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Absolutely Helen, we only eat out apart from breakfast, when on the Northern Broads if I cant get moored near a pub, my go to is Ranworth, mud weight or island and row to across to The Malsters Madness, a yard as big as Richardson not having some dinghys for customers!

Sorry for the delay, but as requested a quick summary of our week in north Devon We got back from the Broads lunchtime on the Saturday, as I had previously said due to the very hot weather forecast, we had decided that the load lugger Volvo Estate would be parked up and we would take Mandy’s car a Golf convertible. Both cars are diesel automatics with all the gadgets to make driving easier, however the Golf doesn’t have built in Sat Nav so we would have to rely on google maps on the iPhone or go back to how we used to navigate, with a map! Surprisingly, all the stuff we wanted to take fitted into the small boot on the Golf, Mandy did manage to pack light, Susie was going back to work so only two of us and Lottie We had six nights booked just outside Lynmouth and one night in Salisbury to break up the journey back I like to travel early when driving long distance, so whilst not being over happy with leaving at 6.30am on a Sunday morning, Mandy did accept the reasons 220 miles Maidstone to Lynmouth, the plan was to stop at our usual place, Cartgate Picnic Area on the A303 near Yeovil, as planned we left at 6.30, roof up on Mandy’s insistence, but to be fair I didn’t suggest we should have the top down at that time It’s lovely picnic area, plenty of space to give Lottie a run, and a café in the middle and good toilet facilities, just one problem, the café was closed so we used the toilets let Lottie have a walk and moved on to an American style diner on the A303 a bit further down, this was now about 9.30 and the weather was now getting quite warm, so we decided to sit outside (not sure if they were dog friendly inside but doubt it) Having had a light breakfast and a drink we continued our journey, this time roof down. Next stop was the beach for Lottie and a pub for me lunch for Mandy, we were heading for Porlock Weir, which has all we need (photos below) The journey through Taunton was a bit slower but we weren’t in a great rush and arrived at about midday, there is a pay and display car park near the beach and pub so we parked up and went for a little wander a paddle for Lottie and just soaked up the sunshine and sea air Thirsty work all this sunshine so we sat outside the Ship Inn had a drink and looked at the menu, although many were enjoying the Sunday lunch offerings fortunately there was a lighter menu, so we settled on a sandwich. I couldn’t eat a roast in that heat! Mandy is not a drinker, a glass of wine or a Pimms is enough for her, but I make up for that and enjoyed a few beers in the sunshine, time to leave (and change drivers) it was now about 2.30, so we decided to have a look round Porlock Village at the top of the hill, and of course in that heat we had another drink in another pub also called the Ship Inn! I found out later that the two pubs are owned by the same people and are often referred to as the Upper and Lower Ship It was only 10 miles to Countisbury where we were staying at The Blue Ball Inn, but you do have to go up Porlock Hill, anyone who hasn’t had the pleasure, I can tell you it’s steep, I remember towing a caravan up there about 20 years ago, that was fun! The Blue Ball Inn is on the main road into Lynmouth, the car park is the other side of the road, the garden is on the side, there isn’t much of a rear as the landscape doesn’t allow it, the road isn’t that busy, so the car park being opposite isn’t a problem (we have stayed there before about 8 years ago) The beer is good, we had a couple of evening meals at the pub, and they were very good, we chose to eat at other places during the week. The rooms were very comfortable, very dog friendly, staff and owners were great, we thoroughly enjoyed our 6-night stay It cost us £100 a night plus a fiver for the dog but included full breakfast. One nice touch, they will cook a sausage for your dog with a voluntary contribution of a £1, this pound goes to the local Dogs Trust, the landlady was telling me that the previous month they had sent £364 to the charity, that a lot of sausages! I used to walk Lottie past the church then up to the coastal path every morning, the views of Lynmouth Bay are beautiful (Photos below and the pub) The next day we spent our day in Lynmouth / Lynton, the beach was a bit rocky, but we had a lovely walk up the river Lyn, where Lottie enjoyed a few paddles amongst the rocks, (photos below) we had a nice lunch in