Gramps

Tuesday cont..... As we approached the cut we were surprised to see it was completely devoid of boats, the lads said “what are we stopping here for, there is nothing here” I reassured them that there was a village close by with a choice of eating places, but as soon as we had moored they took off to find out for themselves what backwater I had marooned them in. They came back about an hour later stating that they had “walked to Norwich before they found a shop” what they meant was they had passed the “welcome to Norwich” sign at the top of the hill beyond the Crown Carvery pub. They had checked out the menus at all eating establishments and declared that we should visit the Rushcutters as it was the closest, didn’t have the heart to tell that is where we had planned on eating. The food and service was good, reasonably priced in pleasant surroundings, suitably refreshed we returned to the boat. The railway footbridge was a bit of a challenge to me but made it eventually. When I caught up with the others at the waters edge they were shining their torches into the clear water looking at the tens of thousands of small fish and fry that were in the cut, Jamie and Dean spent the remainder of the evening “pond dipping” with landing net and a bucket, that was until they snapped Craig’s Maver landing net handle, he was not best pleased. Wednesday 21st October Well what a difference a day makes, last evening bathed in lovely autumn sunshine, this morning awakened by the sound of heavy rain on the windows, a quick look outside showed poor visibility too, not to be deterred from our plan Craig and I decided to let the lads sleep, we would set off for Norwich. Craig at the helm I donned my waterproofs and we cast off, I was standing in the front well, towel in hand doing my best impression of a windscreen wiper. Turning right out of the cut, then another right to pass under the rail bridge to traverse Thorpe Green. A pleasant spot even in this dire weather, must look a picture in sunlight. Once past the green we came across the sunken remains of several unloved boats, more were to be spotted nearer to Norwich. I think someone should be accountable for these eyesores, you would not be allowed to abandon your scrap cars by the roadside without penalty, why should boats be treated differently? Fully clad in my fishing waterproofs I at least had a good view of our journey into Norwich, a good mix of old and new buildings complemented each other, the vista was not as industrial as I remembered all those years ago. We travelled to the limit of navigation before turning around, although not essential at the moment we opted to have a pump out at the Yacht Station (we had looked at Freedom on the way through but could not see a place to moor, would have liked to patronise the business of a forum member if we could) however we were well satisfied at the YS. Pump out and water top up for £12. From this point we were now heading back towards home base more or less, even though we had two nights remaining on board, a slight feeling of sadness enveloped the crew who were now up and dressed. As we started our journey back the lads saw all their favourite fast food restaurants and brand name businesses by the riverside “Why didn’t we overnight here? We heard in unison, perhaps another time. Our next objective was Bramerton Common where we were to stop for breakfast, Craig the chef once more. Pots etc washed we were once again on our way, the rain had abated but the fish were not biting so we headed downstream towards Brundall. A right turn into Surlingham Broad which was deserted, other than one boat mudweighting, and back out onto the Yare. I was looking forward to Rockland Broad having not visited before and must say I was not disappointed heading down fleet dyke and continuing on to Rockland St Mary’s Staithe where we moored up. The information board opposite the New Inn said turn right for the village shop, but it did not say which village. I don’t think the lads would have walked to it had they known how far away it was, but at least they got their sweets and chocolates. Once Back on board it was time to carry on to our overnight stop at Lodden.

Tuesday 20th continued We were intending to stop at Brundall Church Fen for an hour or two but although there was a mooring space there was probably not enough room for five of us to fish so we opted for Bramerton common instead. There was plenty of room there and what a delightful mooring it is. Several people out for a walk stopped to pass the time of day, one or two interested to hear the lads fishy tales of the week. The water was once again crystal clear so Ben tried a trick that he had learnt as a youngster when the family owned a caravan in Lincolnshire by the river Witham. The anglers used to give him a little spending money to collect the soil deposits left by the numerous moles. These mole hills would be put to good use by the match anglers to muddy the waters when the waters were too clear for productive fishing, it seemed to work Ben had a very nice Perch soon after. Dean and Jamie as usual were lure fishing for pike but the few takes they got resulted in lost fish. I was content to sit on deck with a cup of tea watching the lads enjoying themselves. Soon it was time to move off and head for our overnight mooring at Thorpe. Being wary of the tidal flow at the railway bridges I was hoping for a mooring at the Commissioners cut. The last photo shows the Commissioners cut in all its autumnal glory

You are correct Jean, Church Fen it is, a lovely spot, and we were tempted to moor there but was not quite enough room for five of us to fish there. Ron

