some good ideas of ways in which we can commemorate this important event in our local history. There is no reason why we have to limit ourselves to one event, indeed we can undetake research and also have fun in some way. It's all up for discussion. The hope is that at the September meeting we can form a working party to drive this forward. However I am keen, as I'm sure you are, that this proposal gets as wider a base of support and participation as possible. For this reason, before setting up the meeting, I invite you to consider any organisations or individuals in your communities and sphere who may wish to be involved. Feel free to forward this email to them but please ask if they wish to be involved they should email me with their details so i can include them in the meeting invite.   You may be interested to see http://norfolkmills.co.uk/aylsham-navigation.html   Once again, thank you.   Regards   Stu Wilson 01603 279510 07867 527682

Burgh Mill reworked

Reworking the image of Burgh Mill

13th May 2010

This digital photography course of mine has the hidden benefit of causing me to revisit my old files of photos and having a go at re-working some of them in Photo Shop Elements (PSE).

I don't know if any of you have experience of PSE, but it's functionality is far superior to the proprietory sofware which came with the camera. You have to start with a decent RAW image but then there is so much that can be done to enhance it in the digital darkroom.

Burgh MIll, Nr Aylsham

I used this image of Burgh Mill as a test for a number of features, a photo which cost me a very wet foot when I waded over a flooded meadow last November.

I like the fact that the mill is still in is raw state, ie it hasn't been converted and it's woodwork is all original, if somewhat rotten. It is attached to a beatifully restored mill house, but this is hidden in the trees. The one element which didn't fit was the TV ariel  as this poked out above the apex of the roof. I made my first forray into picture manipulation are "lost" the ariel completely. I am sure my effort was clumsy in the extreme but I am pleased with the end result.

Aldborough Mill revisited

Aldborough Mill revisited

12 May 2010

I posted an entry about North Norfolk's Aldborough Mill on New Year's Day and it provoked quite a response from the local inhabitants. 

Back of Aldborough Mill

One comment which stuck in my mind was in response to my observation that it wasn't the most likely candidate for a conversion, being based on a series of rather ramshackle asbestos extensions. I am sure Prince Charles would have found the word 'carbunkle' coming to mind (in its unconverted format).

As I was passing through the village on Sunday with Jeff and Matilda we parked up and walked round Aldborough Mill on the Weavers Way. At first glance it has retained more of the proportions than I anticipated, and bore a passing similarity to the original. However, and there has to be a however, my issue isn't with the shape but the materials used.

Old Norfolk watermills tend to be clap boarded (not asbestos covered) and to try and achieve this feel PVC "planks" have been added. This substance is not weathering well and instead of gaining a flaky patina of age they just look grubby and tired. I know they need less maintenance but I would go for real wood fixed to a brick wall anyday - even if it does need re-painting every five years or so.

Corpusty Mill - with its PVC coated upper section

I am glad the mill has survived, but the plactic coating was a real mistake - and one which has been repeated elsewhere.

Aldborough Mill, Norfolk

Aldborough Mill

Scarrow Beck, Norfolk

January 2010

Hi and welcome to my first post of 2010.

Scarrow Beck, a small tributary of the River Bure above Aylsham in Norfolk is far from navigable and you might wonder what place it has in my blog. You will have gathered by now that my entries can be a bit idiosyncratic and at times, and my watery connections a tad tenuous - and this is one such entry.

Aldborough Mill in the late 1800's

Aldborough Mill is a watermill in the wilds of North Norfolk, and a mill has stood on the site since before the Domesday Book was compiled over a thousand years ago. The place can therefore be said to have history, but my connection goes back a mere 200 years in the shape of my maternal  family, the Cooke's, who occupied the mill from the early 1800's till about 1960. You could say that milling is in my blood, going back umpteen generations including both my grandfather Thomas Cooke and subsequently my father. Sadly, as you will have noticed from my recent blog entries, the many water mills in Norfolk fell silent in the 1960's and 1970's, with mass production, bulk transport and palletisation rendering the old mills asobsolete as the slide rule. 

 Aldborough Mill 1900

My grandfather's and father's last mill, Coltishall Granaries Limited came to a conclusion whilst I was still at school and it was perhaps a mercy that they took the decision to wind it up rather than soldier on, endowing me with a huge white elephant. Having said that, their commercial interests and entrepreneurial spirit live on and play an active part in my career in commercial finance.

Aldborough Mill 1917

 So, what of Aldborough Mill? The Cooke family ended up buying the site in the 1800's and went on to run other mills in the area, with my grandfather inheriting the Aldborough Mill operation when he was 21 in 1920 - pulling him back from service in the first world war as milling was a reserved occupation.

