andyg

I hadn't taken much notice of the rating system before I read this thread. We tend to stick to what we know and like. But I have since and I have to be perfectly honest here, I'm not sure a 3 star rating is anything to shout about. I haven't used this establishment for either a drink or food so I may be being unfair, but I'm 99% certain that since I've been looking at the rating given and displayed in pubs restaurants we've used I haven't seen anything lower then 5 start, so purely on that basis I wouldn't use it. Possibly a over reaction and miss guided faith in the system. But good to see it going in the right direction. But to be fair it has seemed busy when we've passed it over the summer.

One of the great things about hiring prince of light. We managed to moor at the green twice. Never been able to do that in all the years I've holiday on the broads. Not so sure we would of got the newer ruby light or adventuring light in as they have the additional platform on the stern. Such a lovely spot. The old cafe/ coffee shop seems to do a roaring trade with the day boats.

Can't see you having a problem, this will be the last busy weekend of the season for most of the hire fleets.

Best of luck Clive, your gonna be a busy boy 😉

The WRC have just announced on social media that len has sold the site to tingdene. I really like what len and Co have done to the site. Best of luck to the new owners.

Always on our list of places to visit. Enjoy the walk upto the church and back, then a drink in the pub on our return. Totally get the packed in like sardines bit. We fill up with water get anything we need from the shop and go drop our mudweight for the night. Personally I feel its a truly wonderful spot on a nice sunny evening just gently swinging around on the mudweight watching the world go by, Accompanied by a cold glass of whatever tickles your fancy. Seriously what could possibly be better. Perfect 🥰

I often wonder how some yards build a boat so quickly. Barnes fitted out one of there tempos in 8 weeks last year. I also remember the big expansion at Stalham and all the new brightly coloured boats, my personal favourite back then was superior gem in it's two tone colour scheme it looked great. To be fair to richardsons they are or were constantly upgrading there boats, new showers,kitchens, furniture etc. New quieter engines. But like you say the old original gem fleet must of paid for itself many times over buy now. I know very little about boat building but richardsons do seem to build a solid boat where others I've hired seem a little flimsy. I assume it's the materials used during fitting out I guess.

Well the bug has bitten here. We introduced some friends to the broads this year. We started with a picnic boat day trip, then onto a cruiser Mon to Fri. Now next year its 3 cruisers 11 adults and a dog for a week's holiday. Most of us would normally take long haul winter sun holidays. In fact this Christmas was ment to of been a trip of a lifetime to the maldives, none of us are confident enough to spend 12 hours on a plane. You are always going to get thos that will throw caution to the wind in the hunt for the sun. Speaking to other holiday makers up on the broads early this year all said they were enjoying themselves and would return. My fear is yards will get greedy and will price themselves out of the market. But I personally see 2022 being a busy year beyond that who knows. Yards need to be realistic in there pricing and find ways to retain fresh blood. Let's face it they've done pretty well out of the pandemic. Those that think 2019 was a bad year for boating are wrong. The yards done OK yes two have gone, one had been on the verge of going for sometime. The yards that are left seem to be in good shape and doing well. You have clives new venture at hpc with what looks like a cracking new boat on the horizon and a very good small fleet he has said he intends to build up a fleet of 15 20 boat in time. There are more new boats coming into service next season then there has been for a while. NBD barnes HPC and Herbert Woods all have new boats for 22 I wouldn't be surprised to see Silverline,Richardson's and Broom add to there fleets. So it's looking OK so far.

I noticed bridgecraft boats and clives. I sat at acle last Saturday watching all bridgecraft boats come back in. That's some juggling act fitting all them boats in. I hadn't realised they had so many. What was obvious to me hardly any of there boats had black scuffs on the hulls. Now either all there hirer's are expert helmsman or they clean the hulls on turnaround. Something most yards don't do anymore. Always a good sign in my opinion, hate it when I pick a boat up and it looks like it's been sitting in an oil slick.

We needed 8ft on dazzling light last weekend and only just managed it. I'm sure the challengers etc are just as high. So no doubt they'll have some issues as the water levels appear much higher.

