Tempest

We are currently in the Reedcutter Inn and I must say, looks can be deceiving as inside it's great and the welcome very warm

Nothing new - sadly Yes agree I am sure if they were sat with our view they would have a different perspective..... Well, I hope they would!

Lovely stop at the Ferry House, Surlingham Sunday evening and breakfast at the pub this morning to set us up for the day We then made our way to our home base as our son Mike and his girlfriend April had joined us with their Welsh Collie, Bleu We then had a lunch break at Rockland St Mary's and now we are moored for the evening at Cantley as we went on a circular walk and then readied ourselves for a few drinks and food in the Reedcutter The tides are high tonight as the river is over topping the quay heading Which isn't helped by some boaters going far too fast near to moored boats and when asked to slow down, just give out expletives!!

I just adore the run between commissioners cut and bramerton common Today we saw some wonderful dragonfly and a kingfisher amongst the usual subjects as we bimbled along at 3mph Unfortunately the kingfisher was too quick for the camera, but he was stunning nonetheless

Fantastic photos again Malcolm We have a mooring and table booked at the Ferry House for this afternoon and evening and we are being joined by my son and his girlfriend who are meeting us there. We too are looking forward to another excellent meal at the Ferry House this evening

What a beautiful morning The sun is out, the skies are blue and it's lovely to see the rowers enjoying the morning on the water

At Commissioners Cut and Roxy and Yogi are shattered!!

I wouldn't mind I arrived at 1pm and there was hardly anyone around Not everyone drives like a numpty, when children or adults are around I am sure she would be brilliant holding a lollipop outside the local school

I dred to think! They obviously need to train at least one of their staff about customer service

After breakfast we filled up the car, picked up some provisions and then took Roxy and Yogi for a good walk before heading to Broom Boats to pick up Moonlight Shadow. I have been coming on the broads since I was 10 years of age and I am now 55.....and I can state with complete certainty that the welcome I got to pick up the boat was the worst I have ever experienced on the Broads. I drove over the railway line at Brundall Station and turned right into Broom Boats before making my way down the side of the sheds, before turning left into the parking area, only to find a sign blocking the entrance which basically was an instruction by Broom Boats to wait and not to enter until told by a staff member. As such I parked up and waited. I was then approached by a staff member who asked which boat I was on and I said "Moonlight Shadow" to which he said no problems, you can come straight in. So I got out of the car, moved the sign to one side and drove forward 7ft before stopping and returning the sign. As I got back into the driver's seat and started to move a woman came out of the hire office shouting at me to stop! I said "what's wrong" to which she shouted that there are children round here and I must escort every car to their parking spot. At this time there was no children in this area and in fact only about 4 people near to the cafe / burger bar.. I said I am on Moonlight Shadow and I have already spoke to a member of staff. She was having none of it as she shouted at me like I was 10 again and my mother was scorning me!! I must escort you to your parking place!!! Unbelievable!!! She was shaking with anger as she said it and was obviously worked up! I just parked as she asked, then later went to have a civilized word which seemed to smooth things over, but must admit that was one horrendous welcome! Never mind though as we loaded MS and headed to Commissioners Cut where we are now moored and the Cobb oven is cooking backed potatoes and pork chops, whilst we chill with a couple of beers Ohh yes...this was our breakfast at bumble barn before we set off Moonlight Shadow on her mooring Cobb oven cooking away

Wonderful Ordered our full breakfast for 9am... Well I did, Julie went for poached eggs on toast! Can't recommend Bumble Barn enough. Fantastic location for visiting the area, wonderful hosts who can't do enough for you and exceptional properties with a great home cooked breakfast to go with it! Really has enhanced our upcoming week on Moonlight Shadow, which we are looking forward to even more now