William Cooke Snr and Robins Cooke (1895 and 1909)

 

Henry Carter Cooke and Thomas Carter Cook (my great grandfather) 1909

The business as he knew it was founded by his father, Thomas Carter Cooke, who assumed control as the last surviving brother of the Cooke dynasty. No history of Aldborough is complete without mention of the Cooke's of Aldborough Mill. My grandfathers younger brother, Oliver lived in the village till his death a few years ago, and representatives of the Cooke clan live there still.

 Thomas William and Hilda Cooke on the day of their marriage

Tom Cooke circa 1960

As to the mill, it was a fully operational watermill complete with a big millpool till it was filled in by prisoners of war during the First World War, after which the power was obtained from a steam engine, which was both more powerful and reliable. This steam engine gave way to early gas engines and then huge slow running Crossland diesel units. 

As the mill expanded it consumed the mill house and additional levels were added to the top, all clad in beautiful asbestos. In the end the place used no less than five diesel engines each of which was heavy enough to sink a narrowboat.  Whilst milling and associated activities ceased at Aldborough Mill in the late 1950's, with production moved to Coltishall, I remember being taken round the silent building by my grandfather and smelling the engines and seeing the bricked up arch of the mill race which had stood beneath a sucession of mills for hundreds and hundreds of years.

Aldborough Mill 1981

Aldborough Mill was a utilitarian building, enlarged to do a job with few concessions to beauty. It was therefore not an immediate candidate for conversion to housing, although this was finally achieved with some style, but little of the original was allowed to remain.

Aldborough Mill mid 1950's

I can almost still smell the dust, the spices and the hot engines as I see the photos of the mill, although these 'memories' are transferred from Coltishall Granaries where the machinery and processed continued to be used for a further 15 years.

The Captains Shed 2009

One final curiosity is the first  shed seen on the right in the 1950's photo (above), which was used for seed sales. This was ultimately transferred to my grandfathers garden in North Walsham. Now, by a strange twist of fate, this has been gifted to me! A small link with an illustrious past.

Aylsham Mill and Staithe

Aylsham Mill and Staithe

River Bure / Aylsham Navigation

December 2009

Aylsham Mill represents the ultimate head of navigation on the River Bure and the associated Aylsham Navigation, with wherries covering the last couple of miles from Burgh via a long canal section to the east of the river itself.

Aylsham Staithe 1928

The Aylsham Navigation was a success and caused the town to grow wealthy, with a sizeable terminus springing up in the vicinity of the mill. Whilst wherries could make their way alongside the downstream side of the mill itself, most would have been loaded and unloaded at Aylsham Staithe at the end of the man made cut. The cut  remains in water and the staithe buildings have been converted into houses. Sadly the side arms and basin were all filled in in the 1970's, so one has to rely on old maps and a bit of imagination to picture how it all looked in its heyday.

Auction Map 1914

Curiously, the navigation appears to reach beyond the main road, passing under crumbling red brick bridge built in 1846 before turning sharply into Dunkirk. This stretch of water appears to be on a level with the millpool and I am not aware of a further lock to lift boats any higher, so this must have been the absolute head of navigation.

Alysham Mill with Whery 1902

Aylsham Mill seems to have been in the process of conversion for decades, and the task continues. I last visited the mill on a frosty day in late October 1981 when I was completing a canoeing certificate. I remember draging my  craft through a light frost and then having to capsize in the freezing waters, waiting for a fellow student to come and rescue me - probably the longest 30 seconds of my life.

Upstream of Aylsham Mill 1907

A fine old mill for a classic North Norfolk market town.

Aylsham Lock, River Bure Norfolk

Aylsham Lock

River Bure / Aylsham Navigation

November 2009

It's an irritating fact that Aylsham Lock is nowhere near Aylsham. Instead it sits a mile or so downstream from Aylsham Mill, at the far end of the longest canal section on the navigation, stepping down to the river level near its confluence with the main channel above Burgh Bridge.

Aylsham Lock 1928

This location makes access tricky, which is a long winded way of saying that I didn't manage to reach the lock on my recent exploration of the navigation. My on line research via Google Earth identified a useful looking track, but on reaching it I found it to be very clearly markerd 'Private Road, No Admittance'. This seemed like a very specific instruction and there was no way I could convince mother Ahab (aged 78 and 10 days) that an investigation was a good idea.

Confluence of the millstream and lock cut south of Aylsham

I could have taken a wander down the riverbank on foot, but given the pouring rain I decided to give it a miss and rely on library photos for the time being. Aylsham lock has always been a bit beyond my reach. I have tried unsuccessfully to get to it on two previous occasions, the first  being at the very end of a long solo canoe trip up from Mayton Bridge when I ran out of light and ended up with a two hour paddle in the darkness, and another an attempt to reach it down the lock cut from Aylsham Mill, when I ran out of water.

