About Wells Harbour

Wells-next-the-Sea on the North Norfolk coast has been a port and a largely natural safe-haven for ships and boats for at least 600 years. Protected by rare salt marshes behind a sand bar, the Port of Wells was one of England's major harbours in Tudor times and a thriving, busy centre for shipping and maritime industry in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when its stone quay was constructed, along with many of the large buildings and tiny yards and houses that still dominate the look and feel of the town.

Commercial shipping in Wells suffered with the coming of the railway in 1857 but the harbour continued to be busy up to the first world war. There was something of a revival in the 1970s and 80s with ships of up to 300 tons regularly unloading on the quay. Indeed, commercial traffic arguably ended only in the late 1990s with cargoes of grain brought from Europe by the Dutch sailing ketch Albatros, said at the time to be the last commercial trading vessel under sail in Europe.

However, Wells retains a small fishing fleet, with hard-working boats slipping out early on one tide and returning as soon as is practical on the next. They are joined on occasion by other visiting commercial and fishing vessels, including vessels engaged in surveys, crew transfer or safety boat operations.

Wells Harbour now caters for a growing leisure trade, both for locally-owned boats and, increasingly, as a popular destination for visiting vessels. The historic Albatros is currently resident on the quay, providing a venue for a variety of functions and entertainment and running the occasional charter or cruise. Another regular is the beautiful sailing barge Juno, built as a labour of love on a grand-scale by local boat builder Charlie Ward and now sailing day and half-day cruises. Coastal trips to see the seals at Blakeney and chartered fishing and diving trips are also usually available, on boats such as the high-speed RIB Titan.

The harbour is also used for sailing, wind-surfing, water ski-ing and just pottering about on anything from canoes and kayaks to speed boats, blue-water yachts and large motor cruisers (jetski-type craft and hovercraft are not permitted). The town has a thriving sailing club, water ski club and a successful sailing school, offering plenty of opportunity for organised and entertaining activities for all ages and skill levels.

Situated in an area of outstanding natural beauty, Wells plays host to thousands of holiday-makers and visitors almost all year round, making for a unique mix of people and activities. The long tradition of gillying (fishing for shore crabs) from the quayside is as popular as ever and Wells' expansive beach with its oft-illustrated colourful beach-huts means that there are always people on, in or near the water. It may not be the noisy maelstrom of 100 or 150 years ago but the quayside remains a busy, active place where it's fun to get involved or just to sit and watch all that's going on.