Last night we had our meal at the Cross Keys which was really nice Currently they ask you to please wear a mask whilst walking around inside the pub, but if sat down or outside you are fine They have a large grassed area at the rear with tables spread around and half of it is covered by marquees so you can eat and drink outside and still be covered should the weather turn I had chilli and rice and Julie went for the half roast chicken and chips Our Norfolk friends Lisa and Fred who live in little plumstead came also and they went for the pizza which is freshly made on site and they both reported that they were excellent and some of the best pizza they had ever tasted, so a pretty good endorsement from our friends. We later said our goodbyes, including Roxy who just ignored me and wandered into the pub to say goodbye to the locals!! Eventually we got her to obey....well, she decided it was time to head to the car! We headed back to the barn and sat outside with a glass of wine and what we saw was mesmerising Silent, movement, sweeping into the courtyard and swooping away. First one, then a second and a third. We watched the bats feeding for a good half an hour, no doubt the lighting around the grass courtyard and the people disturbing the grass and plant areas make a great location for insects which the bats seemed to be gorging on It was a truly magical end to our last evening at bumble barn Tomorrow we will be up, have our hearty breakfast and then we will say our goodbyes before doing some shopping, filling the car with fuel, exercise the dogs and then we will get our Newfies afloat as we make our way to Brundall to collect Moonlight Shadow for another wonderful week

Roxy and Yogi swimming at Salhouse Then, when we eventually got both out and had a relax, we made our way to Ramworth Staithe

Today, we had our hearty breakfast at the barn, outside in the courtyard as it was warm, albeit a little breezy, although as the courtyard is surrounded on 4 sides it was quite sheltered and was a pleasant morning to eat outside with the dogs lazing around on the grass. After breakfast we made our way to the car park at Salhouse Broad and paid the parking fee which was done by an app as I rarely carry any cash with me these days It was easy enough though and I paid £3 which gave me until around 3pm that day which wasnt bad value I must say I am a little disappointed with Salhouse, as we always make a point in stopping off, but the toilets are horrendous, the pathway down to the broad isnt looking its best, the boardwalk halfway down the main path to the broad has been closed off and it just looks a little tired in places. I suppose we have to put that down to covid also and hope it can get back to its best again soon Roxy and Yogi didnt mind though as they soon were in the water swimming around and having a great time I did laugh though when I shouted for them to come out at the end of their swim and Roxy came out no problem, whilst Yogi came out and as I was putting Roxy`s lead on turned round and ran back in for one last swim........naughty boy!! We made our way up the hill and sat on one of the log benches watching the world go by We later made our way to Ranworth and parked on the back carp park opposite the rear entrance to the Granary as the Malsters and the staithe car park were both full. The back car park only had a couple of spaces also when we arrived We walked to the benches overlooking the day boat and BA boat trip moorings and again chilled as we chatted to passers by and watched the world go by as our dogs slowly dried after their swim!! We then headed back to Bumble Barn and fed and watered the dogs, showered and changed and readied ourselves for our evening meal at the Cross keys, Dilham

After we settled in at Bumble Barn we then made our way by car to the Rising Sun at Coltishall and although we were considering eating, nothing on the menu took our fancy and instead we decided to book a chippy tea from Landamore Fish and Chips, Coltishall Now they prefer you to ring the order in, email it or order via their website at https://landamoresfishandchips.co.uk/ We used there website and ordered 2 haddock, 1 portion of chips and a portion of mushy peas as we thought we would have a couple of drinks at the Rising Sun and then head back to the barn for a chippy tea with a glass of wine Now 2 things: The Rising Sun has a wait to be taken to your table and a table service policy which is fine, but when its busy it can become rather confusing and some people did wait some time to get served and others didnt know this was a policy and just went and found a table themselves. The staff are doing wonders and really are run off their feet, so you need to have a little patience at times Second thing is the chippy. You cant go in this chippy. You must stay outside and even if you just turn up they were asking some people to ring their order in because it would be quicker, apart from one guy who is obviously a local as he turned up and the gent in the shop shouted. "Your usual?" I find it really confusing and I must say, I have been in pubs, I have been in chippys, I have had table service, I have stood at the counter and been served. There really is no consistency ANYWHERE!! So the only thing you can do is smile and ask what is their policy today.....or this minute!! As for the chips and fish, they tasted great, my only slight issue is they were covered in oil and needed a couple of minutes in the heated drainer to just take some of the excess off. The issue with this is not only the appearance but the paper they are wrapped in was stuck to everything by the time we got back to the barn, but as for taste, like I said, very good indeed. We had been up since 4.30am and everything seem to catch up with us as once we have scoffed the food and had a glass of wine it was time to hit the sack Friday we had booked a meal at the Cross Keys at Dilham and some friends of ours who live in Little Plumstead are coming out to join us, but first we are taking the dogs for a swim in Salhouse Broad Will post some pictures of that later