Tuesday 20th October Although we were in no rush to leave Beccles I heard Craig moving around at daybreak and feeling much refreshed after a good nights sleep I dressed and joined him on deck. What a beautiful autumnal morning greeted me, the water was still and mirror like, and the sunshine illuminated the brightly coloured houseboats near Hippersons or what ever it is called now. Craig was doing a spot of fishing so I had a steady walk to use the facilities at the rear of the Harbourmasters office. The rubbish was disposed of but the toilets were still locked. I noticed there were flood prevention measure and sandbags around this area and wondered if the previous weeks spring tides were the reason or perhaps it was just general winter protection. Back at the boat and breakfast out of the way it was time for us to make a move, it seemed a shame to disturb the placid waters but we had a long way to travel for our next overnight stopover. We intended to stop for a couple of hours en-route for a little fishing, so off we go retracing our journey back down the Waveney and on towards Norwich. Once again we had the river to ourselves all the way to the new cut, I think the next part of our journey can be best be described by photographs it was really a stunning day

Thanks for your comments Guys much appreciated, We did not experience any lumpy water even Breydon was like a proverbial millpond, the quality of the earlier stills were not good due to the poor light but I believe they were worth including to give a true insight into our week on the Broads in late October. On some of the shots it is impossible to determine where water ends and sky begins the reflections are so vivid. Apart from a wet Wednesday morning the rest of the week was a photographers dream as you will see later. i was impressed by the Kings Head the distressed look of the decor is very authentic but then again I was really impressed with the parts of Beccles that we saw, even the lads commented on how clean the streets were. Another possible for my lottery win wish list

Monday 19th October continued The mudflats of Breydon were alive with 1,000s of feeding birds, at this point I regretted leaving my binoculars in the car at Stalham. After turning left into the Waveney it was time for breakfast baps, bacon and tomato for three, sausage and tomato for Jamie, Dean was still in his bunk and did not want any. Ben was in charge of the frying pan (we usually grill but couldn’t get it to stay lit) I prepared the baps and made a pot of tea, also applied the tomato’s when ready, after everyone had a second helping it was time for pot washing, all of a sudden I was alone in the galley! The rest of the crew must be allergic to washing up liquid! With everything ship shape I retired to the rear deck with my mug of tea just in time to see St Olave’s disappear astern of us, never mind Dean had switched the vid cam on so I could have a look later. We passed the Somerleyton estate and the Dukes Head there was very little boat activity, soon we were at the Railbridge and in no time at all turning left into Oulton Dyke for a tour around the broad. By now the sun was burning off the clouds and the broad looked very scenic in the broken sunshine, this was the start of sunny days we would experience until Wednesday morning. Back to the Waveney and a left turn towards Beccles we were soon passing Eddy and the Waveney River Centre, I pondered what, if anything, was on this site 40 years ago. This stretch of the river was my favourite to date on the south side. The lads were getting a little bored by now so they disappeared into the aft cabin for a game of cards, while we continued with our plan of Beccles for our overnight stop. During this section of our cruise we spotted someone trolling for pike legally, one angler rowing the other tending the rods. This was a first, we had seen many trolling but all under power. One idiot even sitting in a tender being towed along by a hire boat. As we arrived at Beccles Y.S. we noted another busy road bridge but undeterred we were soon moored up about 10 metres from the river on the port side diagonally opposite the Harbourmasters office, a lovely spot. There was only about half a dozen visiting boats at this time. Our mooring fee paid and the boat topped up with water (very reasonable £8-50 including water) it was time to check out the town. It’s a bit of a Hike for those less able to walk, about half a mile slightly up hill but the harbourmaster did point out a bus stop that would take us near to tesco’s if we needed it. Craig needed supplies his beer locker needed replenishing and Ben purchased a memory stick for me, the Micro SD on the camera was almost full. Dean and Jamie were delighted to see a tackle shop, Angling Direct, opposite Tesco’s and promptly disappeared inside, returning after what seemed like an eternity, no purchases made but laden down with brochures, catalogues and a free DVD on Carp fishing A budget meal and pint for our meal tonight, The Kings Head, a Wetherspoon pub, the quality of food was very good much better than my “local” Wetherspoons where often the food is prepared two ways either charred or cremated. The “John Smiths” bitter at £1-99 a pint also went down well. Back at the boat and an early night for me all this fresh air and activity is causing a little fatigue. The lads did a spot of fishing but with little success. Another most enjoyable day was over.

