kpnut

😁an apt description, but so many and all in one place??? Maybe it was a group of like-minded boaters all setting off together😂

Has someone taken them for firewood? They can’t all just disappear like that can they?

I suppose that because that bank of the river isn’t run by the BA it wouldn’t really be taken into consideration when they plan their work. On the shops side, some of the space is taken up by the Nancy Oldfield Trust who have two boats worth of mooring reserved for them by the landowner. Your pictures show a real dearth of posts. I haven’t walked along there for quite a while and didn’t realise it had got quite so gappy.

Hm, no easy answer then. I can understand why bark wouldn’t really work so well with a wheelchair, but not sure loose grit would either. The way Finlay scuffed it up, it certainly isn’t ‘whacker plated’ down firm.

From Gayes staithe, that is a diversion to the fudge lady!!

Yep, the sun came out at some point on my journey along the Bure and then up the Ant. All very quiet on the river, but St Benets and Ludham Bridge moorings were fairly full. I’m not a great lover of an overnight stop at Gayes staithe, but like it during the day if it’s really sunny. Seeing as I had a couple of hours to kill before going back to my home mooring at Stalham, I thought I’d go there and just sit and enjoy the sunshine. As I approached along from the main Broad, the passing ranger called across to me that Neatishead moorings had just reopened after their refurb, so, being a nosey soul, that’s where I went instead. Two other cruisers plus two smaller motor yachts had beaten me to it. Word must get round quickly. Time came to move on back to Stalham. I’d missed Mouldy at Gayes staithe, I hadn’t spotted him when I went past up Lime Kiln Dyke. I waved on the return but no sign of life on board! Lulu mentioned the dredger moored on the big bend before the turn to Stalham. It has now moved downstream a bit, and was moored in the thinnest section. I had to wait while another boat passed it coming towards me. I presume it just stays where it’s working till it’s done that bit and then creeps along a bit further. Cleaning jobs took precedence once safely moored up, ready for a visitor in the morning. Finlay snoozed in the car, and then we had a quick wander round the yard, saying hi to Neil again on my journey round. Springer’s Retreat will be returning to LBBY on Tuesday for her last bits and bobs to be finished off. Then I’m looking forward to the main boating season with plenty of ‘dry dog towel’ days!

I’m sure wood/bark chips from the local council, who are always trying to dispose of the things round my way and I can’t see Norfolk being much different, would be better. Yes, wood chip gets onto the boat too and gets kicked into the river, but certainly better than grit. It gets soggy too, but so goes grit. Just barmy and as you say, whoever makes the decisions obviously has no idea about boats. I’m surprised the hire boatyards haven’t kicked up a fuss with the navigation committee.

Yayhay. And don’t let BA issues like charging too much etc put you off either Sam. There are plenty of other mooring spots other than Ranworth in high season! That’s not to say that I’m not seething about it too.

You’ll have to put up with living with me with then Sam😂 It is so lovely, with a beautiful old apple tree in the garden. Access by car not quite so good mind you. It’d always be muddied up.

And the grit surface is now messed up by the first dog walking down it. Finlay’s footprints all over it. Why, oh why do they use grit?

Just to let you all know that Neatishead is now open. I was coming across Barton earlier heading for gays staithe and a ranger called across to let me know.

It’s on its way🤞

Why is it that every time I’m moored somewhere that can show a good sunrise and the forecast looks promising, there’s always mist? As an aside, I was very impressed that my solar panel was indicating still charging for a while after the sun had gone down last night. I suppose showing a charging light, and really doing anything effective are two different things.

And I have a nice one at Dilham too from last year, but it’s portrait and I need landscape.

I do like the one I took this afternoon Sam, of the boat in the mooring. I’ll see what it looks like on my desktop screen when I get home.

That describes my family too Mouldy apart from boyfriend became husband and now my daughter’s too pregnant to have a boating holiday. She says she can’t get the wheel of the car at the moment😂 But they’ll be back and with them, the next generation.

I didn’t even know it could fit four. It is lovely up there, the grass is still a bit wet and stodgy though.

Yes Helen. I was very grateful that Neil’s boat was right behind, and Finlay was in the gap between where it would have been more still. I’m very annoyed with myself for letting it happen. There’s accidents and there’s carelessness and that fell into the latter category.

