YnysMon

The Yacht Station at Beccles is just below the old bridge, so no problem there. There’s also a BA free mooring just before Weyford bridge with room for 2 or 3 boats. It’s right by the bridge though, so not the quietest mooring. Several wild moorings on the stretch up to Weyford too.

Well, maybe I’m biased, as I think the most lovely, quiet stretches are above those bridges. Most boats won’t go under Potter, but the rivers above Weyford bridge and Wroxham Bridge are worth a visit. You can have a perfectly lovely week without being able to get under those bridges though. There isn’t that much mooring available below the bridge in Wroxham, a few spaces outside the Wroxham hotel, that charges £10 or so. As a hirer you might be able to moor in Barnes Brinkcraft or the NBD boatyards. The hire yards have reciprocal arrangements for free mooring, but best to phone ahead and don’t expect them to let you moor there if the following day is a changeover day, when they’ll be expecting a lot of boats to be returning early. All the free BA 24hour moorings for Wroxham are above the bridge.

I don’t think they have completed the work, as a week ago there was still a small section taped off with hazard warning strip. However, the majority of the mooring seems to be fine. We moored behind another boat and there was plenty of room for others to moor up too, had they wished to. The Hardley Mill pontoon moorings are just around the next bend, between Chet Mouth and Cantley. They charge £5, but as the money goes to the upkeep of the mill I do not mind paying. It’s nice because it’s on a pontoon and they also have electric posts. We will be on Moonlight Shadow from the 19th, so if you spot us, do give us a wave. I’m planning to go north on the 22nd. Welcome to the forum.

Gosh Mark, that must have been a shock. Sounds like you struck lucky with the person treating you though, so hopefully all will be well for the future?

I think you are an example to lots of us Ian. Thanks.

Oh Ian, that’s such a lovely post. You are a true gentleman, witness you comment about your leg (pulling). There have been some unfortunate incidents this season, but I trust that that most boaters have had a lovely time on the rivers.

Yes, the NHS isn’t perfect by any means, and the constant Government interventions to rearrange the way it’s run probably don’t help. All this Covid disruption isn’t helping either. Lots of organisations have struggled since March with key staff being affected. Hope your daughter’s treatment isn’t affected Liz and that she gets well again. I feel I’m fortunate to live in an area where there are several GP practices. About 10 years ago I checked out the NHS choices site and decided to move to a different practice that had far better reviews and better results on a number of measures. I’m so glad I did. Everything from the helpfulness of the receptionists (the ones in the previous practice were dragons) to the availability of appointments and the care from the GPs has been outstanding, including end of life care for my mother.

Even if you don't plan to go for shore power, take a couple of shore power cards with you just in case. There are side on moorings like St Olaves, Somerlayton and Bramerton that are fairly peaceful but have electric posts.

That is sad news.

We’ve only ever hired from Ferry Marina and NBD and I would have no hesitation in recommendIng both of them. Standards of cleanliness were great and I found the ones with island beds comfy. I thought Ferry Marina took the edge on engine maintenance but both Yards gave exceptionally friendly customer care. Ive never hired with them, but I must say that the Richardson’s fleet, even the older boats, look very well maintained externally.

We’ve normally avoided school holidays, but we did have an allocation on our syndicate boat for the August bank holiday week last year, and I didn’t find it too bad. Depends whether you are desperate to be moored near a pub really. Some of the smaller boats can be really roomy for two people, better in my opinion than getting a bigger boat that has unused cabin space. Why not make a list of the features you are looking for on a boat? My list included shore power, an island bed (so that one of us didn’t have to crawl over the other to get to the loo), a decent sized fridge (some of the boats have tiny fridges) and a low air draft to get under bridges and not worry about having to lower the roof and windscreens (not fun in the rain). Other people though like a boat with a view over the reeds and aren’t so fussed about a higher air draft. One of the boats that we hired (Fair Regent, which we hired twice...see my holiday tales) even had a proper bath with shower over. Helen

welcome to the forum. We’ve hired a few times in March and October. It can be quite chilly during the nights but we had some beautifully sunny days. It helped that we hired boats that had shore power and for our last few hires we had a small dimplex radiator with us, which we kept on a low setting overnight. Helen

That’s not the point was trying to make about boat reviews. On the whole I find them helpful, you just have to watch out for reviewers who have unrealistic expectations and those who may have behaved badly and then try to blame the staff of the boatyard. It’s not that difficult to ‘read between the lines’ and distinguish a valid review from a false one. I tend to ignore ‘professional’ critics too, including film critics.

I have been told that a lot of the recent updates were about security. I’m very happy these days not to have to purchase and install additional software to protect my personal computer, but instead rely on Microsoft. Our work IT department has been sending us more messages about the importance of updates since lockdown. They also say that Universities and other organisations are subject to far more threats than previously. Our neighbour’s son, who has been staying in MK during lockdown is a lecturer with another Uni. He is currently unable to work because his institution has had their IT systems compromised. Don’t delay on updates!

The last line says it all. I don’t understand why such bad behaviour seems to be on the increase. I also think that it’s very easy for us to forget that not all countries have universal health care. Yes, we do pay for it, but thank goodness that we have the NHS. Let’s not take it for granted.

Errr.no, nor can I. It’s not exactly a level walk across that field and lots of cow pats too.

I will, if I get a chance. I’ve gone into planning mode for our fortnight on Moonlight Shadow later this month and am checking out places that do takeaway options. The Bailey’s Deli (in Beccles) afternoon tea takeout sounds pretty good. Not cheap, but looks like good value considering the amount of food included.

Does she deliver afternoon teas to boats too?

I looked at the BAs webpage on electric posts yesterday. They have set the number of units of electricity that you get for £1 at 5.5 for this financial year. Im also scratching my head at their list of locations with lecky. It includes Hardley Cross. We moored there briefly just a month ago and I don’t remember seeing any posts. Does anyone know whether they are intending to install some there? I think Iread elsewhere that the BA were intending to do some work to those mooring to improve them.

I agree, when reading reviews it pays to be a bit wary. Ignore the ratings people have posted and read the actual reviews. It’s not that difficult to separate out the ones that are based on completely unrealistic expectations and those that have a something pertinent to say.

That sounds good news. Not the closure, but hopefully the result.

My choice would be Ludham too.

Have you tried getting off the port bunk in the middle of night for a loo visit when there’s a dog nicely settled in her bed just below? I didn’t squish her...honest!

I was thinking Dilham too, but Liz beat me to it.

Yes we did, and slept across wise. We had taken a couple of cushions with us (as we do when we are on Moonlight Shadow too), so I used one of those to give myself a bit more height at mealtimes, so that I didn’t have my chin almost in my plate.