Never mind, there is always another year and a missing bit provides a good reason for a return visit.

Riverside Walk at Burgh Norfolk

Riverside Walk at Burgh, Norfolk

River Bure

November 2009

It's easy to assume that you say the name of this Norfolk village like the 'berg' bit of 'iceberg', but you would be wrong. To say it correctly think of 'borough' as in 'The Borough of Tower Hamlets' - not that there is the slightest similarity between the two places!

Footbridge behind Burgh Church

Burgh in Norfolk is a lovely little place with some spectacular houses, a village church worthy of a postcard and a lovingly tended village hall known as 'The Reading Room'. All in all, it's almost nice enough to tempt me back to Norfolk from the sunny climes of Birmingham...

Burgh Church from the River Bure

However, I digress. I visited Burgh to see the mill and lock and had discovered that the west bank of the river could be accessed via a footbridge behind the parish church. The resulting walk was a bit wet underfoot, but offered some sublime views and is well worth a return trip when the grey clouds have been replaced by sunshine and blue skies.

Reflections under a leaden sky - Burgh near Aylsham

If this navigation is ever re-opened I predict that the mooring opposite the church will be the most popular spot on the river.

Burgh Mill on the River Bure

Don't take my word for it - the pictures speak for themselves.

Rebuilt bridges of the River Bure

Rebuilt bridges of the River Bure
November 2009

The River Bure has relatively few road crossings along the upper reaches which comprised the Aylsham Navigation. Most are of a distinctive flat top design, which seems incongrous when viewed alongside the arched brick bridge at Coltishall before the 1912 flood, the double arch of the old isolated Mayton Bridge, or the red brick arches of the bridges at Aylsham.

Burgh Bridge 2009

In particular I am thinking of the bridges at Oxnead and Burgh, and to a lesser extent the one at Mayton Bridge.

Oxnead Bridge - South face

These structures appear to have been reapaired as a job lot after the 1912 flood and a bit of imagination is needed to imagine them in the days trading wherries passed beneath them.

Oxnead Bridge - North face

Burgh Mill and Lock, River Bure

Burgh Mill and Lock
River Bure / Aylsham Navigation
November 2009

Burgh is one of the more obscure mills on the Bure, with its distinctive multi peaked roofline.

Burgh Mill - upstream view 2009

Burgh Mill 1908

Gaining access to Burgh Lock represents something of a challenge, as it is surrounded by farmland and expensive housing, with few roads or tracks in the vicinity. Google Earth came to the rescue with evidence of a footbridge crossing river behind Burgh Church, which leads to a riverside footpath which runs down the west bank to the mill and lock.

Burgh Mill - downstream view 2009

This shallow lock, maybe three feet in depth, has been converted to a manually operated sluice, with winding gear similar to that used at Coltishall Lock in times past.

Burgh Lock 2009

Burgh Lock 1927

 As with the other locks on this navigation, this lock was damaged in the 1912 flood and the chamber has stood redundant for the better part of a century.

Burgh Lock sluice gear 2009

A short hop across the flooded water meadows provided a good viewpoint  for the dowmstream face of the watermill, which stands unused and unconverted.

Burgh Lockpool

Oxnead Mill and Lock

Oxnead Mill and Lock

River Bure / Aylsham navigation

November 2009

Oxnead Mill 2009

Oxnead Mill in 1905

My slow paddle up the Aylsham Navigation brings me to the remote section, just south of Aylsham. The next mill is Oxnead, this time an unconverted building sitting next to a very pretty mill house. This was near the limit of canoe day trips from Coltishall, but the intimate nature of the winding river and its achingly lovely setting of mills drew me back on regular occasions. For once I can report that this mill looks very much like it always has.

Oxnead Mill from the lockpool 2009

It did cross my mind to put the canoes on the top of the car and explore this area from the water, but then came the realisation that getting wet in mid November is no fun. What is more, I am still very protective towards my new SLR camera and I couldnt bring myself to risk it in the restricted and damp confines of the kayak.

Oxnead Lock after the 1912 flood

This visit as therefore undertaken on foot, with a prior reccie undertaken care of Google Earth. The satellite images suggested that it might be possible to gain access to the lock from the west bank, without resorting to an uncertain welcome at the millhouse. I needn't have worried, there is a clear path beside the river which runs right beside the lock chamber.

Oxnead Lock 2009

The lock is in good condition and even the bottoms of the lock gate posts can be seen in their quoins. A slippery trip was undertaken across the wier at the top, giving access to the whole lock area which was particularly attractive under the last few golden leaves of autumn.

Oxnead Lock 2009