What a stunning day. I left Stokesby soon after Neil had gone, and thought I’d head for Womack dyke as with the sunshine, I knew it would be a lovely afternoon and evening there. Oby Mill looks even more sad than previous years, with the tarpaulin gone from the top, she’s now fully exposed to the elements she won’t last long like that. Going past Boundary Farm and finding it free, that’s where I pulled in, the decision being made even easier on checking the wind forecast - dying right down over the course of the afternoon and nothing overnight. It’s forecast to be cold though, about 2C I think. I quite fancied popping into the Ramblers at Thurne as I’m after a picture for the boat. I’d intended to go down there by car on Monday. After checking it was open today, we set off in the opposite direction, down the river to South Oby dyke and following the paths round in the reverse direction to my walk in the winter. I was on the hunt for the fantastic view that Wussername and Vaughan had mentioned. I went up on the bank opposite the church as directed, but due to the newly ploughed field, any photo on my phone would have been mostly brown earth. A good camera with powerful lens would be able to cut all that out. The best shot I got was from the church wall. I went in the church again on the hunt for the peephole they, and Ynys Mon had written about. I couldn’t find it at first but went outside and found the other end of it, so went back in, into the vestry which was unlocked and no sign saying not to, and found it. Not that you can see St Benets, there’s a hedge round the churchyard blocking most of the view! I also rather liked the wall lamps. They must look pretty when all lit. I think Wussername had posed the question as to why so many churches are outside of the villages. I read something the other day saying it was because of the Black Death. When hamlets/villages were decimated, they rebuilt them away from the original ‘contaminated’ ground, leaving the church behind of course. I wonder how true that is. Rather than walking down the lane to the village, I went up the road (surprisingly busy) and across the fields, coming out by the much talked about phone box that is now a BA information centre. I actually quite liked it, can’t quite see how it cost the reputed £6000 to refurbish (as I understand it if was EU ringfenced grant money, not BA money) but for folk who don’t know much about the area, it would be informative. It still smells like all old red phone boxes though, not of the more obvious but less mentionable aroma, but that of all pervading cigarette smoke smell! At first, I thought the wheel you turn to hear the bird calls was so noisy you couldn’t hear the birdsong, but then I realised you just turned it a bit and stopped, then the birdsong was as clear as you like. It could perhaps do with a bit more straightforward written instruction about that as I won’t be the only one caught out. Funnily enough, on my way back to the boat, I was then able to recognise oystercatchers, reed warblers and Cetti’s warblers which chuffed me to bits. I’m fact I’d heard the Cetti’s warblers yesterday and wondered what they were. And for anyone thinking that Thurne relies on boat tourists for business, look at the cars parked around the staithe area - far more numerous than boats. I couldn’t find a picture in Ramblers, although some of them are beautiful. I just can’t quite decide if I want a ‘river’ one, boats etc or a ‘walk’ one of a view I’ve come across on the marshes, but that no guests on board will recognise. I’ll go to Wroxham Barns in the week and see what they have. We wandered to the end of the dyke and sat on the bench by the mill for ages, with Finlay playing with another spaniel for a while. It felt such a shame to leave. The dyke was more or less deserted at about 3.30pm. It’s definitely quieter than last weekend! Some girls were putting up extra info posters on the mooring charge signboards (to explain its £10 if they have to come and collect it from you). I did point out to them that small A4 posters might be difficult to read from a boat but they said they were just temporary. We walked back along the river, stopping to chat to the people I’d met at How Hill, who happen to moor at Bureside and had just arrived ‘home’. And then on to Boundary Farm mooring which has just been idyllic this afternoon. I gave the decks and roof a wash, made friends with a duck who kept tapping on the window for food and otherwise, just did nothing apart from watching boats go by!

That’s a shame Malcolm as I was there the night before (at least I think it was that night, I’ve got do muddled with the days!) and managed by taking the lines ‘inwards’ rather than ‘outwards’. Then just took a line from the other stern corner to a far post. I expect all boat designs and configurations are different. Maybe we’ll spot each other cruising along tomorrow morning. I’ve got to be back at Stalham for about 1pm or so.

I thought exactly the same Sam when I walked down there the other day. It had been a bit neglected over the past two or three years.

It was Stokesby of course, but you knew that😁

Bramble has grown, quite the young lady. You had a photo of her sitting on your lap when a baby to compare. Oscar is every other dog’s best friend. A beautiful gentle giant. Looking forward to seeing them both (plus humans of course) at the meet.

The classical guitar recital was superb. By a young man with a very interesting history, including as a long term busker in Norwich. Completely self taught and a guitar maker as well. His name is Peter Turrell. I was made most welcome by the residents of Thurne and treated to another cider and buffet in the interval. They have a fantastic social club/village hall. Well worth keeping an eye on their website for other events. I did think, while chatting to Neil this morning before our respective departures that there’d be a string of locals ‘just passing’ the staithe to inspect my boat and check me out! Finlay’s not that used to being left much on his own, and although he settles, he was probably not really relaxed. When I got back and let him out the back for a wee, instead of being cautious and looking both ways to work out where the bank is, he’d shot out, straight over the back into the river. Not what I needed at 10.30pm on a rainy night at Stokesby and not really the safest scenario. Good thing he’s a spaniel, a true water dog and not phased at all by being dragged out by his scruff. But now he has a collar on and it’ll be on permanently when on the boat from now on. I will add he does have a life jacket for the lower reaches of the rivers.

I know, I saw the board with it written on. Just too tempting all this eating!