Londonlad1985

This bloke is daft! He didn't bring any beer out?!

Welcome! Good luck!

^that made me LOL

I'm going to have a look down reagents canal this weekend. See what I can see great contributions everyone!!

Pleased to make your acquaintance one day!

Quite a schlep to Bristol!

I was cycling along the River Lea in East London stopping at a pub or 2 over the weekend and noticed a Caribean moored up opposite the Anchor and Hope. She is listed on boats of the broads as last seen in 2009. That got me to thinking where else are Broads boats lurking and how far away have they got? I dare say it's been covered before but I'd be interested to hear people's stories.

Welcome!

This last series has gone above and beyond! They are like something you might see on channel 4. Moving reality TV with top entertainment value! Very excellent

I'm out with my Bro-in-law later in the year he has DGI phantom. Had some great group photos of family camping. I'll be eagerly watching out for more footage. We'll see what we can manage when we get out!

Welcome!

Great idea. I've got my eye on boats from Brinks and Broom so hopefully I'll get a bit of variety.

The track in context.

Day 4 & 5 - FIRST TIME FOR EVERYWHERE feat. The Beast of the Broads. Apologies if day 3 trailed off a bit I was preparing for a stag weekend while writing the ending. We awoke early on Easter Sunday, the weather was clear and the wind had abated slightly I was pleased to see the boat and the rhond anchors were where we left them although there were several thousand (6 or 7) geese remonstrating with thin air I assume at our unwelcome presence. Who needs an alarm clock on the broads?! Haha. Having made great time back up to the Thurn the afternoon before, I felt I had plenty of time to really explore with our last day. It was time for my 1st trip to Potter Heigham. We cruised out of Womack Water at around 0830 my PIC had made a superb breakfast of buttery scrambled eggs, poached salmon served on an English muffin washed down with a glass of Roy’s finest prosecco (we’re on holiday after all), At the time I couldn’t have pictured a better start to the day, thinking maybe this would be a fine replacement for my usual Sunday breakfast of a bacon roll and mug of Tetley. (It hasn’t). The trip into Potter Heigham was uneventful there was little traffic, I tok the opertunity to stand on thebow and take in the flatness of the scenery always able to pick out St Helens church. As we approached the settlement and started to see the chalets appear my mind turned to the estate agents boards outside several of them a friend of mine is looking for a 2nd home in the broads (not floating) and he had been looked at these, dismissing them as remote being inaccessible by car. I personally found some of the prices of the dilapidated ones seemed worth it just for the mooring. Cruising into Potter Heigham I took note of the moorings on the right incase the BA moorings were full. They were. Id wanted to see the famous bridge from water so cruised up to the demasting arear and the turned back I couldn’t see much space in the Herbert Woods Yard so cruised back to the “quiet” moorings I don’t know the name of these but I believe they are looked after by the resident association that manage the row of chalets up to the bridge. Although it was empty there were only two mooring posts and one at the very end of the mooring. We alighted and strolled to the bridge, the crossing of which was unpleasant to say the least there seemed to me an abundance of transit vans out and about. And the bridge is none to wide. Being Easter Sunday everything was closed, except the sausage van. This meand that sadly I am yet to visit Latham’s. We had a wander round the waterside side areas and took stroll along the for sale boats in Herbert Woods, each one looking more and more reasonable as we went. I am glad there wasn’t a chipper used boat salesman around or I may have indulged on a whim! (and a remortgage). As one of the Must see places on the Northern Broads I wasn’t blown away by the place however I think I should come back on a day when it’s more busy to fully make a judgment. Another dice with death across the bridge this time with a peloton of cyclists, and we were back on board in short order. Another hire boat had joined us on the mooring using the 1st mooring post and the information sign. Unfortunately this didn’t leave us with much room to maneuver out as the tide to pushed the other boat’s stern almost against our bow , the quay heading turns 90 degrees along the last chalet’s riparian frontage so we were stern to the quay heading. Fortunately someone popped up in the other boat and saw our peril and was able to fend us off, Id originally given the bow a push as I did the rope but the wind had pushed us back. Escape complete it was back towards the Bure with a vague idea to head nearer Stalham to return the boat in the morning. As we cruised down the Thurn, The thurn dyke drainage mill was tuning