YnysMon

That tatty Good Housekeeping cookbook that I posted a photo of earlier in this thread does actually tell you how to boil an egg, and make scrambled eggs etc. Just about everything really.

Sunday 18th September Our aim today was to return back south, and moor up Water Rail at Dave’s friend’s house at Oulton Broad for 24 hours whilst we drove Harry back to MK. I had checked the Aweigh App yesterday, whilst we were in The White Horse, and it had predicted the tide to be at least an hour earlier than the tide table I’d printed out pre-holiday. So we got up early and set off around 7am, shortly after dawn. Once we were on the river and I picked up some signal I checked again, only to find the Aweigh prediction had changed to nearer the original prediction. I slowed down! We did a lot of the journey at only about 4mph, or as slow as we could with the tide pushing us. When we did get to Gt Yarmouth, we found that slack water on the Bure was a little earlier than predicted, but when we turned at the yellow post, the tide was still flowing out of Breydon. That’s unusual! Normally, the tide turns up Breydon before it turns up the Bure. Still, the water levels and tides have been all over the place this week. Breydon crossing was fine, not too choppy. The wind was from the north, so the choppiness was more side on than waves against us. Whilst crossing we had some 11'ses. (Delicious Rollo rocky road from Stokesby pub shop). We stopped for short time for Seren to have a ‘comfort break’ at Burgh Castle, then continued on our way up the Waveney. Shortly after Burgh Castle, Harry or Graham spotted a trickle of water welling up at the stern. I called Dave (our hero!), but it was quite difficult describing how much of a trickle we were experiencing. Anyway, he said he’d meet us when we got to Oulton Broad, which he did. By that time, we were able to report that whatever water we were taking on was causing the bilge pump to do its thing every 25 minutes or so. Bless him, Dave promised to fix the problem before we returned tomorrow. This evening we travelled back home.

Saturday 17th September There was no sign of the rain letting up overnight, so it's just as well that we'd left pans in place to catch any drips. Shortly after we got up Kate went past, giving us a beep as she did so. Good morning Kate! Our priority today was to top up the fuel before making the journey down south tomorrow. We set out across Barton Broad, heading for Sutton Staithe. There was an operation going on to replace some of the wooden posts on Barton with metal ones. When we got to Sutton we found the boatyard was closed for the weekend. Once we’d turned around and were making our way out of Sutton (around 10am), I phoned Boulter’s and made an appointment to get fuel there for 12.30. We timed that almost perfectly. We got to Boulter’s at 12.35pm, without having had to hurry or break the speed limit on our journey down the Ant. On our way back down the Ant we passed Moonlight Shadow and both crews waved madly. As it was still pretty windy and overcast, we thought a mooring on electric would be ideal, failing that, somewhere sheltered, so we headed back down the Bure. We first tried for a mooring on the BA moorings at Acle, but there were no moorings apart from Broads Bank Moorings (or whatever they are called – I meant the moorings that used to be the Pedro’s moorings). Giving up on Acle, we headed back to Upton Dyke. The wind was really whipping across the dyke, so I was very nervous to see whether we would find a space at the end. The staithe was full. However, there was a space at Eastwood Whelpton and we had a very warm welcome when we moored up there. We and Water Rail were remembered from the Beccles Wooden Broads Cruiser Show back in August. It was mid afternoon when we arrived, and only about 3.40pm when we went to the pub (the community owned White Horse). We visited the adjacent shop first and then whiled away the hour and a bit before they started serving food (at 5pm) with some drinks and reading a newspaper. We enjoyed our meals. I had warm roasted veg, grains and salad and grilled halloumi. Shortly before sunset Harry and I took Seren for a run along the bank towards the main river. We were blessed with another beautiful sunset this evening. Another early evening, ready for an early start tomorrow.

