Travelman

I work in travel and I think there's a silver lining here for tourism to the Broads. Countries around the world have imposed travel restrictions and indeed the UK is imposing a quarantine for people arriving from many countries. This is far too late in my opinion, at a time when we really should have been lifting a quarantine, but nonetheless it is happening from June. What this means is that taking a holiday to most countries will involve a two week quarantine on your return, making travel abroad difficult for many people because of the time off required from work or other commitments. Also, airfares are expected to rise with fewer seats available and airlines looking to recover huge losses. I think many people will look to holiday within the UK later this year, which could mean that some of the business which was lost by establishments on the Broads could be recovered. Of course, there are so many unknowns involved, which is why this pandemic has been so damaging. Things like a treatment, vaccine, and more knowledge about the disease could make all the difference. As an industry, however, we expect domestic tourism to recover first, and that should be a good thing for the Broads on the whole. Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

We passed Thunder a couple of times during our week on the Broads, once on Monday the 28th on Barton Broad. A nice looking boat indeed. At present a syndicate wouldn't work for us simply because we cannot find the time, as much as we would love to. A week a year is optimistic! I'm sure one say we will get there one day, but for now hiring just makes more sense. Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

I will certainly keep looking at the forum. I love the Broads and am always thinking about my next trip there. Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

We definitely intend to keep returning to the Broads. This was our sixth visit and by no means our last. The issue is that we only manage to get there about once every couple of years, the reason being both my wife and I work in the airline/travel industry and we are lucky enough to have many opportunities to travel further afield. But despite the fact that we travel to many of the most exotic places on the planet, the Norfolk Broads is a firm favourite with the whole family. A syndicate which offers school shares is a very definite possibility. Our next visit will be to the south, although tides permitting we will probably do a bit of the north too. I absolutely love the river Ant! Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

And finally... Day 8: 2nd November. We had to vacate the boat by 9 am, but being just 10 minutes from the yard we didn't have to rush. We had some breakfast, packed our stuff and got the boat back to Ferry Marina. After handing back the life jackets, it was into the car for an easy 2 hour 40 minute drive home to Surrey, albeit with depressing entertainment for part of the journey (the rugby). I'm already thinking about my next trip to the Broads, although with work, school etc it is difficult for us to get there morecthan once every couple of years, maybe once a year at the most. I did discover while talking to the chaps at Ferry Marina that they have boats available all winter and already have three boats booked over Christmas. Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

Day 7: 1st November. We left Acle at about 9am and cruised up towards Horning. The gauges on both waste tanks were starting to look quite full and I decided I wasn't going to try and push it for another day. We noticed that the fwd head used alot of water each time we flushed, which filled the tank noticeably faster than the aft one. We detoured into South Walsham Broad for a slow nosey around and then carried on up to the Ferry Marina yard. They had just had many boats back and were very full but managed to get us in quite quickly for a pump out. We then went on to Wroxham and moored in the NBD yard, while we went across to Roy's to buy some food (for lunch when we got home the following day). This accomplished, we cruised back to Horning and moored at The New Inn. It was past 4 pm by the time we got here and I was hoping there would be space... fortunately there were a few spaces so we moored up and plugged in to the electricity before going into the pub and booking a table for later (seeing as it was Friday night). Dinner was delicious, and we got back to the boat for a night cap and an early night. Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

Day 6: 31st October. Halloween! We had by now realised that Halloween is a big deal in Norfolk. All the pubs had serious decorations, and many boats were decorated too. Fortunately we had brought a costume and a pumpkin for our younger one, and some window stickers for the boat. We had forgotten to bring a battery tea light but the very nice gentleman at the shop at Ranworth had one lying behind the counter and he gave it our son. The pumpkin was carved the night before, and stickers were put up, so we just needed to ensure we ended up at a pub for the evening. We chose the Acle Bridge Inn as it is usually quite busy. This meant backtracking, but we stopped at Womack Staithe and walked to the King's Arms in Ludham for lunch. We also stopped by the butcher there and got some pasties. We then went across to Thurne where we stopped at the windmill and walked up to The Lion. We eventually headed down to Acle and moored up at the pub. The lantern was placed on the boat, our son got into his costume and we wandered into the pub where he got to 'trick or treat' and even got some sweets for his big brother! Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