I for one remember the bad days at Stalham and had the displeasure of holidaying with them. I've absolutely no doubt the time spent under ownership of that big corporation damage the family name/brand. But that is a million miles away from where they are today, richardsons isn't just about the senior management or owners it about the team !! 100s of staff across there holiday sites providing great service and customer care, and that hasn't happened by chance. It's a well deserved award voted for by its customers.

There not everyone's cup of tea but I can honestly say I've never had a bad experience with them. When things have gone wrong they act promptly and professionally in my experience. There new designs are some of the most popular boats on the network and there classic fleet always seems busy. So fair play to the team at richardsons. I'd also add the Hemsby holiday park is a nice place to stay now my grandchildren love it.

They already are Simon, our friends want to return again next year. Herbert Woods are heavily booked for September 22 with none of there elite boats available for our dates. We've ended up booking with richardsons. I was quite surprised just how heavily booked some yards are. You normally get the January rush but like us many seem to be staying in the UK again next year. It's worked out well for me tho as I finish our trip on broads harmony the Friday morning with our friends. A quick trip to richardsons laundrette and await the arrival of my brother and sisters for our weekend on San Diego. Hopefully a happy 10days afloat for me. 😉

Ate in the malsters last week, the log fires are a very welcoming touch. Food was really good too.

It would seem bookings are quite healthy for 22. We have 3 bookings for next year. Something I have never done before.

We had two attempts last week, no joy.

Seen oasis out on the rivers this week. Looks absolutely cracking. Looks like a brand new boat. I hired her when she was with go boating and she doesn't look a day older. I wouldn't be surprised if she was fully booked for next season Simon.

Soft fabric furnishings the table is stowed under the saloon seating and slides out. You attach a very sturdy pole into the floor and is perfectly fine. The fit out on the boat is of a very good standard. You have to bear in mind it's a compact boat but it's surprisingly spacious. The aft cabin double is very generous and comfy. Neither of us are overly tall to be fair. The shower room is tight as you'd expect on this type of boat but does the job. They seem to be improving the internal fit out as they build more. Like fixing tv to the cabin bulkheads adding well lighting. Overall a very nice little boat.

Yes we are onboard now, you have limited storage for food. It has an oven and two ring hob. So yes you can cook basic meals but a roast dinner would be a challenge. But it could be done.

Well I stand corrected and am eating humble pie as I type lol. Prince of light one of HW new compact cruisers, what a fantastic little boat this is. Everything a moden Hampton should of been. Fitted out to a very good standard it has all mod cons, 240 v power system shore power hock up etc microwave tv in both cabins great sound system. I really can see why this design is proving to be so popular. There is another one sitting in the build shed just having its finishing touches. I'm told there will be more to come. HW have got the pricing right for these boats as well not being to greedy in my opinion. They really are surprisingly roomy inside and the aft bed in very generous. My only niggle would be the shower in terms of space. But to be fair the shower rooms on dazzling were dreadful for such a big boat. We'll worth a looking if your a couple. Big thumbs up from us.

Maybe on the casual cleaning side. But otherwise I don't think so.

Well we must be glutens for punishment Charlie, we said goodbye to our friends this morning and the wife didn't want to go home. So we got offered a really good deal on prince of light and here we are moored at acle and what a cracking little compact boat this is. I've just seen you and the lads sail past. But I do agree with you. What a cracking sunset we are going to have tonight.

We handed dazzling light back this morning and trust me you are not the only crews that have had trouble this week. We have had the yard out twice due power issues total loss of heating etc. We sat at Ranworth on Wednesday morning along with two other woods boats all waiting for the engineer. He told us its was a tough week with lots of call outs. Covid had impacted there winter maintenance programme, compounded by an incredibly busy season. I do accept things go wrong and are just part and parcel of boating at times. But I have to say an awful lot of woods boats look knackered, there is some very serious investment needed bringing that lot upto date and looking good.

We ended up eating at the new Inn last night. The food was fine no complaints. Service was slow and we did wait a while for our food. This didn't really bother us, we just had a drink and chatted while we waited. The garden and pub don't appear to be kept anywhere near as nice as I remember. Food was a bit on the expensive side for what it is. They certainly were benefitting from the other pubs being closed as it was packed. Hopefully the new owners will tidy the place up a bit.

Had a fabulous first day, we really couldn't of asked for a better day weather wise. Beautiful sunshine although a bit chilly in the wind. Most excellent.