YnysMon

Saturday 23rd September Both of us awoke early this morning, well before the alarm, so decided to get up and get on our way to Wroxham as early as possible. Graham packed the car whilst I took Seren for a dawn walk. We managed to get on our way just before 7am. We did our usual stop-off at the Caxton Gibbet Costa’s (coffee and sausage toasties) and continued on to Wroxham arriving around 9.30am. Graham took Seren for a walk whilst I went to do the food shop in Roys. After that we went for a wander around Wroxham. Checked out the gap under the bridge (just over 7’, but then it wasn’t that long after high tide), had a look in the pet shop near the bridge for a toy for Seren, but didn’t see one cheap enough (she tends to tear them apart). We eventually found one in Roys Garden Centre, where they invited Graham to take the dog in. I got three Chris Crowther books in the Chandley, having bought the first two on our last visit. Had another walk along the river and the railway station before looking for somewhere to eat. Unfortunately, I wasn’t really hungry, so didn’t fancy anything off either The Old Mill Menu nor the Riverside Caff menu. Graham had tea and a brownie from the latter, sitting at their outside tables, whilst I tried to dissuade Seren from barking at swans. Making our way back to the car I popped into Roys again and bought a Steak Slice for my lunch. It was lovely; really freshly made. Around 12.30 we made our way to the boatyard (Norfolk Broads Direct/Faircraft Loynes – whatever) found the customer parking and had a bit of a nose around. We went to reception just before 1. I’d emailed them a few days earlier to ask whether it might be possible to pick up the boat earlier than their normal 4pm pick-up and they had replied that they’d put us down for a 1pm arrival. Although the boat wasn’t quite ready (we were early!) we had a very friendly welcome, were signed in, paid for the dog (not sure why they don’t charge for dogs in advance) and Tracey took my mobile number so she could call me when the boat was ready. We went back along the quay as far as The Boatshed pub and back and were about to walk back to Hoveton when I had a call from Tracey (pretty much dead on our agreed arrival time of 1pm). The chap that came to do our handover just took us through the essentials before moving the boat out further along the dyke around 2pm and hopping off the boat. We soon felt like idiots though, as we were both completely flummoxed by the throttle. I did my usual panicky thing and asked Graham to take over when I felt I couldn’t control the boat, but he didn’t fare much better. The two Ferry Marina boats we’d hired previously had responded to the slightest movement of the throttle. This throttle did nothing for ages – you moved it forward, and a bit further, and a bit further, and even further before anything happened. In our confusion and lack of forward steering we drifted across the dyke and had to fend off the opposite quay heading. Thankfully we managed to get it into gear by the time we got to the main channel. The main difficulty then was following a boat that was (commendably) ticking down through Wroxham at about 3mph. Unfortunately, our minimum speed seemed to be ever so slightly faster than that, so I had to try to slow down now and again by going into reverse slightly so as not to catch them up. I was starting to hate that throttle as it wasn’t immediately obvious when we had forward motion and when not – not until we got used to it anyway, and that took several days. I did like the fact that the boat had GPS though. There were lots of other things that we liked about the boat, but I’ll cover those in a review. We were lucky with the weather today: had some rain on the car journey which had dried up by the time we got to Wroxham, and by the time we picked up the boat the sun was just starting to come out. There were quite a few cruisers about but far fewer sailing boats and day-boats than there were in May or July. From Wroxham we pootled down the Bure, observing the speed limits far more than we had on previous trips. Having GPS helped with this, as did NBD giving us a map which had the speed limits marked on it. On previous trips we’ve relied on our OS map and an occasional glance at the HUD GPS thingy on our phones. We made our way past Acle (moorings fairly busy) and Stokesby (moorings full) to Stracey Arms where we moored at the furthest point down river. Graham had unpacked some stuff on our way down, but we now unpacked the rest of our stuff and made the bed (a first – Ferry Marina and Hunter’s Yard beds are always made up for you). We then watched Gardener’s World before settling down to read for a while before dinner. Dinner was quiche from Roys with new potatoes and salad. Around 9.30 Graham took Seren for a walk and we were settling down for the night by 10pm, ready for an early start tomorrow. Yarmouth passage! Helen

Lovely tale so far Mouldy. We were there the same week! To my shame I haven't managed to post any account of our adventures yet, so I can't very well moan that we want to hear more of how you got on. We too were aiming for a Yarmouth crossing Sunday morning. Hoping to post up the first day of our holiday tomorrow or the weekend. Really sorry to hear about your Dad. We've both lost loved ones this year, so I have an inkling of how you feel. My Mum never visited the Broads, but somehow the peace and quiet of a Broads holiday makes me think of her a lot. Helen

We had some bow slap last week. Made me think we should have moored with our stern to the wind on a couple of occasions. Where were you moored? H

Me too! I love these small parish moorings with space for only one or two boats. Thanks for the write up. I learn so much from reading other forum members cruising and pub visits accounts. Helen

Eeeuk! Glad that wasn't me Tim! I can capture a spider in a glass and let it out of the house, but being surprised by a spider completely freaks me out! H

Any chance it's dog friendly? We found The Red Lion just over Bishop's Bridge, the far end of the Yacht Station, is dog friendly. We haven't had a meal there yet but are planning to next time we visit. Helen

For our April/May outing on Royale Emblem I bought 5 cards. Ended up not using any of them as there was credit on all the posts we used that week (Norwich, Loddon, Ludham). Also, even though we were fairly profligate about using heating, TV etc. in the evenings when plugged into shore power we seemed to use very little credit off the posts. I'm wondering if the boat we were on just had very efficient batteries, or whether the solar panels on the roof made a difference (not that it was particularly sunny that week). Even when we were on moorings without shore power we had no problems using heating in the evenings without running the engine, though we were a bit more cautious about running heating and TV for any length of time. Helen

Yep, I dislike the generalising about women drivers too, although I must admit that our next doors' daughter does seem to have a spacial awareness issue. She's had a few cars over the years and I've never seen any car acquire quite so many dents and scrapes. She's never had any really serious accidents fortunately, nor has she bumped our car, thank goodness! Believe me there are some crazy men drivers out there though! Helen

I frequently feel that mine was the last generation to get some inkling of what previous generations' lives, pre-consumer revolution, were like, especially since I spent so much time with my grandparents. I would hate to be a young person today, though I must admit my kids seems to be managing okay.