in the sunshine and there was a lot of bunting about unfortunately the dyke moorings looked too full so I never found out what was happening! Returning back up the Bure my PIC took a turn at driving as I took up the post of wavy man on a hire boat. On a whim my PIC suggested a look at South Walshsam, this was not a 1st for me but it was nice to remain as passenger and just relax as we very slowly cruised down fleet dyke and a circuit around the 2 broads the water seemed to almost teem with great crested grebes many of them emerging from the surface with small fish the tiny silver slivers limp in their bills, they must be spectacular under water hunters they are stunning creatures but do not get the glamour and attention of the sea going fish catchers like puffins. We were soon back on the Bure and turning into the Ant, the weather was still fair although a few clouds had begun to build obscuring the sun for periods. The Ant was as busy as I’d seen with lots of hire and private craft out and about. We made our under Ludham bridge, and meandered towards Barton Broad. Taking a break from cruising at Gays Staith we made the walk to the start of the board walk. It was deserted and the sun stayed out for the whole time we were wandering around. As we made our way back to the start I couldn’t help but notice the tracks through the area off the boards there look particularly well-worn my 1st thought was rabbits but then thought it was too wet and the path looked quite wide to be otters. Now this may sound farfetched but I did notice what appeared to be the foot print of a large mammal something like a big cat. I have a pic please see below. Flight of beastly fancy forgotten we arrived back at the boat as a few spots of rain had begun to fall, I took a detour down lime kiln dyke to see Neatishead Staith having never ventured down so far as expected it was full so we made the turn and headed off towards Paddy’s Lane and Barton Turf. This was another 1st for me having only ever seen the upper reaches of the and somewhere to rush through either to or from the Richardson’s yard. It was still only just past lunchtime and I’d caught the exploration bug so next it was up to Wayford Bridge. More seclusion of the Ant and several great looking wild mooring spots brought us to the bridge the boat height was shown as 7ft 2” and the bridge showed 7ft 2” I took this and serendipity and made my way under the bridge. As we crossed under it did feel like a transformation even the river seemed to slow visibly the Yacht station and house boats appeared to be empty as we meandered past I saw the Yacht station sign was charging £8 for a mooring which for the levels of tranquility sounded well worth it. We pressed on past the yacht station and into “deliverance territory” bar perhaps Lime Kiln Dyke this was the narrowest piece of waterway I’d navigated. This is most definitely kingfisher country – as testified in the London Rascal’s latest series. If you want to put some pictures to these scenes it’s worth a watch. We pressed on to Dilham and turned the boat (just about) and moored at the empty staith. we ate a late lunch and sat just admiring the peace and quiet for an hour or so before heading back the way came. We made it back to turn for Stalham it was getting on for time by then and I was in half a mind to have a look at Sutton, I was tired by now and we decided to head back to Stalham instead. I will have to save Sutton for another time. There were few wild moorings I considered but in the head plumped for back to the boat yard to pack as we had a taxi booked back to Norwich at 0800 the next morning. We booked with Gold Star which does not have a Bank Holiday supplement it would appear. Enroute up the Ant some excitement was had avoiding a large Hover (as I now know is the proper term) {see a previous post} I’m really pleased I decided to explore some more of the Ant, The more I see the more I want to see I honestly think you could spend forever north of Ludham bridge and sill have things to see. I’m pleased we aimed for the Richardson’s yard it was almost empty and deserted we had peaceful supper and polished off the beer and wine stocks along with our remaining food. We moored up at around 1800 as the heavens had opening as far as I could tell it rained all night – at around midnight the bilge pump ran for about a minute I assume water was getting in in somewhere. We awoke early gave the keys to a lad and requested a postal on the fuel only £25 spent which is impressive! Our cab dropped us at Wetherspoons for breakfast the only place open on a Bank Holiday Monday where waited to catch our coach back to London. I hope I have done this trip justice and will have another try when I am down for a week on the 5th of June where I hope to see some of the southern broads not to mention take my Mum to Lathams

I really do appreciate everyone's comments! More to come...however I've just returned from a stag weekend in Prague and writing time was limited!

