kpnut

Looking at the EA height gauge info, I think yesterday pm was an example of one of those prolonged ebbing tides. Right across the system it seems to have lasted longer than normal. Of well, and there was me hoping it was receding flood water causing it.

That’s correct, and path up to the car parks not too bad. Dogs allowed in both pubs. Recycled teenager menu at Ludham is ‘just right’ portion sizes.

That’s amazing. His will is very mighty indeed.

Oh! Thanks for that Mouldy. I was going to go there on Tuesday. Need to start looking things up before deciding anything.

At least you have the heads up to replan.

The sun did come out this morning after all. Being on the river was wonderful. I headed off down the Bure and took a short detour up the Ant to check on the bridge gauge for those who had asked or might need to know. It was showing 7’2” at 2.5 hours before low tide. I continued to Boundary Farm moorings. And took Finlay for a walk up to Thurne. The pub was closed for a wedding reception. And the landlord told me it’s now shut on Mon-Wed for the rest of the winter. View from Boundary Farm towards Thurne. So we came back the long way round, down Oby Dyke. Better for my waistline and pocket, and gave Finlay more exercise too. According to the Aweigh app, we’re now halfway towards high tide. But the water is definitely flowing out and quite fast too. I threw some reed in to check. I really don’t think the wind is making that much of a difference to the flow. Is this a case of all the floodwaters off the fields further upstream allowing the current to override the rising tide? If so, it’s a sure sign the water levels will be dropping soon.

Up to date info Simon, Helen and anyone else wanting to know, Ludham Bridge 7’2” at 11.45 am, about 2.5 hours before today’s low tide. No further rain forecast for a few days, doesn’t mean we won’t get any!

Yes, I agree. I hear of thefts of dogs from cars/work vans etc but sometimes it just can’t be avoided. I do choose my parking spot carefully though. As well as taking the direction for the shade into account, (and a cooling mat if necessary), I park the boot rammed up against a fence or hedge or wall, as if someone broke in, they’d then have to lift the dead weight of the dog in the crate over the back seat to get him out. The crate door can’t be opened if the boot’s shut and it’s also padlocked. Finlay himself is more than happy to be left in there, it’s his totally blissful place! I have a friend who’s made a steel bar that clips onto the boot lid catch, both the boot bit and the car bit, so they can have the boot (hatch) open a notch to get more air in.

That’s just what I’m after Peter. I tried to get a heated gilet, with usb charger, but it came from China and was so minute that even the XL I got for Tony didn’t fit me. So I gave up. I can plug that in right next to the helm and be cosy warm while cruising along. Thanks very much indeed.

A day of doing not a lot! I promise I was awake and thinking of getting up when Helen left soon after 8am. I waved to the stern of Moonlight Shadow from the bedroom window! Hope you’ve had a nice day out with the car Helen. At times through the night it had been windy to accompany the rain, blowing in off the Broad, therefore noisy, and I’d already decided I would (over)stay another night, so after breakfast I pulled the boat down to sit side-on down the side dyke - the best way to keep the boat warm, the wind hitting the bow rather than all the way down the side of the boat. I’ve been Billie no-mates all day and got some indoor jobs done. I’m gradually tidying and clearing the interior before SR is taken out of the water for her re-paint. But I’m in no hurry till next week. I had wanted to wash the exterior but the weather was just too horrible. Maybe I’ll get a chance over the weekend. I don’t think there’s any sun forecast till Tuesday. Medics certainly have a point recommending we all consume vitamin D tablets! I have yet to succumb but maybe I’ll give it a try if this winter continues so gloomy. I finally plucked up the effort to take Finlay out for a walk. I took the lanes up to Panxworth tower and had a mooch amongst the gravestones. Many headstones are from the same families, their surnames also mentioned on the memorial to the 1st World War casualties. After my return to the staithe, one other boat came in to join me. Now dark and cosy indoors again - the days fly by with all this murky weather.

I feel I’ve finally made the transition from having ‘boating breaks’ to using my boat as accommodation while I get on with my social life! First it was a guitar concert in Stokesby a year ago, then a couple of brass band concerts this winter, along with a few cafe trips to meet NBN forumites and a few meet-ups on moorings, including a lovely fish and chip meal on Luna Aurora one evening with Sam. Today, it was a whole day of socialising, thanks very much to Helen and co on Moonlight Shadow. We arranged to meet up at Ranworth mid morning and we’re both still here now, having whiled away the whole day chatting, dog walking and eating. The boat was just a vehicle for facilitating the meet. Thanks Helen. A great day. And thanks NBN for being the ‘friendly forum’.

Hi Simon, haven’t been up to Ludham Bridge today, but based on the amount of rain this week, and the rising levels by the look of it, I reckon you might be unlucky indeed. It’s tipping down again now and the forecast says it’s due to continue, albeit less heavy, till tomorrow lunchtime.

Pleased they kept the fireplace. I think I missed the bit down the side. I didn’t like to venture onto the carpet area with a muddy dog. Flagstones have gone, timber (or timber lookalike?) floor now.

Well well. I just looked it up on Google maps and I must have nearly stumbled on it last year on a drive round. I took the dog for a walk in Brundall Countryside Park just over the railway line.

It was nice and warm with a good fire lit. And welcoming in so far as I was with a very muddy dog. Much smaller than I’d imagined it would be (I hadn’t been in the Bell) unless I missed another room at the back perhaps? The carpark seemed bigger than the pub. I know the bus route from the time in July it was supposedly being diverted on its way to Norwich, but turned out it wasn’t, and I had to go running up onto the Norwich road to try to hail it down after we had been standing at the temporary stop that had suddenly become out of action.