Friday 16th September We had a few torrential showers overnight and I woke before 6 this morning with a drip onto my pillow just above my head. I put some kitchen towel in the spot, but the drip seemed to be getting worse, either that or I was more aware of it. So I got up, set a pan lined with kitchen towel under the drip, bundled myself up with warm clothes and went to sit in a picnic chair in the wheelhouse. It was rather overcast this morning and was promising some strong ’ish winds, so we thought we’d head up the Ant to somewhere sheltered. The skies were very ‘interesting’ too, with some dark rain clouds and several rainbows. Just as we dropped our roof (as a precaution, since the river levels were pretty high) to get under Ludham Bridge we had another shower, and double rainbow. Above the bridge the showers kept coming. We struck lucky at Irstead, and secured the space next to the electric post. That’s one of the few luxuries Water Rail does offer – the chance to hook up to electric. Actually, it wasn’t cold today, despite all the showers. Harry put his paddle board out to dry - but all it did was collect puddles. Harry and I visited the church. I think it’s the third time I’ve visited the church, and each time I do I’m yet again struck at how many interesting features it has for such a tiny, village church. The medieval rood screen is just one feature out of many. The Church is called St Michael's. They have a carving of St Michael wrestling with the devil above the door. They had a book of condolence near the entrance. I wouldn't like to go up this church tower! When we came out, we visited the pottery stand and bought a pot. The rest of the day was spent not doing very much at all. I spent half the afternoon catching up on NBN threads and email. There was quite a reed cutting operation going on nearby down the dyke that's almost opposite the mooring. They were bringing the cut reeds back to the staithe and then loading them into a van. As the drips were still dripping onto where my pillow had been last night, I abandoned Graham this evening and took the spare berth in the forward cabin instead.

Thursday 15th September It was an early ‘ish start for us from Gay’s Staithe (we left around 7am) and were aiming for Potter Heigham, having called the pilot yesterday and been advised to get there around 10am. It was rather drizzly this morning. Seren was happy though. When we got to Potter H the pilot said we could just about get under the bridge but advised against it. I phoned Dave who, bless him, had said he didn’t mind if Water Rail got stuck above the bridge, and was quite prepared to pick us up Sunday so that we could get back to MK and then return us to Water Rail the following day. Mind you, by the time we dithered for 15 to 20 minutes or so the tide had risen quite dramatically, so that put getting under the bridge out of the frame anyway. Looking back, it would have been nice to get under, but I think we’d have been well and truly stuck north of the bridge for the rest of our trip. Some Martham boats were being taken under. There was an alarming crunch when the last one went through (not pictured), so we were guessing the roof rails were a little to high for the bridge. We moved the boat back onto the BA moorings... and did the obligatory visit to Latham’s (I stocked up on Christmas cards). After that we went to South Walsham and secured a mooring just north of the boatyard. They are lovely moorings. The main problem was that Seren kept colliding with the type of thistle that leaves huge burrs in her fur, that we then had to try and pick out. That's what's going on in the photos below. I’d been in touch with Kate (kpnut) over the last few days. Frustratingly, we’d just missed each other at Stalham yesterday, as I hadn’t realised that Kate was on her home mooring at Richardson’s until after we’d left. Once we knew we had a spot, Kate confirmed she would come around to South Walsham by car by mid-afternoon. Meanwhile, Harry got himself geared up for some paddle boarding again. He went around the inner broad and found a large dead fish. When Kate arrived we had a cuppa, then she, I and our two dogs set out for a walk. I don’t think we’d intended to do the longer circular walk from South Walsham, but we were so busy chatting we didn’t turn off the path from the Bure bank until we got to the path that leads toward Upton. Very much enjoyed the walk though, and I certainly needed the exercise! When I got back to the boat just after 6pm, Graham had set out in search for me, with my jacket, in case I was cold, bless him. He’d not long set out though, and had his mobile with him, which Harry called him as soon as I returned. Supper this evening was roasted cauli with a sachet of a chickpea curry and rice.

That was my intention Liz, but when I mentioned it to the Harbour Master at the Yacht Station he said that several boats had got grounded up toward New Mills over the past months, so I thought I'd best not chance it.

Have a great time Simon. That extra day and overnight in Norwich sounds like a real bonus. Each time I visit Norwich I like the city more and more.

Coming up river, having passed through Irstead, take the starboard passage around the Island. As you start to emerge again past the Island to the wider Broad there’s a small channel on you starboard side that leads through trees to Wood End. It’s not marked in any way (no yellow post). Once through the trees the Staithe is on your starboard side. There’s only room for one boat, no longer than about 38’. I think Moonlight Shadow might squeeze in, but only just. There’s a ‘Captain’s Blog’ from a few years back where Robin took a hire boat down towards Wood End. I don’t think he actually moored up there though, and I can’t remember which episode it was.

Ooo, that’s interesting. Would love to know more.