Day 3 - A WHOLE DAY ON A BOAT - Bure Delight I woke up on Saturday morning after a restful sleep at around 6. It was bloody freezing! My phone showed a “feels like” temperature of -2c!!! On went the hot air heating, then back to bed for an hour. The 2 vents were in the saloon and cabin and heated the small space as efficiently as a 2 bar electric fire, I was suitably impressed. Several cups of tea and a sunrise (not the beer) later we dined on a breakfast of bacon rolls, and left Ludham Bridge at about 0800 bound for St Benets Abbey. This was at the special request of my PIC as she had visited the abbey on on a holiday with friends some years ago but unfortunately was too inebriated to remember much. The last stretch of the Ant took an hour or so, reluctant to shatter the tranquillity of the morning I cruised on tick over noticing the ebbing tide was helping us along. We did not come across any other traffic it was beautiful in the weak morning sunlight. As we entered the Bure and turned left I got a pang of excitement. The Bure is wider and faster than the Ant and I could see a couple of sails already out over the reads. I know some people see it as a motorway between Wroxham an Acle but I think it has charm of its own especially anywhere in the shadow of St Benets Abbey. Noting the ebbing tide I cruised past and turned upstream noting my preferred mooring spot, into the tide we executed a decent mooring and made for the abbey ruins. This was a 1st for me and I found the place very atmospheric. The Graffiti was fascinating as was the yellow football lodged in a window outside. How did that get there? Look out for it when you are next there! From St Benets it was then on to Ranworth, where we arrived and a stern on Mooring was completed to my satisfaction. Ranworth is firm favourite of mine and I have visited on every trip to the broads. I can’t really say why as I normally just buy a magnet from the gift shop and sink a few wherries in the Maltsters. I do like the quaintness of the village green campsite and I must confess I am almost as happy under canvas as I am on the water, and only today I was discussing the possibility of camping on the green with some pals from work in the office. We are all keen anglers. Anyay this trip was assuredly more cultured and after seeing several of Robins Videos I was determined to see the Church and remember its name. It’s St. Helens. Am I glad I visited, the church could have a blog of its own! Upon arrival I noted there were already several visitors inside so we took a turn around the graveyard it was peaceful and tranquil and since I’ve lived in London I have gained a real affinity for a cemetery, they are often one of the few genuinely quiet green spaces around. As a peered at the headstones names leapt at me generations of same families from the 1800s to the 1990s I wondered idly as a wandered if the families were still local. I hope they are. Next it was up the tower with 89 steps, 2 ladders and a trap door, The view was worth the climb there is something lovely about seeing San Rafael moored at the staith from this height and distance. Unfortunately I’d left my monocular on the boat! While we were up there a local gentleman with a young relative perhaps granddaughter emerged from the trapdoor – I listened as he explained the landscape to her acting as an involuntary guide – we chatted a while and he told an interesting anecdote about Lady Cator and the paining blue of her properties. Back down the stairs which was quite nerve wracking with no bannister. Money deposited in the collection box we were about to leave when a cloth covered object caught my eye. Reading the cloth it turned out it covered the case of the Ranworth Antiphoner. Https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranworth_Antiphoner . This 15th Century book was lost in the 16th century subsequently rediscovered and bought for the parish in 1912 by Lord Cator. The book was stunning you would not believe it was 500 years old. I can only marvel at the amount of time and patience it would take to hand letter each page without even considering the illuminated letters. An irony of the season occurred to me reading about the Antiphoner was that being Easter weekend the Easter services are actually missing. We strolled back to the staith I purchased my obligatory fridge magnet for the office, I had wanted to top up the water but the