You had me coughing on my apple there, Smoggy. I can see a walkway in front of the blue canopy boat now. I thought before it was just a narrow dyke up to the back corner. Looks a nice little spot. I didn’t know about it. I don’t know the south very well (yet!)

And I saw some snowdrops on a verge. Cheery sight!

Cute! How do the boats further back get out Mark?

I took the chance this morning to explore round Salhouse a bit more. Usually I only come here for the NBN meet or to head up the hill with friends to the Fur and Feather. So I don’t know my way around the footpaths to the west very well at all. Heading towards the village, we forked right and went along Upper Street, passing the loke back down to Lower Street by the pond, and ignoring the footpath off to the left a bit further along. We went along Vicarage Road as far as some houses and took a footpath alongside a pasture field (more of those British White cattle, bullocks this time, and a lonesome tup, his job for the year done before Christmas). The path ran across a drilled field and then at the far headland it met another, turning right towards the church. I’ve been in that church before, so we didn’t stop today. We crossed the road and carried on along a nice dryish path, (mainly cos it was edged by those stupid Leylandii trees-whoever planted them needs a talking to!), skirting the back of Salhouse Hall, where I spotted a herd of ‘proper’ deer, not those Muntjacs, with babies, in the field by the house. The hedge was just a bit too thick to take a decent photo, but they had rather grand antlers. I have no idea what breed they are. The path came out onto a lane called Howletts Loke where I turned left, passing Old Hall farmhouse and walking parallel to the railway line. At the junction, I took the footpath across to the bend where the newly named Stag pub is (formerly the Bell). From the end near the pub, this path has a lovely shiny sign to point pedestrians along it to the railway station. Well, if I were a villager and needing to catch a train, I would definitely not walk along there. It’s a terrible, muddy, potholed path at the railway station end, passing round the back of a horse livery farm which, and I’ll be kind here, had a rather unkempt yard. The path nearer the village end is much better. Having been 4 days since that sickness bug, I decided to stop in at the Stag for an orange juice and lemonade (still can’t quite face beer). I asked to see the food menu for future reference and it looked nice, but beyond my price range I’m afraid. All that was left was to saunter back along Lower Street. And now, looking at Google Maps, I see I’ve STILL missed the biggest chunk of Salhouse, the other side of Lower Street, which does seem to only comprise houses mind you. A convenient place to live I would think though, with a railway station, on the bus route, country walks, a Broad, two nice pubs in easy walking distance, not forgetting Norwich and ‘Roystown’ within reach.

Tuesday 2nd January. With the forecast set for rain and more rain and 45mph wind thrown in for good measure in the late afternoon, I decided outstaying my welcome at Horning would lead to a pretty noisy evening, so set off upstream for a wander, with my eventual destination being Salhouse Broad. I went up to Wroxham just for a nosey. The high water levels seem to be more persistent up there than down at Horning, based on looking in peoples gardens. The rain started in earnest at some point and by the time I arrived at Salhouse it was pretty miserable outside. I moored side-on to get more bits of boat attached to the land. I put the canopies down and enjoyed some quality reading time, realising at about 3.15pm that the weather had cheered up greatly. So we escaped for a walk round the site, taking a few photos. The wind picked up on cue at something past 5pm and it sounded like we’d got ourselves into a washing machine for the next few hours. But the boat was nicely snug and the storm blew itself out by about 9pm. And by morning, you’d have never guessed there’d been some brief wild weather. I had thought it’d be a bit more sheltered at Salhouse but it was as noisy as Horning would have been - nicer view to wake up to though!

Beautiful herd of British White cattle in the field at the top of Salhouse Broad.

Just got back from a walk at the ‘discovery hub’ at Salhouse Broad, put up early 2023, ready for the season. This little item was on it. Acle and Stalham both ‘coming soon’. I am generally in favour of an improvement on the area down at Acle Bridge. I find it most bleak. So look forward to something smarter to enhance the obvious natural beauty surrounding it. People are only going to continue to be attracted to this area of the country if it smartens itself up a bit. I don’t mean the wildness of the wetland itself, but the environs. At the moment it does feel to me like it’s a bit lost in the past, which of course is part of its charm. Charming, but run down, Victorian/Edwardian seaside resorts fall into the same category, and look how some of them struggle; economically, educationally and socially -some of the most deprived areas of the UK, for all their charm. The 21stC has to come eventually. And as has been said, putting aside the politics of it all, I would think that Richardsons of all companies would have a good clue of what they’re doing. They’ve done OK business-wise through some earlier tough times on the Broads (I expect some would say ‘on the back of smaller companies’ but that’s business. And they have enough history among the family to have a care for the place, surely. Not sure that digging up peat to make more mooring basins at both sites will go down well in some quarters though.

Yes, I’m sure it won’t be there much longer.

I would agree. Is there still a mill as shown in the background? There is one shown on the map.

Will do Simon, although I’m hoping not to go back up till early next week. Helen on Moonlight Shadow might have a look if I don’t. It was over 7ft when I went down on Sunday lunchtime, about a couple of hours before high tide. The cills were showing nicely if that helps. And then we’ve had rain since of course, a lot last night and today. Hope we might ‘meet’. Water at Gays staithe is on by the way. I’m not sure when Richos water is back on, (expect it will be by the weekend mind you). It wasn’t on Sunday and I could see no evidence of a water hose outside reception, or a suitable gap even if there had been one. My neighbours at Salhouse don’t seem to be concerned by the horrid weather.