YnysMon

We are always intending to try out new places to moor but quite often end up mooring at spots we’ve been to before that we have liked. Also, once the nights start getting cold we like to have shore power, so that cuts down on our options.

I was thinking of you Friday morning. I’ve only ventured up the Dyke to Swancraft once, so I’m glad to hear your mooring was sheltered from the worst of the wind. We were very relieved that we had made it to Brundall on Thursday.

Thanks for the tale Susan. Hope you have better weather and a full week in March. In response to London Guy's query about pump-outs, we went the whole of the past fortnight on our syndicate boat Moonlight Shadow without a pump-out, though once my son joined us and was using the rear cabin en-suite we used that loo during the day, to try to ensure that the foward heads didn't get used too much. It helps that Moonlight Shadow does have a warning indicator to show when you need a pump-out.

Wednesday 23rd We got on our way from Loddon by 7am this morning. It had rained heavily around 6am but dried off by the time we were making our way down the Chet, so I was able to stick my head outside through the hatch that slides back over the helm position and see lots of wildlife, including several kingfishers. The rain held off and the sun was trying its best to try to break through the clouds, and it wasn’t cold so, all in all, it was a pleasant morning. We took our time crossing Breydon, as we didn’t really want to go through Yarmouth until at least 9:20. The tide was just starting to turn as we passed under the Breydon road bridge, and it looked pretty much slack on the Bure all the way up to Acle. I noticed that the run-down buildings at Marina Quaysp have been demolished. Anything happening with that site? I gather that the planning permission for a development there got turned down. Seren had been very alert as we passed through Yarmouth, she soon got bored as we slogged up the lower Bure though. She did perk up after a while, and wanted attention! See why we have virtually every surface covered! I had been hoping that the new electric posts would have been installed in Acle but, although the new extended moorings were in use, the electric posts weren’t in place yet. Never mind, we continued up to Potter H. Luckily a day boat moored opposite Herby Woods (near a lekky post) was just leaving as I started to turn around near the entrance to the Yard basin. Although the turn went okay, and I was able to moor up fine (nice and slow), I now have some inkling why people get into difficulty turning before the bridge and into the HW basin. It was more difficult to turn the boat than usual. As Graham was sorting out our electric connection, I spotted Robin on Trixie going past us on his way downstream. He must have just left a mooring nearer the bridge. Once we were plugged into the electric and settled back on board, a lot of other boats came upstream. For a while there was quite a scrum of boats trying to get in and out of the HW basin. I thought it might have been helpful if the ones that were trying to get out might have allowed those on the river to have priority. Did they? Not always. Thank goodness I wasn’t trying to moor up when that lot turned up! I made us a brunch. After that, Graham took Seren upriver on the Repps-side bank for a walk whilst I crossed over the bridge and went to La’tharms. There was a socially distanced queue to get in, but that was good, and it wasn’t too crammed inside. I bought a C*mas toy for Seren, a wooden spoon for the boat and a few other bits and pieces. On my way back to the boat I was intending to pause to take some photos of the bridge, but could see someone was trying to moor just behind MS and they seemed to be having a bit of difficulty. By the time I got to MS the couple in a boat behind them had helped out though, so that was okay. I got back to the boat just before the heavens opened. No sign of Graham though for another 10-15 minutes. By the time he and Seren got back they looked pretty wet. We have a sort of zip-up towel bag to put Seren in when she gets that wet, so she was okay. Apart from his coat, and his trousers below the knees, Graham was fairly dry too. We stayed on board the rest of the afternoon and evening as the rain was pretty presistent. I cracked open the wine, checked in on the forum and did some crosswords. Graham was listening to the radio over his headphones (he’s keen to listen to the news, I’m less so) and fell asleep. When he woke up an hour later his excuse was that he fell asleep because he was listening to a speech from Michael Gove. (!) In the evening (once the scrum had died down) and overnight we thought Potter was a very peaceful mooring.

