river is higher than the surface of the land, and the water is lifted out of the many drains and dykes by means of turbine wheels, worked by the windmills which form such conspicuous objects in the landscape, and by more pretentious steam drainage mills.

Surlingham Ferry, 6 miles by river from Norwich, next came into view.  The house, with its picturesque gables, lies in the shadow of a group of fine trees.  A horse and cart was being ferried across on the huge raft as we approached, and the chain was only just dropped in time for us to pass.

There is a good inn at the Ferry, with limited but comfortable staying accommodation; and excellent roach fishing is often obtainable.  The shore above the Ferry on the same side is suitable for mooring yachts to, as there is a fair depth of water close to the bank.

“What numbers of boats there are with people fishing?” said Wynne.  “Do they all catch anything?”

“Oh, yes, any quantity, as far as number goes, of roach, and bream, and some good fish too, but the larger fish are caught in the deeper water, lower down.”

Coldham Hall is the next fishing station of importance.  There is a good inn there, and plenty of boats for hire at a cheap rate.  Fishing and other boats can also be obtained at Messrs. H. Flowers and Co.’s new boating station, where yachts can be moored and laid up.  As the railway station (Brundall) is close to it, it is very convenient for anglers.  The mooring places at Brundall and Coldham Hall are not many, as the banks are very shoal.  In the reach between Brundall and Coldham Hall only the middle third of the river is navigable for yachts; and the same may be said of the long reach below Coldham Hall.  We could see half-a-dozen fishing boats under the lee of the point above the station.  It seems a favourite place, for I never passed it without seeing fishermen there.  But as the man had to sail the yacht round the great curve of the river, we took a short cut across Surlingham Broad in the jolly.

This Broad lies within a horse-shoe bend of the river, and has a navigable channel across it.  It is not deep enough, however, for yachts or laden wherries.  The Broad is largely affected by the tide, which sometimes leaves its shallows exposed.  The river, as I should have said, is tidal up to Norwich, and the force of the tide increases with every deepening of Yarmouth Haven.  We rowed up the dyke which leads on to the Broad, a small sheet of water, overgrown with weeds and very shallow, but a capital nursery for fish and fowl.  The fishing upon it is preserved.  Rowing across it, we entered another dyke, and emerged into the river again, and caught up the yacht.

Snipe abound on the marshes here, and their drumming can always be heard in the early summer.  The flat, far-reaching marshes glowed with a thousand tints of flower and grass, and the iris gleamed brightly in the lush margins of the river.  We sailed quietly on, down the curving reaches of the widening river, watching the slow-seeming flight of the heron, the splash of fish, the bending reeds, and the occasional boat-loads of anglers, until we came to the mouth of a dyke, about a mile long, up which we again rowed in the jolly, to explore Rockland Broad, where the open water is much more extensive than at Surlingham.  Here there are several eel-fishers’ floating abodes, Noah’s-ark-like structures, with nets and “liggers” dangling about them.  The fishing and shooting on the Broad are, at present, open to all.

This Broad is also much affected by the tide, as, notwithstanding its distance from the river, there are numerous connecting dykes permitting easy flow and re-flow of water.

Back in the yacht again, we reached Buckenham Ferry (ten and a half miles), a favourite angling rendezvous, with a railway station of the same name close by.  A long row of trees on the left bank is the cause of daily trouble to wherrymen and sailormen, as it shuts off the wind.  The man who plants trees by the side of a navigable river, where the navigation depends upon the wind, is the very reverse of a benefactor to mankind, and only selfishness or thoughtlessness can permit such an act.

There is fair mooring for yachts just below the Inn, on the same side, but they must be kept well off the shore by poles, or as the tide ebbs they will strand and perhaps fall over.  The Ferry Inn is noted for its comfort; and its limited staying accommodation is good.  The fishing is very good both up and down the river, and there are good boats for hire for fishing purposes.

The river now becomes very wide and deep, and the shoals near the banks, which abound in the higher reaches, are not so frequent.  I would call the especial attention of the river authorities to the disgraceful state of the river as far as Buckenham Ferry.  Each year the shoals and weeds increase, and the channel narrows, until in some places not more than a third of the river-width is available for the navigation.  The natural consequence will be that the navigation must gradually cease to be made use of, as it becomes a matter of difficulty, and the railway will take the trade, which might be kept to the river if a more energetic care of the navigable stream were taken.  This is a most serious matter, and ought to be attended to.

Next is Langley Dyke, near which are the reaches of the river where the principal regattas are held, and by the river side is Cantley Red House (fourteen miles).  Cantley railway station is very close to the river, and as the water is deep close to the bank, and there is some fairly firm ground, this is a favourite yachting station, with good mooring to the banks.  Comfortable quarters may be had at the Red House, and the fishing is good all about.  A little lower down, on the same side of the river, is another house, “Peart’s,” where one may obtain comfortable accommodation, and a “dock” where small boats may be safely left.

We delayed so long on our way that the wind was falling, as it usually does towards five o’clock on summer days: the tide had also turned, and we had it against us, so our progress was slow.  We passed the mouth of the Chet on our right, navigable some four miles up to Loddon.  Its mouth is marked by Hardley Cross, which forms the boundary between the Norwich and Yarmouth jurisdictions over the river.  We barely made headway as a public-house on the left, called Reedham Ferry, was reached, and a little lower down we lay to against the “rond,” or bank, and made all snug for the night.  A little further is Reedham village (eighteen miles), which is picturesquely situated on high ground on the north bank of the river.  The railway station is close by, and is the junction between the Yarmouth, Lowestoft, and Norwich lines.  There is staying accommodation