Monday 19th October I found the mooring outside the Bridge Inn a little on the noisy side with constant traffic over the bridge most of the night, that meant a restless night for me, the rest of the crew had no such problems. By 6-45am I was awake and dressed with kettle on ready for the morning cuppa. Craig soon joined me and we waited for dawn to break so that we could be on our way. We delayed starting the engine until 7-30am, slipped our mooring and left as quietly as we could. Leaving the mooring was easy two handed, bow line released and a gentle push out and as soon as Craig released the stern line the tide did the rest. It was to be breakfast baps on the go this morning but not until we had crossed Breydon. We soon passed Stokesby being pushed along by the ebbing tide and I reflected that I was now in unfamiliar territory, not having ventured further south of this point for 40 years when Craig was about 4 years old. The weather as cloudy but dry and the river was very quiet it seemed as if we were the only ones on the move. The most populous birds on this part of the river were cormorants, there were quite a few Herons, and as we got close to Great Yarmouth we saw our first pair of Egrets. At this point the vid cam was switched on to record our passage through G.Y. alas too late to capture those lovely white birds and at 9-30am we rounded the yellow post and headed out across Breydon

Sunday 18th October continued. Our journey down the Ant was uneventful and spoilt a little by rain but as we turned into the Bure it relented, boat traffic was extremely light there were a few boats at St Benet’s. As we passed the moorings we saw two Guys dredging with what looked like Rhond Anchors and ropes we wondered what they had lost, it wasn’t until we returned north that we heard the sad story of the missing dog. As we turned into the Thurne the skies seemed much lighter the weather was improving. On arrival at Womack staithe we could see there was plenty of room and were soon moored up, this time expertly done. Water tank replenished, rubbish disposed of, donation made it was time for the lads to visit the tackle shop and for me to pay a visit to Calder Designs, I was hoping to order one of the unisex hoodies but needed to try one on for size, I have experienced difficulties when ordering clothing from a size chart, never seem to get it right. I was out of luck they did not carry them in stock, The young lady explained that they could only be ordered via the website Back at the boat the lads were fishing without any success and so I suggested a walk into the village and a visit to the Kings Arms, well the sun was way over the yardarm by then. The walk up the lane in the autumn sunshine with freshly fallen leaves under foot was a delight as was the fine beer on tap in the pub. We spent about an hour there, we were not in any hurry and we did not have far to go for our overnight mooring. I had phoned the Bridge Inn at Acle on Thursday evening to book a table for five and we were to eat at 8pm. I had also been able to reserve a mooring because one of our crew has a disability. We arrived at the bridge about 4pm, the lads had their showers on the way down, I would have mine once we had moored. We cruised past the pub turned around so that we could moor facing upstream, it would make it much easier when we departed at first light in the morning the tide would be ebbing quite fast then, another perfect mooring, all memory of the mornings problems fading into insignificance. Once moored the lads were off to the amusement arcade to try their luck on the slots and it was my turn for a shower, half way through the shower tray pump stopped working, oh no not again, towel around me I opened the door and shouted for Craig to start the engine, eureka the pump started working again. At this point I thought perhaps we should not be too critical of people running their engine in the evening they may be experiencing the same problems as us. After dressing I made the phone call to the “out of hours” engineer who promised to be with us as soon as possible, our venture south depended on him being able to fix the problem that evening, tomorrow would be no good we would miss low water passage time at G.Y. Within two and a half hours the engineer had attended, diagnosed and fixed the problem by changing the Domestic battery bank, well done Richo’s. 7-30pm we went across to the pub for our evening meal, we were shown to our table in the restaurant straight away, a beautiful setting under the domed thatched roof, the meal and service was outstanding, well deserving the plaudits given on this forum and elsewhere, the beer was very good too. We returned to the boat in good spirits and looking forward to our journey south at first light in the morning.