Wednesday 14th September An early start this morning. We had the alarm on for 5.30am as we wanted to start off as soon as it was dawning. However, when I took Seren out to relieve herself and was using a torch to locate her ‘doggy doo’ it occurred to me that our green doggy doo bags and a torch would be a good substitute for the starboard nav light that wasn’t working. So we were able to start off before dawn. We also used a torch on the stern as we thought that light wasn’t working either - turned out we just hadn’t found where the switch was for that light. It wasn't anywhere near the other nav light switches. I love pre-dawn starts, with the gentle mist rising off the river. Breydon Water was quiet and calm. We took it easy crossing, again not pushing the engine. Graham lowered the mast as a precaution, and we took the roof down, but we were able to get under the bridges without taking the windscreen down. It was another beautifully sunny morning, and we very much enjoyed our morning cruise. The water level did look very high though, no sign of the usual muddy banks on the lower Bure. Not a good omen for getting under Potter Heigham as we’d hoped. On the way up, shortly before we got to Stracey Arms, we passed a family gathered on top of a flybridge cruiser. The mother had a large parrot perched on her arm. That’s the second pet bird we spotted on this holiday. A boat moored at Beccles had a bird (parakeet?) in a cage on top of their cruiser. It was quite amusing, making all sorts of whistling noises, including the McDonald’s trademark whistle. We stopped briefly on the BA moorings at Stokesby, only long enough for Seren to stretch her legs and have a comfort break and for Harry and I to visit the shop to buy cake and home-made chocolates. We continued up the Bure and then turned up the Ant we made our way to Richardson’s. If we had any chance of getting under Potter Heigham bridge in the next day of so, I wanted to be sure that we had enough food on board, as Latham’s is a bit limited food wise (though not tat-wise). I checked with Richardson’s reception to check that we were okay to stay there a few hours. They were fine with that, and there was no charge (that’s a lot better than Barnes Brinkcraft – who charged us £7 just to stay a couple of hours). First, we had lunch on board (cheese, sourdough, salad, oatcakes), as it was already fairly late, then Harry and I went up to Tesco’s. After we’d done that, it was getting on for 4pm and we set off for the destination that had been our reason for heading up the river Ant – I wanted to get into Wood End Staithe. The idea was to get to as many inaccessible places as possible whilst on Water Rail, as she’s a fairly compact boat. On our way to Wood End I received a text from Neil who was on syndicate boat Lightning, to let us know there was currently space for a small ‘un on Gay’s Staithe. Approaching the creek that leads off Barton Broad to Wood End. We did get into Wood End, though it was a bit of a tight squeeze to turn, and we did manage to moor up. We set out to take Seren for a walk. Near the staithe we found the remains of what looked like a small wherry. Our walk with Seren took us along the lanes that lead to Catfield and back. We only went as far as the end of Fen Lane before we noticed that it was getting on for 5.30pm, so we turned back. When we returned to the boat, we realised that there was a really strong smell of methane about the place. The whole creek seemed to be thickly covered with blue-green algae, which we’ve read deoxygenates the water – so tends to kill off other vegetation, so maybe that’s why it smelt of methane. Anyway, we decided it wouldn’t be a healthy place to stay overnight, so I texted Neil to ask if there was still space in Gay’s Staithe. He thought there was, although he and his wife had gone off to The White Horse by then. So, that’s how we ended up squeezing into a small Water Rail sized space at Gay’s Staithe rather late in the day. It wasn’t easy to get into either, as I hadn’t quite got the hang of how Water Rail handles – especially not in reverse. It took quite a lot of gentle manoeuvring before we got into the desired spot and, at one point, Harry had to flatten himself against the boat when we got rather too close to the trees opposite the moorings. I was far too tired to start making the meal that I’d planned for this evening, so we ended up just having some spinach and ricotta tortellini for supper. Shortly after we’d finished, I heard Neil call out hello, so I nipped around to Lightning and had a lovely chat with him and his wife before I had to call an early night.

