Old Southwold on film

An interesting and often charming film about this much gentrified East Coast town. I must sail there one day! My thanks to Derek Simpson for posting the link.

The Leila Sailing Trust appeals for a little more financial help

The magnificent restored Victorian gentleman’s sailing yacht Leila has her new transom and new stanchions required by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s requirements for guard rails. The windlass has been fitted, and down below the ballast is secured with a wooden lattice. The electrics are all in conduit and waterproof boxes, a bilge alarm has been fitted and Perkins the engine runs sweetly.

It all sounds good – but the Leila Sailing Trust is running low on cash and desperately needs £2000 to finish their work so that they can move her at the end of the month to Lowestoft, where she will have a new berth close to the International Boatbuilding Training College – which I gather is likely to be providing advice.

Leila’s currently being worked on in Southwold Harbour.

The Leila Sailing Trust is therefore putting out an impassioned appeal: after all their work, can anyone chip in to help them get over the next few weeks, and take the next beg step towards getting this wonderful old lady back to sea? Contact them via the website.

Photos from a harbour stroll: Southwold and Walberswick

Southwold Harbour on the River Blythe and, on the opposite bank, Walberswick is a great place for a stroll, and it’s a delight to see so many well maintained traditional craft still in use, often for fishing.

Among other things, the photos in this gallery include:

  • Southwold Harbour itself and some of the local boats
  • the rowed ferry (the tide’s pretty fierce here, so the ferryman or woman has to pull well up-stream or up-tide to make it across)
  • the ferry operator’s shed
  • the village of Walberswick with its fishermen’s cottages and, right in the centre, its non-conformist chapel, which looks very much as if it was built in the 19th century way from standard parts ordered from a catalogue
  • in the Walberswick pub The Bell, a photo of local fisherman, singer of old fashioned and traditional song, and well remembered all-round character Dinks Cooper (see this earlier post)