Chapter XVI: Ormesby and Fritton

[Picture: Decorative drop capital] There are still some very important Broads in Norfolk and Suffolk, which I could not mention in an account of a cruise, because they are not accessible from the navigable waters, and, as a matter of fact, I know comparatively little about them for that reason. There are the Ormesby, Filby and Rollesby Broads, lying together in a straggling group four or five miles north-eastward of Acle. Altogether, they contain 800 acres of water, but much of this is overgrown by reeds. The Muck Fleet, which we passed below Acle Bridge, is their outlet into the river Bure. They are very easily accessible from Yarmouth by rail to Ormesby station, on the North Norfolk Railway, and boats may be obtained at the Eel's Foot, and the Sportsman's Arms, the former having fair staying accommodation. The fishing is free, at all events to persons going to the houses named, and uncommonly good sport is to be had amongst pike, rudd, and bream, the number of a catch being counted by the hundred, and the weight by the stone. For fishing, pure and simple, Ormesby Broad is as good a place as any to visit.

[Picture: Fritton Decoy]

The other lake I have not described is Fritton Decoy, a long curving lake, about a mile from St. Olave's station, on the Yarmouth and Lowestoft Railway, and Haddiscoe station, on the Norwich and Lowestoft Railway. It is only open to anglers from April to September, being closed the rest of the year, to protect the wild-fowl decoys, which are still worked on it, by the two proprietors. For a note upon these decoys, and others in Norfolk, I must refer the reader to a paper upon decoys, written by Mr. Thos. Southwell, F.Z.S., published in a new edition of that most fascinating book, Lubbock's "Fauna of Norfolk," issued by the publishers of this book, and for descriptive accounts to my own larger book, "Norfolk Broads and Rivers," published by Wm. Blackwood and Sons.

Fritton is an exceedingly beautiful Broad, and its waters are very deep. It is, in fact, a lake, rather than a Broad proper. It is extremely well stocked with fish, and good sport may generally be obtained there. Boats can be obtained at "Fritton Old Hall."

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