kpnut

Why is it all so complicated??? I think I'll just have to keep an eye on levels towards the end of next week and decide on which way to turn out of the Ant onto the Bure.

Oops. Of course Paul. I woke up too soon!!!! Thanks.

I’m hoping wroxham bridge is do-able next Thursday as I’m hoping to meet someone off the train/bus at either Hoveton or Coltishall on Friday 14th. So I’m keeping a bit of an eye out and have other train/bus routes up my sleeve if needs be eg Acle, Salhouse, Womack etc. If it’s springs at the moment, at least they should be on the way down again in a week’s time.

That’s nice Helen, thanks. I’m leaving them alone for their hols so had no idea where they’d got to. I did have a couple of nice photos from Fleet Dyke. And I’ve just texted Catherine about the report of a salt surge on the Bure, so she can report any distressed fish she sees to her colleagues (she works for the EA, in another capacity). 0800 807 060 if anyone needs the number. Are the tides high? As Wroxham bridge doesn’t seem to have as much clearance as of late. You had a long old journey yesterday. I’ve enjoyed reading about your trip.

Actual obstruction by a barrier is a criminal offence, not a civil matter. Landowners have to upkeep stiles etc, sometimes with financial help from local authorities, and see to fallen trees and overhanging bushes etc. Councils have to see to overgrown vegetation coming up from the path itself. So if it’s grass, cow parsley, nettles, thistles, burdock and other herbaceous plants that’s causing a problem, it’s council. If it’s woody, it’s landowner. Finlay springer has a grass seed cyst in the space between two paws at the moment, no doubt got by going through all this grass at this time of year (home or broads, most likely broads). He’ll have to have it seen to at the vet after my next Broads trip, as I’d hoped it’d come out, but hasn’t. Now that’s an idea. Keep the paths as they are and make ourselves nicer ones across wherever we wish to go!!!!

Well, not really ‘like’ Grendel, seeing as you’ve just written about being mown down by a car, but you know what I mean!

To report an issue to the Norfolk county council go to Norfolk.gov.uk then choose ‘Roads and Transport’ then ‘Roads’ then ‘Report a highway problem’ then the green box ‘Report a public right of way problem’ then ‘overgrown surface’ and follow the instructions. It is the council’s responsibility to keep overgrown surface vegetation clear on public rights of way. I suggest anyone having issues in their own area to do a similar exercise. Don’t choose overgrown trees and bushes as that’s the responsibility of the landowner and just for the council to inspect.

And without wishing to stir up the Broads National Park debate, if that is what the BA and Local Authorities do actually aspire to, then they won’t get there by limiting access. They have plenty of other regions of the country to look to for best practice of access. Imagine the uproar in the Lake District if paths were so overgrown as to be impassable. I don’t think I’ve ever come across even one, even in the lower parts and that’s with walking all 214 Wainwrights over the years.

Not just this year Dave. See the thread I started last year ‘state of footpaths’ of something similar. The vast majority of those not being cut are Norfolk County Council responsibility. Their council website has a page for reporting overgrown (to put it mildly!) footpaths. I did put a few on last year and when I revisited a month later, some had been cut. No idea if that was co-incidence or not. This year, I’ve tried my best to not get wound up about it, but it is really impacting my enjoyment of being out on the boat. That’s mainly what I use the boat for, to access the parts of the Broads not so easily accessed by any other means.

That looks nice Malcolm. Here’s ours, about 25 years old. Tony built the whole thing with help lining the flue from an installer. We get through that basket of logs on the left each night. Our wood all comes from Tony’s hedgelaying jobs so a right mixture. We have it stored in various stores around the garden and allotments so it all gets well seasoned before use on rotation. It’s very true that some woods are much brighter, hotter burning than others, so choose carefully from your supplier. There are a number of websites that’ll tell you what’s what. We have to leave the living room door open when it’s lit, and if I light it in winter about half an hour before the boiler is due to come on at 5pm, the whole house heats up enough for the radiators not to come on. Saves us a lot of money I expect.