queue for the hose was 3 deep. So we headed out of Malthouse Broad and back onto the Bure heading west for Horning. I was expecting some sailing boats as I had heard there was a big race from the sailing club this didn’t seem to materialise which was a relief in some respects and a disappointment in others. I have sailed dinghies as a child in the sea scouts and there is something appealing about a sailing cruiser….. perhaps another blogs worth at any rate. As we approached Horning my mind tuned to mooring and needless to say options were limited on the east bank. There were 2 stern on moorings at the New Inn, I didn’t fancy it to be honest I’d already had a can of beer and the pub may have been too tempting to stay in! So we pressed on to Wroxham. I know Wroxham has a bad wrap from some quarters but I LOVE THE PLACE from the very lovely posh gin palace owning riverside properties to the mad locals that take day bouts out to play dodgems! Whatever you opinion you can’t deny it’s vibrant. I obviously wasn’t expecting Wroxham to be any quieter but we did need some supplies I had some mature cheddar and tomatoes that demanded some fresh crusty bread. I miraculously found a apace in the NBD yard I maneuvered into position for a stern on mooring this was almost perfect positioning wise, unfortunately I totally fluffed it with ill-judged speed I did not half clatter the quay heading. After bouncing off, I very gently made a second attempt which worked. I must say I have no excuse for this considering I had managed it in Ranwoth only hours before. I guess I’ll chalk this one to experience or lack thereof. I am grateful the hire boats are covered in fenders. I will point out (rather meekly) I have never had this level of mooring issues in the past. Roy’s well raided it was around 2 pm once we’d topped up with water and had our sarnies. I was in half a mind to stop for the day and have a good explore of Wroxham. I had in my previous 2 short breaks spend the night in most the same place on the 2nd night. So I decided to make our way back down the Bure and do something different. Cruising back down I thought I would have nose in a broad, or 2 Naturally we followed the Queen of the broads into Wroxham Broad and made some sort of navigation through the multitude of sailing buoys. Id never appreciated how large the yacht club moorings are. Returning to the Bure we cruised back towards horning enjoying the waves and general jollity from the enthusiastic day boaters. For me no trip to horning would be complete without visiting Blackhorse Broad – this secret seeming little hideaway is a real treat. Emerging through the trees the immaculately rolled lawns of the large waterside piles stand out. I understand from previous videos and blogs that when the rhododendron or possibly camellias are in full bloom the several on the gardens that really shine. I fear I was too early this year although there were hints. As we cruised out of Horning a plan begun to form…To Womack dyke was the plan id previously mentioned in post about keeping the wild moorings alive and thought I should do my bit. After turning into the thurn it was not long until we reached Womack Dyke I had an idea to moor in what have dubbed “Robins Layby” however an offshore wind put pay that. I am a rhond anchor novice so we made for some easy looking bank near the junction with the Thurn, it was on the northern bank behind the holiday let. We had access to the path and made full use into in Ludham. Rhond anchors in it took an hour for me be brave enough to walk away from the boat after some pretty larges washes gave me cause from concern.One chap texting o his phone on a Herbert Woods centre cockpit cruiser literally grazed a fender before he noticed us. I probably should have sounded the horn. I dare say our location did not lend its self to observation. I will point out that the BA moorings were full and so was the staith at Womack Water. Into Ludham we tottered past all the “legitmate” moorings to the Kings Arms. I was impressed with the Kings Arms Having grown up in the new town of Stevenage, and drinking through many of the estate pubs, with a certain kind of atmosphere, I can say the Kings Arms had an atmosphere. Here was a drinker’s pub if ever I’ve seen one. I met some great people staff and punters alike. We actually made it back to the boat for mixed grill and I ‘ll draw the day to a close here.

