Restoration & Maintenance
Cley next the Sea is a former Port with a wealth of maritime history. Almost extinct of boats 7 years ago it has been brought back from total dereliction to be a small safe harbour with a bright future. This was initially set up as a restoration project by Cley Parish Council called ‘Cley Old Harbour Project’. Since then the project has grown and been taken on by a separate organisation run by a twelve strong volunteer committee, and simply named ‘Cley Harbour’. They organise fund raising and maintenance, future de-silting and improvements to the quayside and its approaches from the Blakeney Pit tidal estuary. We are very grateful for any donations to support this community work.
2016 Building a New Quayside
Cley has a working quay once more, which can be used by boats of up to 20ft. The transformation from a narrow, silted-up river to an expanse of water with a newly-installed quay heading, has been hailed as a major success story for the village.
“It’s now got a real ‘wow!’ factor - a big open space where boats can moor and turn round,” said Simon Read, Chairman of Cley Harbour organising volunteer parties which have done so much of the work.
2020 Quayside Doubled and New Noticeboard Installed
We made use of fine weather to hold a working party to install posts that form the extended mooring, and a new noticeboard. It took time to obtain planning permission, so is extremely gratifying to offer twice the amount of mooring space for locals and visitors. Local joiner Richard McColl made the noticeboard which is a perfect to share guidance and tide information.
2022 Reshaping the Tidal River Banks to Aid Access
Cley Harbour carried out important work to preserve River Glaven channel beyond the Tidal Flood Gate. Contractors de-silted to allow water to clear and improve access for wildlife, and to improve moorings at the quayside. Desmond MacCarthy of Wiveton Hall and the Norfolk Wildlife Trust kindly gave permission for work on their land. We would like to thank those who generously supported this work. Funding was also received from the BHA, NNDC and DEFRA.
2023 Installing a New Canoe Rack and Steps to River
Canoe and Paddle boarders now have much simpler access on all states of tide, with the introduction of a new canoe storage area, and steps down into the River Glaven.
2024 Further Reshaping of the Tidal River Banks
After 8 years of planning, fundraising, and permit seeking, Cley Harbour now has a fully navigable river all the way from Blakaney Harbour to Cley. 900 metres of river bank has been re-profiled allowing increased flow to support decreased siltation. Massive thanks from the Cley Harbour team to everyone who has supported this program of work.