Camera Sketch (16)

 

 

Quay witnesses!

 

Past times?

 

Tine seems to have passed slowly in Blakeney.  The scene pictured in the previous post must have looked much the same a century ago.  To the left of the harbour photo two ‘crabbers’ are enjoying dangling their lines.  At the opposite end of the quay there is a stall selling cockles, mussels, crab and similar delicacies fresh from the sea.

But my attention was drawn particularly to the bicycle pictured above, resting against the railings skirting the quay.  Within living memory only the currency has changed!

 

 

Blakeney Harbour

Click the picture to enlarge

Blakeney is a coastal village in North Norfolk and is situated in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.  The North Borfolk Coastal Path passes alongside the quay.  The harbour attracts visitors and holoday makers throughout most of the year.

In the Middle Ages the harbour was of major importance and  in the mid-nineteenth century packet ships carried cargoes to Hull and Liondon  With the increase in the size of vessels the harbour fell into decline and began to silt up.  Today it is used only by small boats and provides regular trips to the seal colonies at Blakeney Point

 

 

Channel to the sea

 

 

Brancaster Staithe

 

 

‘Staithe’ is an Old English word for  wharf  –  a quay used for the loading and unloading of cargo.  Initially Brancaster was a busy  fishing harbour specialising in shellfish, but in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries it became noted particularly for  in the shipping of coal, grain and malt  (it was reputed to have the largest malthouse in Europe).  With the demise of sailing vessels and the development of other forms of transport, Brancaster fell into decline.  There is now only a small fishing fraternity  and the harbour is  devoted primarily to  a large number of pleasure craft

Wells-next-the-Sea harbour

 

 

 

Wells-next-the-Sea was once a busy port, especially in the nineteenth century.  It  boasted a fishing fleet that fished off Iceland,  imported coal for the industrial area of the north east and was a major supplier of malt to Dutch and London breweries.  A reminder of the past  is still evident in the granary, pictured in the first photograph.  The granary ceased production in 1990 and has since been converted into luxury flats. Wells is now primarily known as a seaside resort, but it still has a small fishing industry specialising in whelks, crab and lobster.

Thornham Harbour

Once an active small harbour, Thornham Harbour, North Norfolk, has become a mooring at the end of a muddy creek.  From the harbour to the sea is a 20 minute walk across salt marshes at low tide, although with spring tides, there is extensive flooding.  In addition to its legitimate trading purposes, in the eighteenth century the harbour became notorious for its smuggling activities  –  wool, tea, tobacco, alcohol etc.

 

 

(See also   https://lagill6.wordpress.com/2017/10/23/left-high-and-dry/ ‎)

The harbour

Porthgain

Porthgain is a small, attractive harbour on the St David’s Peninsula in Pembrokeshire.  Used mostly by local fishermen, it is popular with both holiday makers and boaters during the summer months.

It is difficult to believe that as recently as 1930 it was a prosperous industrial harbour exporting slate from nearby quarries and, later, crushed dolerite for roadstone.  The stone was stored in the large brick hoppers shown below.  The hoppers are now listed as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

On the quay

A quay or harbour can be an plentiful source for a photographer with an interest shapes, patterns, textures etc as the selection below illustrate:

Mooring ring

Disused fishing net

Fisherman’s keep box

Lobster pots