Tuesday 22nd We managed to get on our way shortly after dawn this morning, to take advantage of the outgoing tide, and a really beautiful dawn it was too. The mist was fairly thick to start with but soon thinned as we left Beccles behind. There was hardly anything else on the river for ages, so the only people we waved at before nearing Waveney were a couple wrapped up in rugs sitting on a wooden jetty in front of the Boathouse Hill Cottages (on the bend downriver from the Sailing Club) watching the dawn. What a lovely place to live! There was hardly any wind until we were nearing Somerlayton. Such a beautiful morning. It was so quiet, Seren got a bit bored. As we cruised down the Waveney we came across several reed islands drifting their way on the tide. A heron clearly thought this one was a good perch. We managed to get to the New Cut as the tide was turning. Although it was the ideal time to cross from the Waveney to the Yare we only passed three boats along the whole stretch of the New Cut. By the time we were passing through Reedham it was getting a bit too hot, so Graham put the roof down. We turned up the Chet and again went past very few boats. I’m always a bit conflicted going up the Chet. Part of me wants to see boats coming the other way, so to be assured of a mooring, the other part of me prefers not to be passing a lot of boats. However, there was plenty of room for at least three boats when we got to Loddon Staithe, and Pye’s Mill was pretty empty too. Seren was really naughty as I was stern mooring. She made an awful racket barking really loudly. She doesn’t like it when Graham is on deck, and she’s worse when we are doing a stern mooring than she is for a side-on one. The chap in the boat I was mooring up next to commented he could tell we had a collie on board. He also had a collie – a more sedate one! The neighbouring collie is in the background of this next photo. Once moored, Graham popped over to Bridge Stores to get £5 of lekky cards. We weren’t desperate, having four left over from last year, but it will be handy to have a good store for our next winter allocation. We were keeping Warren’s account of his first week on MS in mind, when he had difficulty buying lekky cards mid-winter. We had coffee. Then we relaxed for a while before decided to have a late lunch out. We walked up to The Terrace (located near the church) and sat at one of their well spaced-out outside tables for a light lunch. It was hot again, so we sat in the shade. Very nice it was too, though I wish I’d chosen something a bit more adventurous that a hot gammon baguette. After that we took Seren to the field behind the church for a run around. We went as far as Pye’s Mill then walked back along the river bank. Despite it being so hot, we had a few reminders of autumn. When we got back to the Staithe it was fairly empty again. I had expected the Staithe to gradually fill up, but actually some people who had been moored there before us left, others arrived and then left again. A lot more toing-and froing than I’d expected. A lazy dinner this evening. Rice, daal (from a sachet) and hard-boiled eggs with roasted courgette. Another early night in readiness for an early start – going north tomorrow!

Monday 21st It started off misty this morning, until it was burnt off by the sun. I had phoned Beccles yesterday to book a mooring for tonight with electric. Probably didn’t need to, as it wasn’t exactly far to go! We waited until the tide turned around mid-morning before setting off, and then took things at a very gentle pace so that we could hear bird song and had more chance of spotting things, like a passing kingfisher. We didn’t pass that many boats on the way, but there were quite a few spaces at Beccles when we arrived. We needn’t have booked. We got to Beccles around 11, just nicely timed for a coffee break. After that I walked up to the town and went to Tesco for a few bits and bobs. We didn’t really need any more food at this stage. When I got back to the boat Graham was enjoying an ice cream. As we were plugged into shore power, we took the opportunity to use the microwave to reheat some leftover roasted veg pasta that I’d brought from home for our lunch. After that we got ready for another walk. We fancied doing the circular walk to Geldeston and back that Dave Whitworth and his family did in one of his recent videos. Before we set off, I checked the state of my feet. I had a couple of minor blisters from yesterday’s walk (having made the mistake of wearing ‘normal’ shoes instead of walking boots), so I applied a couple of blister plasters before we set off, crossing my fingers that I would be able to manage the 5 miles or whatever it is with those and my wearing walking boots. It was a lovely walk, though it was a little too warm. Yesterday’s brisk wind had gone, so it felt like a very warm (hot!) summer’s day. Wish I had brought shorts with me! The first stretch was mostly along the riverside opposite Beccles up to Geldeston Dyke. Beautifully clear water. Swans near Geldeston Dyke. Once in Geldeston we stopped off for a drink in The Wherry Inn. They have put extra outside seating in the area near the car park, nicely spread out, and we noticed they were particular about sanitising all the tables after each customer. There was a van near the entrance to the pub car park ‘The Pie and Cheese Man’, selling guess-what. I really fancied one of their pies, but didn’t think it would be wise to buy any as it would take us at least another hour or more to walk back in the heat. On our way again, we passed The Locks Inn, which appeared to have closed down (gate padlocked anyway)... ...before making our way across the river and up to the Angles Way, which took us back to Beccles. We passed lots of corn fields, stretching as far down as the river. By the time we got to Beccles it was almost 5pm. Graham popped into a B&M type store to get some pegs and some extra cheapo balls for Seren (she keeps losing them). We walked back to the boat down Ravensmere, and I suggested to Graham that we try a takeaway this evening, either from Oakfired Pizza place or the Cod House, virtually next door to each other, and both in reasonable walking distance from the Yacht Station. Once back on the boat we checked out the menu for Oakfired and phoned in our order. Graham popped to Lidl to pick up a mixed salad on his way to picking up the pizza. The pizzas were very good indeed, if you like the Neapolitan style thin crust (which we do). We had one with goats’ cheese and an Americana with vegan ‘cheese’ (I'm trying to avoid cows milk/cheese). After dinner I took out the rubbish and Graham filled MS with water, as we were planning an early start tomorrow. By that time that was done it was almost dark. Time to relax before taking the dog out and then beddy byes.