the garden of the Village Inn and used the water powered cliff railway to go up to Lynton but decided to walk down, that certainly stretched the calf muscles We toured around North Devon / North Somerset, a few comments below: Combe Martin -the main beach is not dog friendly, but just around the bay is Newberry beach which is, there is a pub nearby called Pack O Cards, which has a nice garden beer and food. Legend has it that a guy called George Ley built it 300 years ago after a big win on the cards, and to try and carry on this luck! it has 13 floors and fireplaces, 52 stairs and windows on four floors. Apparently built on 52 sq ft plus 1 extra foot for the joker. It does have the look of a house of cards Downside was the parking ticket we received in the car park near the beach, we only bought an hour as we really only wanted to use it for the beach, however with 5 mins left on our time, Mandy wanted to find a shop to get a couple of things, so I took Lottie back to the car, strapped her in and lowered the roof, I had told Mandy if I saw a warden come round I’d leave and pick her up on the road, no one came round, Mandy returned to the car and we left 7 mins after we should. I was therefore surprised and annoyed to get a parking ticket through the post with pictures of us entering and leaving the car park, wow, number plate readers and cameras on a car park which probably holds 30 cars Clovelly – We’ve been here quite a few times it really is quaint and beautiful, however you do have pay and enter through the visitor centre, however it does pay for it’s upkeep, half way back up the hill we popped into the New Inn for a quick drink and got talking to a couple of local residence and left 3 hours later, it was great to hear about the village from two guys that between them had lived in the village for 97 years! (Photos below) Blue Anchor Beach near Watchet – Apparently a dog friendly beach according to tourist information, what they didn’t say was when the tide is out, parts of the beach are like quick sand, we parked towards the end of the beach and as we went down to the sea it became clear we were having trouble, Lottie was happily chasing her ball, when she suddenly sunk to her tummy as I went to get her I sank a good foot into the sand, it took a while but we eventually managed to get back to the harder sand, but it was a bit scary for a while, we left the balls she was chasing as it was just too dangerous to get them. We walked along the path to the toilets about a half a mile from where we joined the beach there was a sign saying beware soft sand, but there were no signs where we went down on proper handrailed steps to get to the sands. That just seems wrong in today's health & safety world We went for a drink at the Smugglers Inn, the landlord told me they have had to rescue people by helicopter on a number of occasions and that there aren’t enough warning signs up, oh well we wont be going back there again Watchet – Nice little fishing village and harbour Tarr Steps Dulverton – lovely walk from the car park down to Tar Steps and back, there is a pub close by to help quench your thirst after the walk, Dulverton Village is a beautiful village which we enjoyed after a walk round Hele Beach – situated between Combe Martin and Ilfracombe, this is a lovely safe dog friendly beach, which is easily missed, we went there a few times, it has the benefit of a nice locals type of pub at the top, nice beer and food and a garden with great views (photos below) Woolacombe – we have some friends that moved down to Devon a couple of years ago, so whilst we were down that way we arranged to meet up, their choice was Woolacombe, which is not really mine and Mandy’s type of place. It’s a bit commercialised for my liking and too modern, We prefer quiet quaint places, but it’s got a big sandy beach for the dogs (they’ve got two) to run and play, we had lunch in a local bar and a good chat it was good to catch up but parking was a tenner no matter low long you were there Broadlands Beach – a beautiful little beach again between Combe Martin and Ilfracombe, we had some lunch at the Sawmills and with their permission left the car there and walked to this beach, it’s about a ¾ mile walk but the last bit has 200 steps to get down, but it was worth it (photos below) So, all in all we had a great time with some great weather, the roof on Mandy’s car was only closed when we parked, the weather was glorious and wasn’t that busy. Sat Nav was a bit of an issue at times as we had to rely on the internet, which in North Devon is not always very good but we managed, plus did have a map, if necessary, it’s just Mandy is rubbish at reading it, her words!