I say I figured it out, but you might have to stand on your head to look at some of them! [emoji848] Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

I've just figured out how to upload images from my phone, so here are a few. Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

Obviously just a coincidence, but it was always boats from the same company. Perhaps we weren't being observant enough and maybe it was the same one every time! Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

Day 5: 30th October. This was a special day. I had long ago given up hope of getting a cruiser under PH Bridge, and had also resigned myself to hiring a day boat for this purpose. The sun was shining, so we got an early(ish) start from Stokesby and made our way purposefully up the Thurne to Potter Heigham. An observation I made during the week was that many of the Faircraft Loynes/NBD boats seemed to be in a terrible rush to get wherever it was they were all going. Our boat had a reversing camera, and it's most practical use was to see when one of these boats was a couple of feet off our stern so that we could make way. This happened on the way up the Thurne, so we slowed down and allowed him to rush past as safely as possible. We then arrived ten minutes later at PH to see the same boat performing some sort of turning maneuver near the bridge. Anyway, we moored up opposite Herbert Woods, right by a socket which was handy. The NBD boat then came alongside and attempted to moor up at the next space up from us. The wind was brisk, and blowing away from the moorings, and they were struggling to get alongside so I shouted to them to get as close as they could and throw us lines so we could help them get moored up. Unfortunately they couldn't get close enough, despite having a bow thruster, so they abandoned the idea and went back down the river. So much for all the rushing about. Anyway, we walked up to Phoenix and hired one of their little electric boats, and were soon on our way up the river towards Horsey Mere. There was 5'6" clearance under the bridge and it didn't even look like the Martham boats were getting through. One was moored downstream, near us. We chugged along to Horsey Windpump and tied up the boat, then walked about half an hour to the beach. This was absolutely worth it. The beach was full of seals and with the sun shining it was truly spectacular! We then went round to Hickling Broad and tied up at the Pleasure Boat Inn, where we had a lovely lunch. We got back to PH just after 4 and after stocking up on a bit of food and water we retreated to Jade Emblem for a bit of pumplin carving. Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

I've fallen behind with my updates, but now that we are (sadly) back home I shall continue... Day 4: 29th October. We got a way from Sutton Staithe at about 8:30 and cruised across to Wayford. The river was remarkably quiet and we even spotted a little water vole frantically swimming across our bow as we glided along. We turned around at Wayford and cruised to Ludham where we stopped for water and to pick up a few things from the shop. We then carried on down the Ant and on to the Bure where we made a stop at St Benet's Abbey. After a look around we headed down to Stracey Arms - my younger son loves the windpump there and also the animals. They said the windpump is due to reopen for visitors next year, which will be nice. After saying hello to Henry the goat we cruised back upstream to Stokesby, where we moored up for the night. The sunset was amazing - unfortunately I can't upload pictures from my phone so will try from the laptop later. We had a couple of drinks in the pub and walked back to the boat for dinner. Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

Yes I thought it was very good, and the kids found it very interesting to learn about the history of the area. Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

Day 3, Monday 28th October. After filling water we set off from Gaye's Staithe at about 9 am and made our way to Stalham. We have never visited the Museum of the Broads before, so after mooring up at the free moorings just outside the Richardson's yard we walked over to the museum, and later popped across to Tesco to stock up on a few bits. We left Stalham at about 1:30 pm and went across to Sutton Staithe, where we moored up for the night. I bought some electricity cards from the boatyard - really friendly bunch of people here - and then we let the boys run around on the green and burn off some energy. We had a drink in the Sutton Staithe Hotel and then it was back to the boat for dinner and bed. Being hooked up we were able to leave the heating on at a low setting through the night, which made getting out of bed the next morning somewhat easier! Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