What a beautiful pup!

Thanks Jean, I’ll check that one out. During our winter allocation weeks it’s quite tempting to stay some of the time on our home mooring, taking advantage of the free lekky, and explore the areas around the Broads.

Also... Yes, there are lots of Broads vids around, and I regularly search for them, but haven’t found any regular weekly or even twice weekly posts that regular canal vloggers offer. My favourites currently are: Foxes Afloat Narrowboat Chef Floating Our Boat

Yes, but! The engineers thought it could take up to 5 hours to do the rewiring and installation, so more than half a day’s work. Also, as a syndicate owner you just get a different perspective. We want the inverter to be installed as soon as possible. If we had the normal week’s allocation we might not have been so accommodating. However, given we have been fortunate enough to have had a fortnight on MS, and we were intending to leave late Friday afternoon/evening anyway (Seren has agility classes Saturdays, so Graham didn’t want to miss three weeks), it seemed sensible for us to take the hit of the installation time, rather than the next week’s allocation. We feel very fortunate that we’ve had this fortnight. We originally were allocated a week in June that we swapped. So, given that we wouldn’t have been able to use a June week, this fortnight has felt like a bonus, despite the weather.

Yep! Definitely a porcupine! Love your tales! Please don't stop posting them! Isn't Womack Dyke a wonderful place to moor. We were slightly gutted that we had decided it was best to turn tail and get back down south after only one night 'oop north' on our trip this last fortnight. We had grand plans to get up to Coltishall and Dilham and all sorts of places. None of that was to be. Given the weather over last weekend though we think we did the right thing. In any case , the river levels would have curtailed our best plans. During our fortnight it definitely changed from summer to autumn!