It's nearly 1pm and I am still full! Certainly sets you up for the day!

Just some initial pictures from the gorgeous Bumble Barn B&B I have also included the breakfast sheet which I completed!!

Julie and I left home (Bolton in the North West of England) at around 6am and set off across the M62, down the A1 and onto the A17 at Newark with our 2 Newfies Roxy and Yogi Our usual first stop was Ivy's Farm, but due to covid they weren't opening their restaurant until 9am and as we usually stop around 8.30 we decided to try out the Gatwick Cafe, Sleaford which opens at 7am and we are so glad we did, as the food was first class, the place was spotless, there was ample parking and great exercise areas for the dogs. It was very reasonably priced also I had sausage and egg barm with brown sauce (bap, teacake, muffin, roll and a few other things to some!!!) Julie had toast and jam with a coffee and I had a cup of tea with mine It was £5 for the lot I also noted a full regular breakfast with everything including drink and toast was only £4.50 with a larger one available! After a good stop we set off to Horning, parking at the village Hall off Mill Loake to give the dogs a good walk around the village and spend some time at the green near the Swan Inn to watch the world go by Horning seemed very busy and it was great to see Southern Comfort busy also The skipper handled her with ease despite the 2 day boats trying to pass her on the starboard side as she was manoeuvring! Then we made our way to Bumble Barn to be given a very warm reception in this idyllic setting which is owned by Karen and Paul who also own the Cross Keys at Dilham It's 4 individual properties converted from a stable block in a gorgeous courtyard The owners are very dog friendly and the rooms are tremendous with wet room, large screen TV, tea and coffee making facilities and a mini fridge You order your breakfast the evening before and it is brought to your room the following morning I will put some pictures on later and give you an insight into the rest of our trip

We have a friend who lives near Manchester but comes from Suffolk and she always tells me about the beautiful towns and villages which we have yet to see, so a journey south may be on the cards

Likewise will look out for you We are probably going to head towards Norwich on the Saturday and see where we get and we have booked a mooring and table at the Ferry House, Surlingham on the Sunday You have a great time

We have decided to extend our Norfolk stay so will be arriving on the Thursday to take some of the sights of Norfolk in by car prior to going to collect Moonlight Shadow on the Saturday 14th August We have booked Bumble Barn which is run by Karen and Paul who also own the Cross Keys at Dilham. Its dog friendly and the reviews are great https://bumblebarnbandb.co.uk/ Really looking forward to seeing what the place is like and we will no doubt let you all know

Thanks for the information Really helpful and great photos Grendel

Really helpful Thank you Helen We may try for the locks mooring and if none available have a contingency plan for the dyke

QUESTIONS Just some advice please We are due down on Moonlight Shadow week commencing 14th August and was thinking of going up towards Geldeston which means navigating Beccles Old Bridge (if tides allow) on the Tuesday and back Wednesday (17th and 18th August) What are the moorings like up at Geldeston? Are there usually spaces and is it worth the run as its been over 15 years since we did this stretch? (I note low water at Beccles is currently showing around 2.15pm and 3.15pm respectively) Also I note Rowan Craft is located off a spur and it looks (from Google!!) that there are moorings in this location, but do they have visitor moorings? (I checked Aweigh and none are shown) Any advice would be much appreciated

I am with you