I might remember to bring you a jar of gooseberry jam sometime Simon. The Ronaldo gooseberry icecream will be available again soon no doubt, as the season’s gooseberries are just about ready to harvest. How Hill and the Ramblers at Thurne stock it.

I think it’s finished and been replaced by gooseberry gin. And the much tamer elderflower cordial that I made last month.

If anyone sees Springers Retreat out and about from today for a week or so and get a blank look to a wave, it’s nothing to do with me! I’ve told Catherine and Roald that they’ll probably be spotted. They are chatty folk so say hi if you walk past on a mooring.

Hi Roy, I’ve just been told that Hathor is back at How Hill, much earlier than the lady who showed me round led me to believe. So I presume that Adea has gone back home.

It depends on what time I set off, but a wildmooring down the Ant (moor at Stalham) is good. If I have friends on board sometimes we go to our furthest point eg Stokesby and work our way back during their holiday.

Too right, both of you. Far easier to say where I don’t like. I don’t like Potter Heigham (I did like the quiet moorings), or Hoveton St. John’s, either in or out of the main season. I don’t really like Womack staithe or Ranworth or Salhouse in season but love them out of season. Wild moorings trump everything else!

I succumbed on my second read through of everyone’s tales and couldn’t not ‘like’ them all individually. There needs to be a ‘wonderful’ icon. The boatyard owners, past and present all ought to be very proud of themselves to have given so many folk such lovely memories.

Well Ian, what a super interesting thread, thanks very much. I could go through each post and just 'like them all' but that seems a bit silly, but the memories are just wonderful. In terms of actually going on big boats, I'm maybe one of the most newbies. That started in 2018, after a houseboat hire from Simpsons the year before, 2017, just Catherine and me and her dog. I realised there must be so much more to the broads than driving round to places in the car after we hired a dayboat from Whispering Reeds in Hickling and we had a grand day out, getting as far as Womack Dyke. 2018 we were on Concerto 3 from Richardsons. From that moment I couldn't stay away and persuaded friends to join me again in September on Bronze Gem. Then Concerto 1, Gold Gem, San Salvador, Supreme, Classic Gem twice, Magic Gem. All between 2018 and 2020. One common theme - all bathtubs. I fell in love with them, but to be honest, I've never been on any other type while it's actually going along! My friends got fed up with me annotating the Richardsons brochure layouts re-designing them for my own needs, so my plan to buy a boat started in 2017 and finished with the purchase of Silver Gem 7 in April 2021. Not a day that I've regretted the decision, even if I am poorer. I think I've caught up a bit in terms of time on the water, 20 weeks last year and 16 the year before. Catherine's continued to use the boat, now named Springer's Retreat with her now husband and on Saturday it will 6wk old grandaughter's turn to be introduced to the boat. I couldn't be happier about that. The two men in my life, husband Tony and son Richard can take it or leave it though which has surprised me. Tony's an agricultural engineer so I thought he'd live the mechanical side and Richard's usually up for an adventure. Oh well. BUT I suppose it first started in 1999 (I had thought it was 1997 till I got the photos out). We hired a houseboat on Lower Street in Horning, at the yard next to JB Boats where the little wooden bridge is over the dyke. From the river end of the dyke there was a willow tree that I think has recently been cut down. Near where Water Wytch moors. It came with a rowing boat that Catherine took to. She and Richard spent many an hour in it. I'd read about Cockshoot Broad that was only accessible by boat, so on the day between Tony leaving and mum arriving, I rowed them down there, not far I thought, and after a look round that boardwalk, decided to carry on to this interesting sounding new floating visitor centre on Ranworth Broad. We stayed to the side and got buffeted about a bit by passing boats. You never know, some of you may have passed me!!! Little did I realise that the river was tidal and it had been easy enough coming down on the tide. Rowing back from Ranworth to Horning against the tide was rather more demanding and I had horrible blisters on my hands on arrival back. Someone asked for photos. Looks like boats could moor up at the staithe at the visitor centre then. This was on a pond dipping day at How Hill. Funnily enough, I found this exact spot just this week on my wander round the nature reserve. I do think this is the same ranger who still takes the Electric Eel trips now. I'll show him the photo next time I'm at How Hill. I wonder what the name of that passing boat was. And this last one is in the garden of Phyliis Ellis, wife of the late Ted Ellis of Wheatfen. She invited us for a cup of tea when she spotted us taking a lot of interest in something near the footpath, which perhaps was at the bottom of her garden. Looking back at these, is it any wonder that Catherine chose a career as a freshwater ecologist? She gets to paddle about in rivers and drive boats! I'm going to enjoy re-reading this thread in more detail tomorrow.