Sunday 18th October. Up at first light, Craig was already up the kettle was on ready for a cup of tea, We discussed the events of the previous evening regarding the battery problems and decided against returning to the boat yard, our reasoning for this was 1) We had only travelled for 20 minutes on takeover day, 2) the boat was probably unused the previous week as it was not on Kingfisher Quay on our arrival at noon on Saturday. The decision made we opted to cruise to How Hill before breakfast and see how things were then. Instead of taking photo’s I was going to try and make a few small videos this year for a change I could then select a few stills to share so the camera was mounted on the cabin roof in readiness. We also decided (or should say I decided) on a rota system for helming the boat this year as previously there had been disagreements between the younger members of the crew. A draw for the order of helming was made, Jamie drew number 1 and I was number 5, we opted for 1 hour stints, I must say the system worked well all week, also when a cock up on the mooring occurred at How Hill I was on the stern and could say “nothing to do with me guv I’m in charge of the stern ropes” After leaving Sutton we did not see another moving boat until we were half way across Barton broad, it was so quiet and peaceful, on rejoining the Ant we were behind two vessels that had come from the Neatishead side with two others astern of us. When we approached How Hill we were too close to the boat in front IMHO and so when it slowed and moved over to moor up our helmsman did not have much thinking time and followed the leading boat into the mooring area, bad move, we should have continued past him then moored. After too much reversing the wind and tide took effect and we finished at an angle of 90 degrees to the bank. After much manoeuvring and fending off we managed to moor up 20 metres further downstream, no damage done except a serious dent in the helmsman’s pride, apologies made to all that had been affected . The crew had learned a vital lesson, listen to advice from your peers. Craig volunteered to cook breakfast so a spot of fishing for me, Jamie and Dean, they were soon spinning for pike, I don’t fish for pike I prefer silvers, tench or perch being amongst my favourites. So once again it was my trusty pole rigged for fishing to hand with a size 16 hook to 5lb trace and two dendra’s for bait, much too light a set up for the flow of water so I was just allowing the float to trot down the river then pulling back to start again. Jamie had a good pike follow his lure to the quayside he got quite a shock when it broke the surface. The first fish fell to me on the third trot downstream, I was just pulling the float back when the pole was almost pulled out of my hand, the 18 inch of size 10 elastic was stretched to over 4ft 6in, I had a pike on. A few minutes later to my surprise it was in the landing net. The only reason I had landed it was because it was foul hooked just below the eye socket, it was soon unhooked and returned undamaged. Soon after this Dean hooked into a much bigger fish, a nice double, that too was returned unscathed. Within minutes a young lady in the boat upstream of us also caught and landed a pike, quite an eventful half hour, time for breakfast. My turn to clear away and wash up while Craig tried his luck for the Pike. The boat traffic was increasing and the fish stopped feeding time to move on. The voltmeter reading looked normal and so we carried on our journey, next stop Womack.

After months of waiting the 17th October finally dawned, the alarm had been set for 6-30am, no need I was wide awake by then anticipating our week long holiday aboard Majorca 1 from Richo’s at Stalham. The car had been loaded the previous evening apart from the fresh food items that were still in the fridge. Showered and dressed I enjoyed a cup of tea whilst waiting for a phone call from the rest of the crew to say they were on the way As usual the plan was to meet up at the Farm shop café on the A17, the crew were travelling from Nottinghamshire and I from Lincolnshire. Exactly 7-30am the phone rang, they had just set off. From previous experience their journey time to the café would be about 2 hours, mine a little less than one and half. 15 minutes later having said goodbye to my better half, I was on my way too. The crew, same as last year consisted of myself, my son Craig, two of his sons Dean and Jamie and my eldest Grandson Ben. There would be much to catch up on not having seen them for a couple of months. Breakfast over we set off about 10am for the remainder of our journey, Ben travelling with me for this part of the journey. We arrived at the boatyard at noon and soon completed the paperwork, requested a Wi-Fi dongle this time would be the last time we would need one the receptionist told us as the boats were to be equipped with them for next year. “the boat would be ready for you at 2pm “ she said. Next stop was to collect the buoyancy aids and another friendly and efficient check in completed by Richardsons. Just time for a walk into Stalham, a few games of pool and a pint at the “Grebe”. Back on Kingfisher Quay at 2pm, our boat was ready for us as promised, we were soon loaded and ready to go, no trial run required as we had hired from richo’s several times before but I did ask for a quick instruction re- engine and other boat equipment etc. I also asked for advice regarding spring mooring lines as we were intending to travel south this time, I must admit to being surprised by the answer “ If you are concerned about this pop into our Acle base on the way through they have more experience of the larger rise and fall of tides” We had planned to make Womack for our first night but changed our minds after hearing of the closure of the BA moorings on Womack Dyke, so instead opted for our usual first night stopover place at Sutton Staithe. The staithe was very quiet only three boats moored there, although two more arrived later. With our kit stowed away and beds made it was time for the lads to do a bit of fishing and for me to visit the hotel to make a reservation for our evening meal. On my return the lads were catching a few small roach so it was time for me to set up my favourite fishing device, a four metre telescopic pole. Whilst I was doing this I struck up a conversation with a local chap who asked what bait I would be using, saying there was a maggot dispensing machine close by. I informed him that my preferred bait was worm, his reply was “they don’t work well here” Eight fish in 35 minutes proved they do. The catch consisted of decent skimmers, roach and perch. At this point I let the lads use the pole while I showered and changed for the evening. The rest of the evening proved to be a little disappointing, we had dined at the Sutton Staithe Hotel on 10 occasions over the last few years and rated it among the best on the northern broads, this time both the service and quality of our meals were not up to par, compared to previous visits, we normally make a night of it by using the games room but decided to return to the boat have a game of cards and open a few cans. Within 15 minutes of our return we started experiencing problems, we had the TV on and had just put the heating on to take the chill off when the lights started to dim and the TV and Heating switched themselves off, a problem with the domestic batteries methinks! A decision made, Ben and myself chose to retire to our berths by torchlight and Craig Jamie and Dean decided to don their fishing headlamps and do a spot of fishing. I went to bed in the knowledge that things would get better.