Neutral is something that is very peculiar to some boats... I'm not making excuses but I did crave a decent Morse throttle leaver.

Haha I'm writing day 3 as we speak.... pictures I'm a pretty poor photographer I must warn!

All great advice! Thanks guys!

Hey scrumpy excellent blog! Sorry to hear about your bad experience in the premiere inn! I think i had the opposite experience over Easter! Funny how it goes!

That is a blooming good tip!

Yes! That sounds like a sensible approach! I'm back in June so will give it a try!

Day 2 – Wroxham the 1st time and a less than hostile takeover! I awoke to find the PIC had vacated the king-size bed to the single this was apparently due to my thunder like snores! I blame the Peshawari naan from the night before sitting a bit heavy! First order of the day was a hot shower followed by an obscenely large breakfast in the extremely well provisioned buffet. I can thoroughly recommend the premiere in as a great budget city break hotel! After some packing and procrastinating the 1145 from Norwich to Wroxham was plumped for! Another pleasant train journey albeit much shorter with tantalising glimpses of the waterways brought us into Hoveton and Wroxham Station. This was my 3rd time to Wroxham and the 1st time not by boat! I was apprehensive as we trundled our cases, I had no idea which way to go! Following the crowd (small family) worked and we soon found ourselves snugly ensconced in the Wroxham Hotel having a refresher while we waited for our taxi. It really was thrilling to be back in the heart of the broads and I revelled in watching the comings and goings from the NBD yard and the bridge pilot doing his stuff. I was quite excited to see Fairway from Richardson’s which was my last hire boat and a capable and comfortable whip last September. As I sat there it was almost a tease as I couldn’t wait to be out myself! Feeling inclined to tease, I offered my PIC some 50p bird feed to go out and feed the swans on the terrace - she declined. I knew she would unfortunately she has a phobia of waterfowl especially anything larger than a moorhen. Meantime the taxi arrived and we departed the hotel, as we travelled the Wroxham Road (I think that’s its name) I noted out the Wayford bridge as we crossed it and knew that I was within the “Ant Delta”. We arrived at Richardson’s £15 lighter as Stalham Cars charge a Bank Holiday enhancement. As usual the gathering of paperwork and collection of buoyancy aids went without a hitch then it was time to load San Rafael and wait for our handover. The handover was a little longer than I had expected, this was my 3rd time on a broads boat all from Richardson’s. A cheerfully cockney sounding and polite lad came aboard and advised we had about half an hour wait until we could sign out, this was fine as it gave me time to have a poke around, (more on the boat later, 10 minutes later he came back and said the handover may quicker if we moved from Heron Quay to Swan Quay he duly did this (I suspect he just wanted a go on a boat) he protested and claimed to hate boating as an activity but enjoyed his employment to paint them. He had evidently piloted a few boats as he gracefully stern moored it between 2 other boats without a nudge, and it was windy enough! Anyway the handover proceeded the fenders were duly counted and the boat was our home for the weekend! By this time I was champing at the bit to get out! My PIC reminded me we had to take a walk to Tesco! I’ll spare you the details of Stalham Tesco as I fear my detail could disappear into the minutiae. In short enough order we were underway proper the shopping was away and we were just entering Barton Broad. Heading towards Irstead it felt strange not to be making for Gay's Staith as this had been my 1st nights moorings on both my previous outings. I'd been conditioned by horror stories from conversations that all the Richardson's hirers made for St Benetts, Ludham Bridge or How Hill and been told "you'll not get a mooring if you arrive after 3pm" This time I was determined to get a little further and give me some options for the morning. As ever I was delighted to cruise through Irstead and down the Ant one of my favourite parts of the northern broads. A friend of a friend was married in Irstead and I hear it was featured in OK magazine - this is borne out by the waterside properties along there fit for any episode of MTVs “Cribs” Ludham Bridge was the aim and we arrived just after 5pm with plenty of space on the Horning marshes BA moorings (correct me if I got that wrong) It's had been a stimulating cruise down the Ant with little traffic and lots of scenery and I really felt like I was back! As I approached the moorings before the bridge on my right I noted the bent reeds and saw there was a stiff breeze blowing off the bank. With my PIC in position to man the ropes it was time to attempt my 1st mooring of the season. To be frank it was a disaster. As I slowly tried to straighten up along the bank in the 40ft gap it became apparent that the stiff breeze was more of problem than id anticipated as by the time the bow was behind the next boat along the stern was perpendicular to the bank waving around 30 foot into the channel. By this time I was sweating as my PIC had jumped ashore with the bow rope. My best bet was to abandon the attempt and have another go. The bow had now blown away from the bank so I put on hard right lock turning back up river along the bank this time walking to the stern to throw my PIC the rope before the wind intervened. 2nd time lucky I mentally scolded myself for not checking the tide as realised I'd come in with the flow. Some beers were opened and I realised that in all other boating experiences I'd had larger crews with more confidence. As further moorings will later describe, previous experiences with good crews had lulled me into a false sense of my own ability. The ordeal complete we had a good laugh about it and went to the Dog Inn for some dinner. This was a 1st time for me at Ludham Bridge and the walk to the Dog Inn was uneventful and I made a mental note of the more uneven bits of Pavement for the dark walk back! As I opened the door to the pub the wave of warmth, noise and smell of beer and chips enveloped me. I was now in my natural habitat. The pub was packed with families and holiday makers having their evening meal so we perched at the bar it was nice to see a pub that encouraged customers at the counter. 2 pints of the Humpty Dumpty’s Broadland Sunrise were ordered and we perused the menu, within half an hour or so the place began to empty. We took a table in the corner of the room to the right of the bar, and had a scampi and chips and sausage and mash followed by chocolate fudge cake. It was decent pub grub for a reasonable price. I would like to commend the staff in this establishment the serving girls were polite and helpful and the 2 chaps behind the bar were great. With some patience I might add, as there was a rowdy group of lads having a merry time in the pool room! Suitable beers were recommended by the bloke I took to be the manager. And he had a great local knowledge of beers. Following the Sunrise I moved onto the Wolf Ale by Wolf Breweries this was delicious and at 3.6% a great session beer. A session we had. When it was time to leave we exchanged a friendly good bye with the couple at the bar whom I took to be owners, concluding a lovely evening. It was then out into the driving rain which had blown in while we'd bekip!inside and back to the boat for a well-earned kip!

Another great vid! LOLed at the shaving foam and random close up! And I love a bit of Enya at the end Brilliant!

This is so random! But thoroughly enjoyable! I've only ever had a vesta curry on a Duke of Edinburgh expedition in the late 1990s we had to carry all our own food! One of the scout leaders suggested it, beef if memory serves it was a good supplement to bean feasts and pot noodles! I hadn't realised it was available 60 or 70 years ago!