CHAPTER XVI 



HICKLING DISTRICT 



THE reader will doubtless remember men- 

 tion having been previously made of the 

 River Thurne, better known in the locality 

 as the Hundred Stream.* This river, at 

 one time, formed direct communication 

 with the sea near Horsey Gap, but its 

 waters now run away at Great Yarmouth. 

 From a sporting point of view a visit to 

 this locality will be found far more to 

 one's taste than to the other rivers named. 

 The rands generally hold snipe, the reed 

 beds waterfowl, and the amount of birds 

 daily to be seen on the wing causes " hope 

 to spring eternal in the sportsman's breast," 

 although perhaps his bag may not be a 

 heavy one. 



The rands from Thurnemouth to the 

 entrance to Womack Broad, especially in 

 the month of November, are favourite grounds for snipe, 

 but the fishing is poor. 



Womack Broad has little of interest except to the artist 

 or the botanist, and the river from this point to Potter 

 Heigham Bridge is narrow and more like a canal. The 

 water in the river is very shallow, and a boat drawing more 



* This name is very common in Broadland. No doubt it arises from the old 

 Baronial divisions of a county, when a Hundred was supposed to contain one 

 hundred families or freemen. 



1 88 



NAVIGATING THE SHALLOWS. 