Hello Iain sorry to hear of your difficulties on your holiday, If anyone deserved a nice holiday it was you, can't add much to what as already been said, but possibly the cooler temperatures did not help to keep the arthritis under control. I too suffer from the those two old codgers Arthur itus and Ruma tism and this time of year often suffer flare ups. Perhaps we should bite the bullet and fight off the sunmer hordes and holiday when the temperature is warmer. Take care and hope things improve for you. Ron

Lovely video very well done, looking forward to travelling that route next week. Thanks for sharing

Lovely photo's thanks for sharing Ron

Lovely picture Iain be nice to see that area for real. It seems the town stretch at Norwich is much improved since the 1970s Ron

What is the name of your boat Chris?

Air Draft at 6ft-7in we may have a little leeway either side of Low Water perhaps (weather permitting). Not sure who 's yard we departed from at thorpe but do remember the car being parked somewhere by a member of staff and we were ferried across river for our boat. We hoping to travel through Norwich, is there plenty of turning room at the head of Hirecraft navigation? Ron

Thanks for guiding me to this holiday tale and excellent slide show, thoroughly enjoyed both. Ron

Thanks for all the replies people, you have certainly given us something to think about. Beccles looks favourite now. The lads are 14 16 and 19 years, the young ones are more into fishing than the delights of Lowestoft, they have been there several times on shore based holidays. What are your thoughts on Thorpe Green or the commissioners cut? Ron

Hi Chris we will be on Majorca 1 out of Stalham, don't know where our first night stop will be, will depend on takeover time, but we hope to be at Acle on the Sunday night ready for passage through GY on Monday morning. Ron

hello from me too, we will be sharing the Broads with you for part of your holiday

Hello SwanR Thanks for your comments, Loddon is already noted as a possible destination for later in the week, The last time I ventured south was 40 years ago, we did hire that side twice once from Brundall and once from Thorpe Green. My son who is with me on this trip was about 4 the last time we went south. I have a photo taken outside the "Locks" at Gedleston with myself, both my sons and our family pet (a shetland sheepdog) outside the pub, would love to go back and make comparisons and take a photo with my son and grandsons.but fear this may be restrictive tidewise. The last time there it was a pub without electricity. Eric thanks for your input, Glad to see you are home safe and sound. Ray, thanks for your suggestions much appreciated Ron

We are on countdown less than two weeks to go before we are back on the Broads. We are hoping to visit the south this time and providing the weather is kind, hope to pass through GY between 9-30 and 10am on Monday 19th October. Looking for suggestions for mooring spot that night. thinking of Beccles, Oulton B or Waveney River Centre, What do you recommend. The party consists of myself, my son and 3 teenage grandsons. We will probably be looking at dining out in the evening. Ron

Thanks HA Much appreciated

Thanks Eric and Mark, this trip will be the first-time I have ventured south for forty years, tides and daylight should work in our favour this year.

Does this sound like a plan that will work. Monday 19th October 2015 Leave Acle first light (sunrise 7-25am) travel with the Ebb for passage through GY. Low water predicted as 8-12 am GY slack predicted 9-12 am. Allowing approx 2 hours 30 mins for journey will arrive at bridges a little after 10 am, Boat airdraft 6ft 7in, can we safely pass bridges and yellow dolphin into Breydon water