1.5 Ghost Pingo Excavation update - September 2023
In August 2023 four ghost pingos were excavated on two separate privately owned landholdings in the Brecks close to Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s Thompson Common nature reserve. More
Project volunteers are beginning to talk to local people and gather their memories of swimming, playing, and enjoying the rivers.
We are keen to hear from anyone who’d like to have a chat with us, or perhaps might have some interesting photos they could share with us. Do get in touch if you’d like to tell us your story. We hope to hold some drop-in sessions over the next few months, so look out for info on these.
Find out more information about the project and how we are collecting stories using oral history interviews, on the Imogen’s River Swims Blog
Our first interview was with Mary, interviewed by volunteer researcher Helaine, and is a delightful story of growing up at Oxburgh Hall and playing in the rivers around the village, catching fish, and having lots of fun.
Here is a transcript extract:
“We didn’t actually swim. We played. We played in the ferry river. We played in what we call the ‘second bridges’ which was down the Foulden road and we played in there because it was a sandy bank and it was clear and you could see the bottom and we paddled, we caught tiddlers and had lots and lots of fun. And lots of the children used to. There used to be a watermill there and where the watermill was, there was a (big) tree cut down and people used to actually jump off the tree trunk into this. It’s a wonder they didn’t break their necks. There was no health & safety by the riverside then.”
