SwanR

Great memories.What a responsibility alongside having a great time. Took my two children away on my own once for various reasons. I was never so glad to get back home!

It does look as if it has stayed very busy from all the photos and posts that people have been making on Facebook recently.

This is true but if only two of us are aboard then we don't need extra cabins but appreciate extra living space. Fair Prince has a nice little dining area under the bow. Some boats have more space in the rear cabin. Some have better shower facilities. And I don't need to have to try to moor over 40 foot of boat length when 35 would do ... or pay for the privilege with the higher price of a six berth boat. Just my take on it as a frequent hirer of boats for only two. :)

It depends what you want ... you only have to look at all kinds of holidays to see that there is room in the market for all kinds of offerings, from 5 star to 1 star, luxury hotel to campsite. Older boats have their place but there's no reason that anyone with enough to spend shouldn't be able to treat themselves to a little luxury. And it all depends how well the boats are maintained as to whether anything you book lives up to expectations.

Looking forward to reading the rest of your tale and hearing how you liked the boat.

It certainly was a beautiful weekend. We had a lovely walk along the cliffs at Pakefield yesterday.

Happy Birthday Andrew. I grew up in North London but have been living in Essex for 35 years now. Since we bought our caravan in Lowestoft last year I've also had one foot firmly in Suffolk.

Welcome Mark. Always lovely to have new members to share things with. :)

I agree completely. We've hired Fair Prince a couple of times and it's a lovely boat for two. We would rather pay for a boat fitted out for just two people, making best and innovative use of the space, than take the same size boat with spare berths that are wasted space for us. We're hiring Bronze Emblem soon and will see how we get on with an older boat for two. Ferry Marina do seem to be the ones building newer luxury for two with Whisper Emblem, Zircon Emblem and Silent Emblem being recent additions to their fleet.

Welcome along. Being out on the Broads certainly beats many other holidays. At least most of us don't need to worry about a flight cancellation to get there ... unless you're Eric (Riyadhcrew) living halfway round the world!!

Welcome along! Always good to read other folks' experiences out and about on the rivers. :)

Always good to get recommendations.

I'm sure that we all see examples of poor driving on the roads most days ... from all kinds of drivers, young, old, male and female, in cars, on motorbikes and in lorries. Can we please therefore stop generalising about women drivers!

Very interesting read, Bryan. Thank you for sharing it. We have been fortunate on most occasions to have relatively dry weather even if fairly chilly and certainly windy on occasion. The rain does make it less enjoyable when at the helm. Also interesting to read about the few little niggles with the boat. Wouldn't it be interesting to know whether any of these things have been reported to the yard by previous hirers. I will look forward to your video - I never tire of seeing the same stretches of river, like many others I am sure.

Have only done lunch there but would highly recommend the food and the service. We ate there before picking up our boat from Richardson's last year as well as when we moored at Wayford Bridge.

I was brought up on the Arnold Palmer crazy golf at Camber Sands ... loved it. :)

I can only wear flat shoes. Have never, and never will, wear heels! If I could live in trainers that would suit me fine ... and actually, come to think of it, you never see slippers with stiletto heels ... so I rest my case.

You've reminded me that I do need some more shoes as I'm down to one pair that I can wear for work over the winter! Sensible flat black shoes that I can walk in!!

I find this frequently at work. Four young folk in particular always sit in the same corner of the staff room ... in silence, all on their phones! I rib them that they must be texting each other instead of having a conversation ... and that I should mark those chairs as reserved for them before I go home each night. ;)

Wonderful! Have a lovely day. Forecast is for a very chilly night tonight. :)

There are certain hire fleets that always look better turned out than others but "never judge a book by its cover" springs to mind. We were a little surprised by the issues we had on a boat hired in mid-May given that's not very far at all into a new season, and likely there wouldn't have been too many hirers yet. But who am I to say that these things weren't perfectly fine in April. All one can do is urge hirers to report any issues to the yard no matter what the time of year for the benefit of those coming along after them. The state of their boats is surely a hire yard's reputation and therefore their advertisement for future business and enticing their customers to book with them again. They wouldn't ignore that I am sure.

Thoughts are with you and your family this morning.

We love it down there and have moored at Pyes Mill on a number of occasions. The Chet is a beautiful river and Loddon is a good place for stocking up on bits and pieces with having a Co-op up at the top of the high street when last I was there. It's also very often full in the Basin and the Common makes for a good back-up mooring. Hubby has fished quite happily from there as well.

Great news Robin. I grew up in an area not that far from where you live. Mind you, it was quite different back then but still well on its way to becoming the multicultural London of today. But I understand that buzz of being a city dweller and the towns of Essex have been as far out into the country as I ever wanted to be. However give me the coast and that's a different matter. You are right to want to grab this opportunity while you can. I still think that we will head to Norfolk one day ... we just can't make the move yet because of family and work ties at the moment. The caravan has been a nice halfway house this year - I have so enjoyed leaving work on a Friday, packing a bag and being in Lowestoft before the sun went down. We talked about whether we might choose Norwich to move to but I didn't want to swap one housing estate for another and end up somewhere that could be anywhere. We are gradually exploring the area on our weekends and could end up in a few places ... and maybe even swap the caravan for a boat one day. One never knows what life may bring so here's to living it in whatever way anyone might wish for themselves. Best of luck and I look forward to reading all about your adventures.

Fantastic news! Congratulations to you both! Looking forward to hearing your plans as time goes by.