Thanks for your tale Jean, I’m just beginning to catch up on here after a hectic few weeks Sorry to hear of your stearing issue but I suppose these things can happen with anything mechanical, seems Ferry did the decent thing!

Thanks for the kind words Devon was fantastic as was the weather, bit strange driving a ‘hairdresser’s car’ with hair like mine! 😉 Will write a few words Monday with a couple of pics!

Saturday 9th July Always the worst moment of the holiday, having to hand the boat back, but fortunately our holiday wasn’t over just yet as we were off to North Devon on Sunday. The forecast was to be getting hotter and sunnier, so we had made the decision to leave the load lugger Volvo on the drive and take Mandy’s car which was a Golf convertible, she just had to learn to pack light! Anyway, back to the tale, I was planning on leaving Reedham at 8am, for the short cruise back down The Chet, the boat needed to be back about 9am. So, I got up about 7am make a cuppa and took Lottie for a short walk I didn’t fancy any breakfast, I had eaten enough this week, plus we were in for a week’s B&B in a Devon pub, so I’m sure I will not go hungry that week. Mandy had packed most of our stuff the previous day, so as I cruised slowly down The Chet, the girls had a good clean up! We normally do our two-week UK holiday the other way round, B&B in a country pub first then a week on the Broads, so normally when I’m on my last cruise that’s it, holiday done, but this time my mind was starting to think about Devon and not about going back to work! Soon we were back to the boat yard, I held station while we moved the dinghy, then reversed back, Richard took the dinghy from Mandy Fiona met us with her usual infectious enthusiasm, our car was waiting on the grass by the quay, it took us about 20mins to load up the car, we always take too much stuff Our diesel deposit was £95, we had managed to go over it by £35, which to be honest I thought might have been more considering the price of fuel compared with when we booked, pus we had covered a fair few miles during the week! This was the second time we had hired Star, she is a lovely boat, obviously she’s getting on a bit, but she’s well cared for very comfortable, plenty of space, is easily maneuvered with help of the bow thruster and isn’t as expensive as similar boats with other companies I know I had a problem starting her once, but that could’ve been me, in 7 or 8 hires with Pacific we have never had to call them out, we once went back to the yard because we had a problem with a winched canopy on Dawn, when you read some of the stories on here about yards having to be called out, Pacific’s record is very good No doubt we will be back next year Thanks for bearing with me, sorry it’s taken so long, what with the passing of our dear queen, my holiday in September and other stuff it’s been a bit of an epic! I’ll try and do better next year!

Sorry I spelt his name wrong but that was because I was too lazy to look back! 😉 glad he’s settling in, you’re doing a good thing!

It’s good used it for a couple of years, it will give you the gradient of the walk as well as distance which for Cornwall and Devon is good as Mandy has a knee issue and isn’t good with hills! Not a problem on the broads though! 😉

Thanks Helen, she is lovely but being a rescue she does have a few issues with strangers, but she’s getting better. You're probably finding difficulties with Possick, worth the effort though!

Hopefully this has worked for a non techie like me!

