5 in 5 - October 2018 - The Sea Horse

Welcome to '5 in 5' where on the 5th of 

each month I post 5 photos that I have 
taken in 5 minutes.

All summer I have waited the opportunity to go to Wells Next the Sea as I'd heard about the towns Art Trail and one of the sculptures had caught my attention.  And so last weekend we finally packed the camper and headed to Norfolk.  I was not disappointed. There were four sculptures on the quayside, including rows of colourful oars. These represented all the local fisherman and sailors who braved the seas in small boats in bygone days. 

The backdrop to the quay is this beautiful granary, and there were lots of fishing boats alongside.

And the reason for my visit.... this beautiful sculpture of a horse, out on the marsh. The story behind this piece of art touched me, because I learnt that back in 1869 the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institute) first came to Wells. There were no fast launches in those days, these were wooden boats that had to be rowed by a team of brave men. And when the tide goes out along this coast the sea is far away. So a team of horses were stabled at nearby Mill farm and when the maroon rockets fired the horses would gallop to the gate and wait to be harnessed. Then five pairs of horses would pull the 33ft lifeboat, sometimes as far as 2.5 miles before they could finally launch into the sea. The horses would then be given a reward for their hard effort.  
In between times the same horses carried cargo from the ships at the quayside and along the railway. This beautiful sculpture stands at The Beacon in memory of the lifeboats, those brave men who went out to sea, and the horses.

 

Another sculpture that touched me was a pair of mortuary doors. This plaque speaks for itself.

It was a lovely weekend, even if it was a long way to go to see the art trail. But somethings leave an impression and I knew I might always regret not seeing the sea horse. It was due to be removed at the end of September and there are talks of it remaining in situ as a lasting memory and reminder. I hope so.

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Thank you for visiting!  If you would like to join in this month's challenge you have until 25th to take your photos and post a link to your blog. Here's how it works:

1.  Choose a location.

2.  Have your camera ready.

3.  Set a mobile timer for 5 minutes.

4.  Take as many photos you can until the time is up.

5.  Choose 5 photos to download and share by using the link tool 

   You have until the 25th of the month to add your photos and if you want to know more about 5in5 there are details here.

And one more thing - when you use the link tool, please click on your post title.  This will show the web address. Please right click, copy and paste this as your link.  This will take readers directly to your '5 in 5' blog page and be easier for them to find.