Broadsword

We are decorating the lounge (which, as you might imagine is a BIG room!) but hope to get over on Thursday... not sure we'll go far though

Glad all went well Pauline. Looking forward to catching up sometime soon...

We like the radio on board, but it's an old one! A little FM/AM/SW model that allows us to listen to most of what we like, but how soon will it become redundant? I don't mind the pubs either, just as long as they are not playing music/showing TV/having a karaoke/etc. etc. #grumpyoldman

Ali tells me we are on duty Shame, we would have liked to come over to the show and meet you for lunch Pauline! Another time

40 minutes, door to deck

If you ask the world and his wife what they think you should call your very serious boat, don't be too surprised if you get a silly answer... The world of social media has done for that kind of thing... I find it all good fun though... My dog is now Barky McBarkface...

Great stuff - well done everyone involved!

Welcome! Another real boat! We'll look out for you from the deck of OBY

Agreed - the water wall was £10,000 of naff! Great programme, but these people inhabit a different planet! Many of these big beasts are on maintenance programmes, so that the owner is spending 20% or so of purchase price each year, just to keep it moored, staffed etc. The owners rarely enjoy the boat beyond a few stays aboard and maybe a brief trip... No comparison with the kind of boating most of us enjoy - with the exception of Griff of course, with his vast staff and crew...

I think John still offers a deal on boats for his houseboat guests... So, best of both worlds - stay in the houseboat and sail a half decker on Hickling and Horsey!

From the BA website, notes on the upper Bure: 'A little further on is Coltishall Common with plenty of mooring. You can continue to Horstead Lock where informal moorings and a turning area before the lock gates can be found. Please note that the river to the lock is very narrow and care should be taken. There are also areas of natural sand and gravel river bed which at some states of tide are shallower than the stated 1.5 m Waterways Specification navigable depth for this reach. As these features are part of the natural river form, capital dredging to remove these features is not part of the current Sediment Management Strategy. The left fork to the Horstead Mill pond is shallow and not suitable for motor craft.'

There are otters in lots of places... seeing them is another thing altogether, but it is becoming much more common. We have seen one around Oby Dyke on the Bure; also one at Barton Turf. Have also seen one at Cockshoot. I have it on good authority that there are some at Potter Heigham, the bungalows below the bridge, but I haven't seen them.

Nice read Eric, thanks... I couldn't see the mast in that picture though...?

It's strange how views and approaches differ on this issue... We have enjoyed a very good meal at The Ship (South Walsham) some time ago and were invited to bring the dogs in, and have them under the table! We took them outside when we were concerned they were becoming bored and might disturb other diners. I am not sure whether they allow this now... Trouble is, not all dogs a re as little and delightfully behaved as mine At other pubs by the water, we have not been allowed to go further than the outside tables with them... Personally, I don't object to that - I don't really feel dogs belong in eateries... As far as trails go, it depends on the nature (excuse pun) of the trail. Clearly, sometimes, the presence of dogs could be very disturbing to the widlife. I note that Wroxham Barns allow dogs further in than they used to - at one time, they couldn't go beyond the car park area...

I suppose attitudes to issues like life jackets, for humans or pets, depend on your experiences; I think my friends, whose lovely long-haired dachshund drowned at Potter Heigham last summer, would advise anyone who loves their dog to buy him a LJ. He was in a place he knew well, with a crowd of people, but somehow, as dogs will, managed to slip away unnoticed and fall into the river. After much searching up and down the bungalows, thinking he had gone to ground somewhere, the poor old chap was found floating between a moored boat and the quay heading. Bad enough to lose a dog... But a child...? Two little boys drowned in a fish pond recently... My kids NEVER moved around the boat when underway, without LJs - the eldest protested as he got older and liked to go shirtless, but we stuck to the rules and everyone got used to it. Even mudweighted, if they were moving around the decks or fishing, they kept them on. It's grandchildren now and you can bet the rules will be the same! Just like car seats and seatbelts, you get used to it... Our dogs always wear them and on one occasion we were very glad they did, when the older one fell in from the bank without us noticing. A lot easier to hook her out with that on, than the boat hook to the collar in the video!