I'm definitely built more for comfort than speed... Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

Sorry - that was me getting confused! We moored at Gaye's Staithe, not Barton Turf. In my defense I had consumed a couple of pints at the Sutton Staithe Hotel when I posted that... Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

We did, but it was full. The walk wasn't bad... about 15 minutes, and worth it for the meal Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

The Ant between Wayford and Ludham this morning. We just saw a vole swimming across in front of us. Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

Day 2, Sunday 27th October. After a cold night (it was 5 degrees in the boat when we woke up) we set off fairly early from Salhouse Broad and made a quick stop at Horning Ferry Marina to pick up my sunglasses from the car and also to get a mop from the boatyard as we realised our boat didn't have one. We then cruised down to Ranworth where we walked up to the church (and climbed the tower... the view was spectacular as always. After a light lunch at the Granary Stores we set off for Ludham, hoping to get water there (we moored at the far end of Ranworth Staithe, out of reach of the water hose, as it was busy). There was a day boat moored right in front of the water point at Ludham and we still had nearly half a tank so we carried on up to How Hill. We've never stopped at How Hill because it has always been busy, but there was lots of room now so we moored up and did the nature trail. We then carried on up to Neatishead - I had reserved a table at the White Horse for dinner. Neatishead Staithe was full so we turned around and moored at Barton Turf. The meal was fantastic, as expected. I forgot to mention this before, but I found Ferry Marina really good. The welcome on arrival was quick and friendly, and we were away in our boat after a very effecient handover within about half an hour of arriving there. Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

Traffic was light all the way up from Surrey and we got to Ferry Marina at 1:30. The boat was ready so we headed straight out. I have to go back tomorrow morning as I left my sunglasses in the car, so might actually have breakfast there. We went straight up to Wroxham this afternoon but bridge clearance was 6'3" and our air draft is 6'7" so we did a quick u-turn, headed down to Salhouse Broad, and dropped the mud anchor. We plan to head up the Ant, with stops in Ranworth and Ludham tomorrow and maybe get to Neatishead in time to find a mooring. For now, the wine is going down well and I'm looking forward to our first night on board. Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

It looks like the weather will be pretty good once this band of rain passes. Sunny, but a few degrees cooler. Extra bedding has been requested! Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

I can get this one in before we head off... Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

The night before... Based on very useful tips and suggestions I've picked up on NBN, we are ditching the suitcases in favour of shopping bags and soft bags for our packing this time. It makes complete sense and should allow for much more room on the boat. Packing for two adults and two young lads (14 and 8) is not equal to twice as much as two adults. It's more like about five times the amount of packing, but we will get there. I also feel like I've done about two weeks of shopping in Sainsbury's, and the bill appears to support this. This is separate to the Majestic Wine bill... We are planning to leave at about 9:30 tomorrow morning. This of course clashes with a very important rugby game, but I will have to rely on Radio 5 Live to follow the game during the drive. Hopefully we will be in Horning between 12:30 and 1, depending on traffic. The idea is that we have lunch there and then collect the boat. More later... Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

Oh, and my NBN stickers have arrived - thank you. They will be proudly displayed... Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

I've booked Jade Emblem from Ferry Marina. They're doing 25% off so it was a great deal! I'm not normally a fan of forward drive boats, but the chance to get under low bridges makes it worthwhile in my opinion. I know water levels are very high at the moment, but hopefully the weather will brighten up and levels will subside, giving us a chance to get through PH. I've spoken to the pilots there and they tell me the boat would get through under 'normal' conditions but not at present. Worst case, I'll spend part of my 25% saving on a day boat (rather than all of it on beer) as I really want to see that part of the Broads. I should also be able to get under Wroxham Bridge, something I haven't done for about 16 years. Now I just have to decide if we want to go south. Tide times make it a bit tricky that week, but (again, thanks to the low air draft) we have a bit of flexibility so I might do the crossing south on Sunday 27th afternoon and back first thing on Wednesday, and then attempt PH. Decisions, decisions! Excited now... Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app