charlesa

I am useless at technology but hopefully that is a photo of Juliette on a glorious Hickling !

Wonderwall, for your 2nd day beyond Potter cruise back round Horsey past the old thatched summerhouse on the right, after your early morning swim in the sea !!. Ignore Waxham Cut as too tricky in a 40 footer. Back down Meadow Dyke turning right at the end through Deep Dyke and into Hickling. Enjoy the peace and space before mooring at the staithe next to the Pleasure Boat for a spot of lunch/beverage ! After a stroll round the area head back across the Broad and moor as soon as you enter Deep Dyke on the RH side. I am not a fisherman but apparently this is a fine place to try. First of all set up your BBQ on a safe spot with a selection of meats that you bought when you moored at Martham Development and walked the mile up to the village to the excellent butchers there. Enjoy your feast before casting your rod whilst the others relax and enjoy the view. After a peaceful night head towards Martham but turn left at the junction and meander across Martham Broad to West Somerton. If you are feeling like a decent walk, stroll across the footpaths to Winterton-On-Sea and onto another lovely, but busier, beach. Then back to the boat and through Martham and Potter bridge feeling totally relaxed...... Best wishes Charles

Hello Wonderwall, where do I start ? The East side of Potter Bridge is one of my favourite places on earth. Once under the bridge cruise beyond the bungelows and at Martham Development turn left towards Heigham Sound having admired their beautiful wooden cruisers and yachts ( airdraft of the cruisers typically < 6ft !!). Enjoy the serenity of the river before turning up Meadow Dyke, signed to the right, where the narrow river winds for about a mile before reaching the glorious Horsey Mere. Look out for Marsh Harriers wheeling above you looking for food below. You may pass Ross who takes groups out on his boat on Nature Watches which are well worth doing and bookable from the staithe in Horsey. Make your way around the Mere and feel the stresses of life disappear. More as soon as possible after reaching the staithe on the LH side so that you can look back and admire the view. The best mooring is just after you reach Ross's river trip mooring. Be prepared to pay the Mere warden his £5 mooring fee if he is waiting near the shop, it is well worth it. Having already prepared a picnic, walk along the staithe (good loos and a shower, tokens can be bought from the little shop, are at the end of the staithe on the left), over the road and follow the footpath straight over the fields, dog legging left across a style, then after a few hundred meters right onto a lane which turns into a rough track that leads after about 15 mins to Horsey Gap and its magnificent beach. Usually you will be one of very few on it and it runs for miles to right and to left. Very often there will be seals either swimming in the sea or on the beach a couple hundred of meters to the right, or both. I always take my trunks and a towel and swim here, whatever the weather, it is glorious ! Enjoy your picnic then follow the path back on to the road but this time keep going on the road until you reach the Nelson's Head on the right. I think in season it is open most of the time. It is one of my favourite pubs near the Northern Broads (if I were a cynic I might say that that does not mean very much !). It is totally unspoilt in a rural sort of way. The food is fine ,not brilliant, but as a place I love it. After your drink/meal, head back to the boat but on the way stop off at artist Peter Bearman's studio on the RH side. I have bought some wonderful watercolours of Broads scenes from him. They are not cheap but they have filled my house with happy Broads memories all year round. Back at the Mere, pop into the NT shop for an Ice Cream. It doesn't stock a huge amount but it is fine for a few basics and for souvenirs. As mentioned above the Mill has its sails of at the moment for restoration but I think that it is still possible to climb it for a small fee. Back at the boat I would stay the night, maybe taking the pleasant walk beyond the staithe which skirts the Mere. Next day I would retrace down Meadow Dyke ( after another walk to the sea and swim if so inclined) and I will continue later with what I would then do around Hickling. Sorry for being long-winded and tedious but, as you will tell, I quite like this area and have been going for decades !! Best wishes Charles

My first time was ~ 1967 aged about 6. Prior to this we used to cram into an old Morris Oxford, parents, 3 older brothers, myself and a none too fragrant Border Terrier, and wind our way from Cheshire through (from memory) Macclesfield, Leek, Ashbourne, Derby, Nottingham, Grantham, Kings Lynn, Fakenham to Bacton for the annual summer holiday ! Added to the fact that the car was crammed full was the delightful fog created by my mother's silk cuts !! Anyway, having been driven to Womack Water a few times to sit the grandmother on a moth eaten old deck chair whilst I drooled at the lovely old timber cruisers we couldn't afford, my brothers and I finally managed to persuade our parents to book one of them for a weekend. The boat was called Joytime, which I think was from Herbert Woods and supposedly slept 4 ! Well that didn't leave much room for yours truly who slept on the damp floor of one of the cabins ! Anyway we appear to have covered most of the Broads that weekend. I've got a vague recollection of a few things: - being terrified of Yarmouth as the boat got caught up in what seemed like a lethal current going through the bridges into Breydon and then being tossed about by the wash of a large coaster ( I have never been through Yarmouth since !!) - covering most of the North Broads and decent part of the South including Loddon and Oulton Broad in what I think was only about 4 days - one of my brothers catching what seemed like an enormous bream at the mouth of the Chet - the horror of the car journey there and back ! - the fantastic crabs from Colin the crab man who operated from a shed in Bacton - the best strawberries I have ever eaten from a lovely old boy with one tooth who grew them in his garden in Bacton too - the enormous spiders in my grandmother's Box room in Bacton that my brothers used to shut me in ! Anyway I was hooked and I've been coming ever since, latterly on my own , as my wife would rather spend a fortnight in Chernobyl than come on the Broads !! I did warn you that I tend to bang on a bit........

Hello Jane, if you hire Juliette you can turn the whole of the rear cabin into a really big and long double. This is what I usually do on my own as my wife refuses point blank to come on the Broads after a rather chilly first experience in Norfolk in 1982 ! Best wishes, Charles

Good afternoon Jane, I'm new to this Forum but have just signed in and seen your thread. The walk to the beach from Horsey is my favourite. You sound as if you know it already but if you don't, moor at Horsey Staithe and pay Derek his £5 assuming you are staying. Try and moor at the first mooring on the left as you enter the dyke ( just after Ross's River tours). That is unless I am there in one of the old Martham boats in which case I want it ! This will give you a superb view out over the Mere, and, if you are lucky, a fantastic sunset. Walk straight over the road and across the field towards the dunes. You need to turn left after a while and then right onto the unmade road. It'll take you about 25 minutes to the sea. I always make a point of swimming there although the last time a particularly witty friend of mine nicked my clothes so I had a rather embarrassing exit from the sea !! Luckily it was freezing cold if you get my drift !! In October I would have thought that you stand a good chance of seeing the seals, either swimming, or on the sand if you turn right when you reach the beach. On the way back, time it right , go straight on onto the road and have a drink/meal at the Nelson's Head which is a pub that I love although the food can be a bit hit and miss. Take a small torch with you in order to help you negotiate the path/road on the way back. Finally , if you have had a swim, make sure you have bought a couple of tokens for the shower by the staithe from the little NT shop there. Then settle down for the night with a couple of glasses of wine and listen out for a bitten ! Sorry I tend to bang on a bit when the subject of Horsey Mere comes up ! By the way, looking at Petite Gem I think you ought to have a great chance of getting under PH bridge. Also hello to all on this Forum. Seems like a nice place to be. Best wishes Charles