Well, we have arrived home, having agreed to leave Moonlight Shadow half a day earlier than planned so that the engineers could get on with installing a new inverter. We didn't come straight home though...you'll have to wait until the end of the tale to see where we went. Now that we are home, I can start to post up the account I've been writing up over the fortnight. Slight recap...Saturday 19th, our pick-up day, we ended up returning to our home mooring at Brooms, Brundall, having gone down river almost as far as Beauchamp before turning back. Following morning... Sunday 20th September Although we didn’t get up until almost 6.30 this morning, we did manage to get on our way by 7am. The river was lovely and quiet. A narrow boat had passed us whilst we preparing to get underway. We saw this narrow boat several times on our August Bank Holiday jaunt on Water Rail too. Although I've seen various narrow boats (and widebeams) moored up in various places across the Broads, I don't recall seeing many out and about. Given the (relative) dearth of YouTube videos of the Broads, I've taken to watching several canal based narrowboat vlogs, mostly continuous cruisers who post up videos at least weekly. There was a fair amount of condensation on the windows, mostly outside, but the morning was fairly mild. No need to put the heating on as yet. Pootling slowly through Brundall shortly after dawn. Beauchamp Arms. The fairly vague plan this morning was to go down to Reedham and through the New Cut. Low tide in Reedham was forecast for around 8am, so by the time we turned onto the New Cut we had the help of the incoming tide. The morning was beautifully sunny, but as we got near Cantley the wind really picked up. It wasn’t cold though. The New Cut. On the Waveney. One we got past Waveney River Centre it was a lot more sheltered. There was a stream of day boats leaving. They did look busy. We were still doing our usual debate of where to aim for. Should we phone Beccles to book a mooring or try for a spot on North Cove or Worlingham? North Cove looked fairly full (though Water Rail would have fitted in the remaining space quite nicely) but there was a space just big enough for MS at Worlingham, alongside another boat. We have finally got around to buying an NBN burgee, so that was flying on our stern alongside the Ddraig (=Dragon=Welsh flag) and our Friends of Hunter's Yard burgee. We sat around in the sun for a while, before having a sandwich lunch. (See what I mean about weeney wine glasses!) After lunch our neighbouring boat left. We then we set out on a walk with Seren following the path along the bank going north. Seren loved it. The ideal Seren walk, with no risk of coming across any cars. She did try to lose her ball in the river a few times, but Graham managed to rescue it. Just past North Cove there were views across the marshes toward Lowestoft for a while, until belts of trees got in the way. Walking along the river bank gives a completely different appreciation of the surrounding countryside, unless of course you are on a boat with a really high air-draft. We got as far as the ferry crossing point to Waveney River Centre before turning back. This is Peto's Marsh, opposite Waveney RC. Judging by the distances on the sign posts it must have been a seven mile walk, or thereabouts. As we returned past North Cove we were surprised to see that all but one of the boats had left, and also surprised that no other boat had moored up at Worlingham, so we had the mooring to ourselves. Seren was tired out this evening. (I was too!) This evening we had vegetarian haggis with neeps, tallies and onion gravy. It took quite a while to cook as I had to cook the haggis in its casing in the oven for over an hour, given I couldn’t use the microwave (sigh...no inverter). Then we had another early and very peaceful night.

Brilliant photos Malcolm.

I guess the (plastic) pontoon must have been put there when the mill was restored. It was in place the first year we visited the southern broads (2017). It's a handy mooring if you have a dog with you, is very peaceful (normally) and has electric posts. Actually, it's not so peaceful this morning as it's fairly exposed to the east, and a fairly stiff easterly has started blowing this morning. Lots of bow slap. Great!

We had an amazing double rainbow this evening. Moored up at (possibly) our favourite mooring at Hardley Drainage Mill.

Sorry, I was getting mixed up between Irstead and Barton Turf. It's the latter that has the Ranworth standard paintings, but Irstead has a lott of interesting features too.

Shame you couldn't get into the church Malcolm, it's got the most magical rood screen paintings.

Super photos Malcolm. You're making me hungry... I know from experience, those chicken skewers from Ludham butchers are very yummy.

Hopefully Lightening has a more efficient tin opener than the one that Robin had! LOL.

Thanks Malcolm, I've been looking forward to another installment of Norfolk Lady tales.

Thanks for posting Colin. Sorry I didn't wave! Hoping tomorrow will be decent weather. We are planning to return the boat on Friday rather than Saturday.

Yes, the water is still relatively high though. About a foot and a half below the quey heading here and it's about half an hour before high tide, according to the board outside the Harbour Master's office. Our neighbour at Brundall was telling Graham that the water levels around Brundall don't ever get any higher than they were last weekend as the flood water gets diverted onto designated land (farmers get advance notice so that they can move livestock). I was wondering why he didn't bother moving his car away from the quay.

Yes it was up to Loddon. I tried posting a reply but for some reason it did load. This morning we set off early and are now in Beccles.

I loved Mr MMs post (well, I had to, didn't I ), but at heart I do have a problem with the whole idea that men are good at some things and women have a completely different skill set. Aren't we all individuals?

You're sure to be fine. I'm the most unsure person around and even I have realised it's just a matter of practise, and proper planning. oh...and also having the confidence to tell your partner what you want them to do (like undo the bow/stern rope first). Nothing worse than miscommunication when setting off or mooring