A solitary walk along the shingle spit of Blakeney Point in Norfolk offers more than just bracing sea air and wild, windswept vistas. It is a pilgrimage into personal and maritime history, where the skeletal remains of a rusting steamer whisper tales of a bygone era and a deep family connection.
A Pilgrimage to the Past
The four-mile trek from Cley is a crunching symphony of shifting pebbles, leading to a remote stretch known as Yankee Ridge. The journey's purpose is to visit the memory of Martin Fountain Page, the narrator's great-great-grandfather. He was the co-owner of Page and Turner, the last of the River Glaven shipping companies in a documented 700-year history of local navigation. A polished stone slab beneath the doormat in Blakeney Church's north porch commemorates him as a generous village benefactor.
On this day, the wind carries thrushes, and a weary redwing – a winter migrant from Scandinavia – finds temporary refuge in the stubby, olive-green seablite. This handsome, mottle-chested bird with creamy brows rests, exhausted from its North Sea crossing, offering a moment of serene observation before the historical exploration continues.
The Decaying Legacy of the Yankee
Not fifty yards from where the redwing landed lies the object of the quest: the decaying hull of the Yankee. This twin-screw steamer was one of the last vessels owned by Page and Turner before the company was disbanded in the 1890s following Martin Fountain Page's devastating stroke. Sold off, the Yankee was later used as a houseboat before being abandoned to the elements on this lonely shingle finger.
Time and the salt-whipped environment have taken their toll. Each year, a little more of the vessel seems to vanish. Rainwater now pools in her belly, and her heavy steel plates have crumbled away. In a poignant act of natural reclamation, seablite has reached its stubby olive fingers up to cradle the wreck. Lichen spatters the ageing metal, a living patina on industrial history.
Touching History, Returning to the Present
Placing a hand on the lichen-spattered hull is to touch 150 years of family history embedded in this harsh, beautiful landscape. The connection is abruptly severed by the sudden flight of a hare, scattering shingle and calling the observer sharply back to the present moment.
The rested redwing also takes flight, heading inland. For a brief second, it flashes the ember-orange underwings that give the species its name—a splash of warm colour against the winter greys. This hue mirrors the flaking, rust-coloured shell of the Yankee herself, as she slowly returns her elements to the undying Norfolk winds and tides. The steamer's gradual dissolution stands as a powerful metaphor for memory and legacy, slowly being cradled and reclaimed by the resilient coastal ecosystem it now calls home.
Under the Changing Skies: The Best of the Guardian’s Country Diary, 2018-2024 is published by Guardian Faber.
