54 North Walsham Town GuideNorth Walsham & Dilham CanalThe North Walsham and Dilham Canal was originally 8.84 miles long, running from Antinghambone mills, north west of North Walsham, to its confluence with the river Ant at Wayford Bridge,near Stalham. It is Norfolk’s only locked wherry-sailing canal and opened in 1826. It served nearlyall the water mills in the valley and the various village staithes which it passed, with a wide varietyof cargoes. The North Walsham and Dilham Canal also carried some of the first luxury, skippered,pleasure wherries with all services provided by the crew, in the early days of that trade.The canal is easily accessible, in discreet places, to residents and visitors of North Walsham, locatedjust one mile from the town. The canal attracts hundreds of users annually, including fishermen,canoeists, sailors, open-water swimmers, wildlife enthusiasts and model boat fans, as well as gueststaking ‘solar-powered’ boat tours along the restored (and from the spring of 2023, the) remainingnavigable parts of the waterway. Canoes can be hired from Dilham Hall retreats on the lowest sectionbetween Honing lock and Wayford Bridge Junction.Dug by hand in just 14 months by 100 Bedfordshire Navvies, known as bankers because they werespecialist canal bank-builders, the canal was intended as a motorway of its day (when the localroads were little more than muddy farm cart-horse tracks which charged tolls), ideal for the fast andefficient transport of cargoes to and from mills along its route and onwards to the ports of GreatYarmouth and Lowestoft, to the city of Norwich as well as connecting many villages along the canaland the various Broads rivers.From the 1870s and 80s the canal was competing with the nascent railway network, the canalenjoyed over 50 years of successful but declining use and was eventually ‘abandoned’ for 1.1 milesabove Swafield in 1927. The last wherry, Ella, sailed the canal in 1934 and, thereafter, the canal beganto fall into disrepair. Decades of neglect followed, with sections becoming choked with vegetation,rotting wooden lock gates and crumbling brickwork.Sustained efforts to revitalise the canal began in 2000, with regular volunteer work parties –which continue to this day – tackling tasks, first under the auspices of the East Anglian WaterwaysAssociation and later, the project gained further momentum in 2008 with the founding of the NorthWalsham and Dilham Canal Trust, now a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). Its aim is to workwith canal and land owners, and the ever-increasing number of statutory bodies, to promote, forthe benefit of the public, the restoration, conservation, protection and improvement of the physicaland natural environment of the North Walsham and Dilham Canal and its canal corridor, includingwaterborne access to the navigation for all, wherever practical and affordable. There is an accessiblePublic Footpath from Royston Bridge on the Bacton Road, along the canal bank to Pigney’s Wood andthe public can readily launch canoes, paddle boards etc and fish from Ebridge Mill Pond.One mile is now completely open to navigation, thanks to the efforts of the late Laurie Ashton ofthe Old Canal Company and he completely restored one lock and did much of the work on anothermile or more upstream of that. Another lock has had new top gates fitted by NWDCT and the lowestsection is still just about navigable by small unpowered craft. The Trust hope eventually to restorenavigability to the middle section if permissions can be put in place. Many months of negotiations,paperwork and planning are in progress to start to achieve that.The continued upkeep and ongoing restoration of the canal can only be achieved with the help ofthe community. Volunteers are needed for a range of outdoor, indoor/office and water-based rolesand any offers of help and/or donations are always welcomed by the Trust. In particular, help is vitalin order to put on the annual Information Weekend on the weekend of 2nd & 3rd September 2023,to which all are invited.To find out more about volunteering, to support the Trust by becoming a member, or to take a trip onour guided boat tours (telephone 07585 160 772 to enquire), visit www.nwdct.org or search for theNorth Walsham & Dilham Canal Trust on social media.
The Local Environment 55Bluebell PondThe pond dates back to the 1600s when it was known as surveyors pit and it was used as a wateringshed for animals by people who transported cattle from the Midlands. The pond dried up afternew homes were built on the edge of North Walsham in 1987 and the hole ended up being usedas a rubbish tip. The Bluebell Pond Society was formed in 1990, headed by former Town Mayor,Roy Haynes, because the area had become an eyesore. The land was leased to the group by NorthWalsham Town Council and the dozens of volunteers re-established the pond, trees and nature.Many volunteers became involved and there is now an abundance of wildlife. The Society receivesabout £300 each year from the town council and holds two clean-up days each year. Wildlife atBluebell Pond includes newts, frogs, moorhens and wild ducks.The committee is now headed by Kev Richardson.web: www.facebook.com/bluebellpond.nw
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