Tuesday 13th September As usual for a first night on the Broads, I woke at a ridiculously early hour (just after 4). Around 6am, shortly before dawn, I took Seren for a short walk along the riverbank. It was a short walk because it was fairly dewy and I didn’t want to get my new ’ish canvas shoes too wet. About an hour later I donned my walking boots and Seren and I had a longer walk, as far as a barrier that said (on the far side) ‘No Dogs’ – whoops! However, the sign said the reason for no dogs was due to a disease cattle can get from dog poo, which causes them to miscarry. This didn’t make sense to me, as the path wasn’t adjoining grazing land. I’ve never seen cattle on that stretch and the path runs between the river and marshy dykes on the inland side. We started off this morning earlier than we should have, by which I mean we didn’t wait for the falling tide to turn. We didn’t push it though, but just pootled up to Beccles at something between 3-4mph. Shortly after setting off we spotted a couple of gulls that each picked up what looked like a rather long fish and then dropped it. As we passed the spot, the ‘fish’ looked more like a young eel – now dead or stunned, not sure which. On our way up the Waveney. We got to Beccles mid-morning and went along to the Harbour Master’s office to say we’d be staying until around 3pm – there was no charge. Harry got ready to do some paddle boarding, having first gone to the office to buy a week’s paddle board toll. Later in the week he decided that the toll sticker that you are given is really designed for canoes/kayaks, as it got rather tatty after the inflatable paddle board had been collapsed and rolled up a few times. Meanwhile, I went off to have a shower in the nearby ladies conveniences. After that I paid a visit (with Dave’s blessing) to Tabitha Rose. Tabitha is moored further down near the office. I knew (having stayed on her for a few days in August) that there was a larger saucepan on board, so we borrowed that, along with a large’ ish pyrex mixing bowl and a foldable step stool. The latter came in handy on Water Rail as the berths in the forward cabin are rather high. We set off from Beccles around 2pm, again not having waited for the tide to turn. We had thought of going as far as Burgh Castle (ready for a trip across Breydon tomorrow) but it was past 4pm by the time we got to Somerlayton and, as there was a space near an electric post, we moored up there. I wanted to prepare some fajitas this evening, to use up some left-over chicken I’d brought from home, and I knew I wouldn’t fancy doing that if we continued cruising until 6 or 7pm. Initially, Graham and I sat on a nearby bench and relaxed until it was time to start cooking the dinner, whilst Harry visited the nearby pub, the Duke’s Head, for a pint. I prepared the fajitas by roasting some sliced onion and red, yellow and orange peppers in the oven that had been tossed in oil and fajita seasoning. Once cooked, 2/3rd of it was mixed with with strips of the chicken for Harry and I, and the remaining 3rd was mixed with some vegan ‘pretend’ chicken for Graham. It was served with tortillas and soured cream. Somerlayton wasn’t as quiet as I expected. There was some road noise in the distance as well as the trains. (Writing this up over a week later, when we are again moored at Somerlayton, it seems a lot quieter, so I wonder if the road noise happens when the wind is in a certain direction?) Today was been a lovely warm summer-like day. I spent most of the day in shorts, only changing in the evening. Not bad for mid-September. We were also blessed with a spectacular sunset this evening. All in all, it’s been a great day.

Monday 12th September The start of what we hoped would be a 12-day trip on Water Rail, lent to us by Dave (JanetAnne). I say ‘hoped’, as the trip had been in jeopardy. The last person on board (Grendel) had experienced a problem with the engine (understatement). Luckily, Dave had managed to source spare parts and had rebuilt the engine just in time for our trip. He’s a star! Our eldest son Harry was unexpectedly able to join us for the first week, as IKEA had given him a week’s leave, which he hadn’t applied for (they do that when you haven’t used up sufficient leave). He was keen to bring along the new paddle board that he bought after our July trip on Moonlight Shadow, when he had a taster paddle board session at Geldeston. We set off fairly early from MK (about 8.40) as we wanted to get to Hoveton by midday. Yes, I know that Hoveton is nowhere near Oulton Broad where we were picking the boat up from, but I had arranged to meet up with Malcolm (Mouldy) and Warren (Tempest) at Jeckell’s in Hoveton to look at some upholstery fabric samples. The three of us make up the newly elected Management Team of the now self-managed Moonlight Shadow Syndicate. Having selected our samples, we all drove around to Horning Pleasurecraft, where Moonlight Shadow was moored, so that we could view the samples alongside the carpet. It was Warren’s week on board, so we were able to meet his wife Julie for the first time too, which was lovely. Warren's dogs are a wee bit bigger than Seren. LOL. We also had a chat with a couple on a boat moored not far from us. They had a boat that looked the same type as Moonlight Shadow and we were invited on board to see their kitchen layout, which looked a big improvement on the layout we have on Moonlight Shadow. More space to move around and more accessible cupboards, though at the cost of sacrificing some worktop space. It was after 2pm before we said farewell to Malcolm, Warren and Julie and got on our way to Oulton Broad. We chose to go via Great Yarmouth rather than go back to the Norwich bypass and take the Norwich to Beccles/Lowestoft road, and we stopped off at the Yarmouth Aldi to do our food shop. We picked up some sandwiches there too for a late lunch. Water Rail was at Oulton Broad Yacht Station, moored near the Harbour Master’s office, so we were able to park nearby to load our gear onto the boat, then Dave and Graham went off to park the car at the place we would be ending our trip. It was after 5pm by the time we got away from Oulton Broad. We had a very pleasant trip up the Waveney. We only went as far as the wild mooring that’s a few bends upriver from the Waveney River Centre. It’s the one with the Easter Island head carving set in the grass. Seren loved this mooring, as it has a path that follows the riverbank which connects to the fishing spots further along, so lots of space to have a run around. We had been pushing against the tide since leaving Oulton Dyke, so it had taken a while. Dave had advised us to treat the engine gently, so we did that, and it was getting on for 7pm by the time we moored up. We then spent some time unpacking our stuff before having an easy pasta with pesto supper. I did this in two ‘servings’ as the only saucepans on board were fairly small. I had meant to make something else (more involved) but was too tired. By the time we’d finished our supper we were all feeling very sleepy, so only had one game of cards before deciding on an early night. Besides, the light was attracting in some daddy longlegs and mozzies. I’m sure we were in bed by 9pm.