If the City's strategy is to get us all to use Park and Ride, then it needs some thought. When I used it some time back it was reasonably priced but a bit of a fag... It has now gone up considerably and frankly is NOT cheaper than using the city centre car parks unless I am alone. Two of us and a fair bit of shopping and it becomes a rather undesirable solution for us. It's typical of such strategies all over the country - if they have to be run for shareholder profit, then they won't really work. If you want to keep people from driving into the city and parking, then buses, P&R etc. must be very good and properly subsidised. The profit motive has led to the loss of services all over the place - whereas once it was understood that highly profitable services subsidised the less profitable. Remember buses in your village, railway stations close at hand?

Kfurbank, the reason people on a Broads forum may express such views is because they are (some of them, arguably?) better informed. The problem with this media driven world of ours is that once you make something public, you open yourself to comment, observation, criticism etc. This you tube poster wouldn't be the first to regret it (if they did). I would be sad if someone felt upset over it, or decided never to visit the Broads again or any of the dire responses suggested here, but the solution is simple - remove the thread. You may feel the OP shouldn't have titled the thread the way they did and clearly you are not alone in that view, but it seems you are more concerned about the anonymous poster of the video who may or may not ever know that it has been criticised, than for a fellow forumite who may have been misguided or overzealous on this occasion. I note that Speedtriple has an excellent community record. So, if I were a moderator (and I thank the Lord I'm not) I'd put this one to bed.

It was nicely done, no doubt about that... However, for the sake of the clearly lovely family involved and due to the tone of this thread, I wouldn't consider it unreasonable to remove this discussion. The video is still out there!

The mods could remove the thread? Trouble is, once one of us posts something, the discussion is up and running... All ST did was gave it a title... that could be edited to 'lovely, happy family enjoying Broads trip' of course, but the then the ensuing discussion would seem weird! Face it, views differ and I thought that was OK here?

We drove into the city yesterday at around 12.30 p.m. and EVERY major car park was already flagged up as FULL when we came down Earlham Road. Even though the signs all say 'no queueing' for Chapelfield, I could not blame any of us for doing so anyway... since there was nowhere else to go! Shops, restaurants, all heaving...

'Narrow minded and judgmental'? It seems to me that Speedtriple took a view, posted the link and then has said nothing! Quite a few others have pitched in to accuse the OP of a lot of negativity! I agree, 'stupidity' might be a bit strong, but maybe I take a stronger view of some of the activities depicted than some of you... Probably because much of my Broads activity has involved taking responsibility for young people. We could have been in serious trouble if neglecting basic safety had led to serious harm or even ultimate tragedy. I didn't check the date, but would hope that hirers are given good advice and take it! At the very least the video, whilst undoubtedly showing people having a good time could so easily be used to point out serious risks to life and safety - and could so easily be 'the happy moment just before our holiday and lives were ruined forever'. We have a rule on camps that life jackets are always worn when boats are under way. The little lass in the early part of the video was wearing a LJ way too big for her. If she fell in, it would not protect her. (I think she did put on an appropriate one later on the go into the dinghy.) I guess that's why she got bored of wearing it and wandered down the side of the boat without - well, that and the example of all of the adults. The lad's antics in the dinghy are potentially more dangerous than some appear to think, for a lot of reasons. I don't know why or how the dog fell in, but I found it quite distressing to see how it was pulled out. Of course it wagged its tail, but I don't think it was asking to be chucked in again! I don't want to put anyone off from coming back to the Broads, but I would want to encourage them to think much more carefully about issues of safety. It doesn't lessen the fun....

I do hope the yard see a copy...

I think if you have a search you will find plenty of advice on mudweighting... There are defintitely places on the Ant where you can just tie up to a bit of wild bank or nose into a bank off the bend... Can't be beaten if you find the right spot...

The comment about the erratic sailing boats didn't make me smile much.... predictable nonsense, from someone who by his own admission was drinking into the early hours that night and had the hangover from hell the next day... Oh goody, and now he's at the controls of this big boat he is incapable of handling (by his own admission) past a few sailing boats on the Thurne.

We left Norwich in '91 to move to the South East and returned to Norfolk three years ago. The increased busyness of the City Centre and the greater amount of traffic on the inner ring road - as well as the Southern Bypass - was immediately noticeable. Whilst housing is welcome up to a point, especially affordable housing, I am genuinely concerned about the ability of the City to sustain any more significant growth. It seems that the last 20 years has seen massive growth on the City outskirts (someone can provide the stats. I'm sure!) but I am not sure there has been sufficient commensurate growth in the infrastructures, roads etc. Some would see that as an argument FOR the NDR but that is not really my point. Norwich is becoming gridlocked and overcrowded... I'm not sure what the answer is, but the planning model baffles me.