I took a sailing holiday – on one of Norfolk’s historic wherries

The elegant wooden boats that once cruised the Broads ferrying groceries – and George Formby – are once again carrying daytrippers

There is a rightness about sailing a Norfolk wherry that leaves you feeling in harmony with the world. As a sustainable form of transport, a wooden boat being propelled across the water by the wind is about as low-carbon as you can get.

I must confess, though, I had never heard of a wherry before setting off on an overnight trip from Wroxham on the Norfolk Broads. Little wonder, as there are only eight of these traditional boats still sailing from a fleet of hundreds that once earned their living delivering goods around Britain’s waterways. Later, some of these trading vessels were converted into elegant cruisers such as the Ardea (Latin for heron), where I am to spend the night.