The drivers that get my goat are the ones that pootle along way below the speed limit when outside built up areas, then completely ignore the 40 or 30 limits through villages. Even worse, the idiots who potter along way below speed limits, then after you've finally managed to overtake them decide to get one back and overtake you at a ridiculous speed. What?!

Thanks for the tale Bryan. I love reading other people's accounts of their holidays. It's getting me nicely in the zone for our next break, week after next on Fair Regent. Sorry to hear that you had such bad weather. I'm really hoping that we get better weather but it doesn't look that good at present! I had been hoping to get to Colishall, Dilham and Geldeston, the latter two are places that we haven't been before, but with the amount of rain that we've been having recently my hopes of getting under the bridges are fast fading.

MM I hope things turn out okay for you, it certainly sounds from your post that the family realise how much you have contributed and are supportive. This forum is such a supportive community of people. It's the only online social forum that I've felt comfortable posting on, and sharing some very personal moments. I felt so supported when my Mum died in June. Hope MM feels the same. Helen

I quite like Kate. I admired her for trying to continue a life of normality when she first married into the royalty. Was a bit stunned one morning to bump into her (well not literally, but to pass her in the aisle) in Holyhead Tesco's around 8am, a few months after they got married and he was still serving as a helicopter pilot in the RAF Mountain Rescue team in Anglesey. I'm sure she must have had security people/person around her somewhere, but if so they were very discreet. People in Anglesey loved that they occasionally turned up in local pubs and even the local pizza take-away. By the way, working in the Mountain Rescue helicopter team isn't a free-load by any measure. They frequently have to fly out in the worst of weathers. Helen

Really sorry to hear your sad news MM, and worried about your reference to not knowing where you will live. Hold onto the blessing that your sister was so special. When my Mam died earlier this year it so helped me to think about how blessed I've been in been born into such a loving family. I just want to add that I loved Grace's poem. Helen

Brilliant! Congrats! You make a lovely couple and, as John said, I hope you have many happy years together. Graham and I always think the anniversary when we first got together is more special somehow than our wedding anniversary. Maybe that's because we met when we were 16 and had to wait until we were 22 before tying the knot. Six and a half years is a lifetime when you're that young! Helen

Me too. Having stopped off at both, and at a very off-season March quiet Neatishead Staithe compared to a July Gay's Staithe, I preferred the latter, even though it was a longer walk to the pub (not that long though). You can always drop your rubbish off at the Neatished Staithe on our way to the White Horse.

I agree with the comments on this thread. I don't think Diana was the saint that the media liked to portray, they do like things to be 'black and white'. However, I will always remember a friend from Holyhead telling me that Diana had telephoned the mother of lad that I was in school with, following the son's death in the Falklands conflict. He was one of the Welsh Guards who died on the RFA Sir Galahad (the ship that Simon Weston was on). I'm pretty sure that Diana did a lot of 'unsung' small acts of compassion like that. Helen

Oi, you lot! Leave off the trombone! (Loved the unhinged humour as usual...keeps me going.) From a former trombone player (okay, not a very good one). Gave up playing in a training band when Mam's health started to decline. On a more positive note, I've been thinking of rejoining the band, maybe playing a different instrument? Perhaps the cornet? Still have my Taid's (Grandad's) cornet. My Mam told me my Nain (Gran) bought it as a present for their wedding in 1926. It's a Hawkes instrument, sold shortly before the Boosey and Hawkes merger. My son Harry playes repiano cornet with the Woburn Sands 'B' Band. He did play with their 'A' band for a while, but his job at IKEA means he can't be relied upon for concerts. At least he's carrying on playing. No. 2 son Alec used to play Trombone but gave up given the unreasonable hours he is asked to work for Frosts Landscape Construction (they're the ones supporting Alan Tichmarsh's 'Love your Garden' show...title something like that). He is expected to clock in at 05:30 but generally doesn't get home until between 18:30 and 20:30. Helen

A lot depends on the owner knowing the dog and the breed. We have a young collie and we know that she will chase any cars she hears, so there's no way that we will let her off the lead anywhere near traffic. We had a complete panic a few weeks back where she got out whilst we were having a delivery of a new mattress. Lucky we're not on a main road and a couple of cars going past stopped, and she responded to our recall. Whew! Helen

And from me! A big welcome! Helen

All I can add is that we found the Acle Pedro's food was enjoyable. Have had two meals there, a month apart. Helen p.s. We've been meaning to check out the Bridge Inn too, but not managed that yet.

Yep...Mid July at The White Horse Neatishead I mentioned that I'd been a bit miffed to find that The Lion at Thurne hadnt been able to offer us food one lunchtime a couple of days earlier, and the chap at the bar ( Rick?) said that he'd lost three chefs in one day. I take this is a crisis in Norfolk chef availability generally, so not a reflection on any particular pub. Helen

I don't think I've come across soapstone before, but that seems quite likely. The carving is so fine. Helen

...and a fragment decorated with a fish.

...and here's the fragment of blue glazed ware...