The only thing I’m pondering is the heat and nappy situation! It hadn’t dawned on me till halfway through my trip when the pop bags from two dogs were beginning to build up. Best that can be done is a bucket with sealed lid in the stowage locker out the back. And mooring up regularly where there is access to good waste skips with heavy, closable lids. They are reverting to disposables for the duration of the trip.

Monday 26th June. An early walk along the riverbank at Fleet Dyke and onto the Bure as far as the pumping station by the two dead trees proved to me that the footpath is in a better state than it was in May. Good oh! Then off to Boulters for fuel and pump out. It was windy trying to get in but the nice young man grabbed a line for me to keep me on course as I reversed in. It was £1.45/litre and the pump out was £17 (every 4th one is free with the loyalty card). I stopped for a late lunch on my way back up the Ant and then it was time to return to my home mooring at Stalham. A fantastic trip all round. Seeing as I had time before 5pm, I sought out the person at Richardsons who services the life jackets for some advice about how to go about it, seeing as I couldn’t make head nor tail of the instruction book. He was extremely helpful. Paul R also gave me permission to borrow a buoyancy aid for a newborn. It’s very diddy. Catherine and Roald will be at the boat with 5 wk old Ellie for two weeks soon. Then the mundane task of packing up and cleaning the boat etc before the departure in the morning. Not long till I’m back though - just enough time planned at home to get my allotments sorted and do some creative cooking with all the produce Tony has undoubtedly had to freeze. There won’t be many days next month when the boat will be unused, which pleases me no end.

I think it was what Tom from the BA posted last year on the thread ‘State of the Footpaths’. Either that if he mentioned the link and I got it off the BA website. It was in response to me asking which paths the BA are responsible for and which the county council. The county council ones can be found on their website somewhere, again probably linked on last year’s thread about the paths.

I just found this, lurking in my phone from last year. It’s the mowing schedule for the BA moorings. Rockland short dyke is monthly. Hopefully this pdf will attach properly. Footpaths.pdf

Sunday 25th June. What a stunning morning to wake up to. I set off early (for me) after a walk round past the wind pumps and back. I only wanted to go as far as Fleet Dyke and the second wild mooring up the dyke was free. We had another walk down past the moorings, along past the staithe, along Kingfisher Lane and back along Marsh Lane and across the field to meet the carpark by the staithe. At the little pond halfway along Marsh Lane a man and his daughter of about 9 came along, they were geocaching, using an app to find little boxes hidden in obscure places. I suppose it’s like modern day orienteering. They were having great fun and I bet had walked quite a few miles without the littl’un realising. I showed them on the map how to get to the next place they wanted to be as they had to detour due to the path they needed being overgrown. I stopped again at the staithe where I saw my ‘natural phenomenon’ which turned out to be a water sprinkler (I took a photo and think I put it on the my day thread). It took an age to get back past the moorings as I stopped to talk to numerous people. And once back, we did nothing for the rest of the very hot day which explains all my rambling posts throughout the afternoon. Sorry. I’ll try to keep myself busier in future.

I’m interested to know if that’s flower beds they made first, so not planting directly into established vegetation. If you can remove the strong stuff, as Roy said, the more ‘delicate’ wildflowers are the way to go.

She looks completely adorable. And intelligent. I hope to meet her sometime. I think we might get her and Finlay mixed up , apart from the little smudge of white on the end of his nose.