Friday 8th July I must admit to not sleeping well during the night, my mind kept churning over the starting problem at Sutton, not starting wouldn’t normally have bothered me but this was the last day of the trip and we needed to get down to the south. Low water at Breydon was at 11am, so I decided that I would leave early for two reasons, firstly should I have a problem there’d be time to get assistance and still make the crossing, secondly going through at low water would mean we’d get to Burgh Castle early enough to be able to go for a walk with Lottie before going to The Fishermans for lunch! That’s what was going through my mind as I lay in bed at 6.30am, so I decided to get up, make some tea take Lottie for a short walk along the bank and be prepared to start the engine and leave about 7.30am The moment of truth arrived, time to start and leave! What a load of fuss and stress for nothing, key turned engine started within a second or two, ropes released and off I went, alone as the girls were still in bed. The weather was glorious, I had lowered the screens before I left, just to be safe under Ludham Bridge, the sun was beating down but was low which was an issue at certain parts of the journey, but with baseball cap and sunglasses I managed, just about I was also quite surprised how quiet the moorings were, plenty of room at Acle and the Bridge Inn, room at Stokesby and plenty of space at Stracey where we planned to have breakfast! Turning round into the tide, we moored up just down from the shop, fortunately during the cruise down from Ludham Bridge I was joined by both the ladies, so help was on hand to moor up! It was about 9.15am, Susie wanted to get a few things from the shop, I took Lottie for a walk along the bank, she was a bit nervous with the goats and Shetland ponies, so we didn’t go far, just enough for her to do what dogs must do. Mandy started breakfast, again just a sandwich for us all. I wanted to cross Breydon at low water, I knew this would mean having to punch the tide after turning at the yellow post, but I wasn’t concerned, if I had to pay for a bit more fuel then sobeit We wanted to get to Burgh Castle for about 12.30pm, so only stayed for 30 mins before continuing our journey to the south, again engine started without a problem, we were now getting quite a push with the tide, we were easily doing 6mph without many revs, I thought to myself I’m going to pay for this on Breydon! By the time we reached Yarmouth, the weather had clouded over a bit but it was still quite warm, once round the yellow post I noticed quite a change in the speed, from barely more that tick over I was up to 2000 revs doing about 6mph, once under Breydon Bridge, I eased it back to about 1600 revs, we had made such good time there was no point in doing that speed, and even at 1600 rev we were going fast enough, Mandy and Susie took turns at the helm, while I had a shower and a little rest, Mandy is very competent at the helm (not always that way) but she doesn’t like to do it for long periods, Susie is learning but getting better, Breydon was a good place to have a go! I took over the helm again as we approached the split in the river right to go down Yare, left for the Waveney, which was the way we went, I discussed with Mandy where we should moor, outside the pub or the new BA moorings, we decided not to decide and just go on instinct when close, as we approached the Fishermans moorings there was a lot of space so in we went! The moorings outside the Fishermans look very harsh and unforgiving, I think if I was overnighting, I would use the BA moorings, we were only going to be there for a couple of hours so wasn’t too concerned We’ve only stopped there once before, again that was lunchtime but have never gone for a walk to the Castle, so I pulled up a suitable walk on my footpath app (photo below) only a short walk but really nice, we all enjoyed it Lunch was then taken at The Fishermans Arms, they seemed to have done a lot of work on the pub and gardens since we last visited in 2019, the only downside was that you couldn’t walk directly to the gardens from their moorings, you had to go into the pub and then through the back to the gardens We all had a sandwich and a few drinks and enjoyed the superb weather, which now was glorious, whilst having lunch Mandy noticed she had missed a call from Annie, landlady at The Lord Nelson where we had a mooring and dinner booked for the evening, unfortunately the chef had tested positive for Covid, therefore the kitchen would be closed. However, she said she would still reserve the mooring for us, and they would still be open for drinks, Mandy rang to thank her for letting her know and I rang The Ship and booked a table for dinner that evening, so fortunately we were sorted Whilst we were in the pub, I spotted a Woodie coming up from Breydon with two sailing dinghies attached to either site, don’t think I’ve seen anything like that before Once back at the boat we decided to have a little cruise down The Waveney, with the mooring at Reedham booked, we weren’t in any hurry. So, a cruise down to St Olaves, under the bridge and past the Bell, we were tempted to stop for a drink, but last September it was chaos in there as everything had to be ordered through an app or wait for someone to come and take your order, so we decided to push on to Reedham. It had got very hot by now not a cloud in the sky, Lottie was beginning to feel the heat, so we got a towel that we had brought with us and wet it, wringing it out it was paced over Lottie, this made her more comfortable We got to Reedham shortly after 4pm, as we passed the Lord Nelson, Annie was true to her word our reserved board was on the quay, so I turned round and came in slowly against the tide, the ranger was waiting for us as I got close, ‘this mooring is reserved’ he said, ‘yes, for us’ I replied. ‘Oh, sorry I didn’t notice the name of your boat’ We got moored up, the ranger then told us the kitchen was closed due to Covid, so I told him that we had been informed and that we were still ok to moor there, he seemed happy and wandered off. It seemed only fair to have a couple of drinks at the pub as they had let us moor there. After a couple of drinks, the girls went back to the boat I took Lottie for a walk before returning to the boat to get changed to go out for dinner I cheated with the last photo, that was taken last September The food at The Ship was excellent as was the beer, we eat there last September it was very good then as well. We have also eaten at The Lord Nelson a few times which has always been good also, so the only place in Reedham I may avoid next year is The Chain Ferry Back at the boat for about 9pm, Mandy had already started to pack for handing back the boat the next day, there was still some wine left in the box, so I thought I’d try and help by finishing it, well one thing less to pack!

Not at all Helen, I’m sure it’s me, your description made total sense, doing it for a non tech more people person might be more tricky I will give a go when I’m feeling brave! 😀

Wow, thanks for that Helen, whilst it hasn’t gone over my head, it’s probably about neck high at the moment Maybe too soon to finish my tale, but I will give a go sometime soon Prepare people for a strange (more than usual) posting from me. 🤣

Thank you Gracie, good to see you posting on here again BTW, I’m still waiting for the invite to get down to Sussex with your mates so we can discuss shoes! 🤣

Quite right Helen, try doing it with a dinghy! 🤣

I just need to learn how to insert them in the text! 😉 Mind you the fact I managed to get them off my phone and on here is an achievement for me! 🤣 Baby steps! 🤭