Look our for my new thread...Wanderings on Water Rail, which will be a long winded version of our past fortnight with more photos.

Coo! Missed each other twice!

Probably less to do with the pesky mods (how I love to hear that phrase again) than the forum software. It’s probably treating you like a newbie, and I remember the frustration of not being able to do likes when I first joined.

Glad to hear that you had a good time. Thanks for posting!

So glad to see you posting again Grace. You've been missed! (Any new shoes lately perchance?)

Currently in Hipperson's getting fuel and pump out. And...the sun is trying to come out! Hopefully it will be a more pleasant trip back down the Waveney than our earlier trip up to Beccles.

Couldn't post again yesterday afternoon and evening as we moored at Somerlayton again (no signal). This morning we are on our way to Beccles to get some fuel and pump out and we'll be returning Water Rail to Oulton Broad this afternoon and then going home. It's rather gloomy this morning. Damp and drizzly. Not ideal cruising weather.

Currently moored at Hardley Mill, just for a Seren run. The mill and visitors centre look open.

I wish I'd managed to get a photo of him sitting in the kayak. He looked quite happy at that moment and sat very still and upright.

Thanks Kate. It was great to meet last week, and I've enjoyed trying to keep up with your tales despite having patchy signal. I was a bit late reading some episodes.

No collar. Too early to know if he's microchipped. He seemed a very good natured dog. Maybe. Seren and he seemed to tolerate each other. The kayakers and us made a great team. There's no way we could have rescued the dog by ourselves on Water Rail without a dinghy, and neither could they without our help.

Well...what a day! So much for our plans of going to Rockland St Mary this afternoon. We have ended up on the Commissioners Cut instead and a Broadland Animal Rescue chap has just picked up our stowaway. Earlier, as we were pootling downriver we can across a couple of kayakers just on the bend after Postwick Viaduct. Seeing Seren, they asked if we had a dog lead. They had been watching the dog on the bank for about an hour. Dog would stop and howl plaintively ever now and again. Graham passed over a lead and some dog treats, the kayaker (Matt) secured the dog and tried to get up the bank with him. This proved impossible, and the dog kept trying to pull back towards the river every time a boat went past. Meanwhile I was desperately trying to get hold of Broads Beat (answerphone) then 101. Eventually ending up in a three way conversation between me, Norfolk constabulary and them on another line with Broads Beat. The outcome was them giving us the number for Broads Animal Rescue. I phoned them and left message. Whilst waiting for a call back we thought the best thing would be to try to get the dog on board...though this did seem a bit dicey. We passed over Seren's buoyancy aid. Surprisingly, our stray dog consented to sit in one kayak and was towed over to the boat. He was very wanting to get on board, and helped by scrambling up, which was lucky as I don't think Graham would have been able to lift him. Once we were moored up in the Cut and kayakers Matt and his wife had joined us, I phoned the Animal Rescue again and gave them our WhatThreeWords location, as well as details of the roads leading to the Cut. Our stray was collected just before six this evening. For better or worse, we told the chap that collected him that we might be interested in adoption if his owner isn't traced.

Gosh, what an afternoon. We now have a stowaway on board, rescued from the river bank just south of Postwick Viaduct.