hungryhippo

Just back from our annual week on the Broads, once again with the excellent Bridgecraft. (Tower Bridge this time) We have seen plenty of the pictures over recent months of much higher tides. We've never ventured under PH Bridge, but Wroxham and Wayford Bridges have been unchieveable for most of the past 5 years at this time of year. Even Ludham Bridge had a lot less clearance this year. I think the Broads authority and anyone else with influence on attracting visitors on the Broads needs to do some serious thinking though. We've been coming for 25 years now. This year, we came over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend (we got our dates mixed up when booking!) Given the last time we happened to be on the Broads over the BH Easter Weekend, we feared the worst - limited mooring, pubs/restaurants fully booked, etc, etc. Well, pleasantly (for us) there was hardly anyone about. Not so good for the boating companies and attracting money into local businesses, though. I would say that perhaps almost half of the boats we saw this week were private. Very few cruisers and I am sure the increasing cost of hiring a boat, eating & drinking out and paying for mooring will have influenced that. We moored up at Neatishead for the first time in a good few year on Thursday - we were one of only two boats there until mid afternoon! That used to be near impossible to get a space at. Everything costs more everywhere - I get that. And I don't doubt that in the warmer weather, it's busier - we try to avoid those times of year. But unless there is some coherent thinking, the Broads as a holiday destination is going to price itself out of many people's budgets, when compared with other possible destinations. Oh - and charging £4.00 to fill up with water at Ludham Bridge. Not happy! Especially when compared with the excellent facilities at Neatishead, where there is a lot less demand, I imagine. We've stopped mooring at Ranworth as well overnight, since the £10 blanket charge was brought in.

Lampard doing exactly at Chelsea what everyone that's followed his management career so far expected him to do!

Ridiculous the police are wasting time on this. There must be 100s of more serious crimes that get zero investigation. People putting stickers on boards indeed. This BA chairman must be a very thin skinned individual.

That's the closest post to what I was going to say. Just got back from a week on the Broads with wife and now adult daughter. My wife and I have been going to the Broads for 24 years now, at least once a year and often twice. We always avoid summer, but always go in early April and sometimes October. We always hire from family boatyards. We must have spent tens of thousands on boats, pubs, restaurants, tea rooms and gift shops in that time. As others have said, this is really the thin end of the wedge at a time when everything costs more. I can only speak as a boat hirer, not an owner, but this is profiteering, nothing more or less. As far as I'm concerned, a customer that's hired a cruiser ought to be able to expect suitable free mooring to access amenities as a basic starting point. We didn't stop at Ranworth this year, precisely because of this charge. Mind you, pubs all seem to be getting in on the act as well now. I read that the Swan at Horning wanted £20 for overnight mooring, the excellent Lion at Thurne has put their charge up to £7.50 overnight and even The Bridge at Acle don't allow the increased overnight cost of £8.00 to be redeemed against food now. We regularly eat and drink at these places and others (not The Swan anymore). but paying for food and drink has gone up approximately 30% in the past 3-4 years. This is just another cost on top. I know that's my choice, but it's part of what makes our holiday as well as helping local businesses. For what it is, The Broads is now a VERY expensive holiday and I'm not sure that the costs are justified. With the demise of many family boatyards in the past 10-20 years, there are fewer boatyards to moor up at and seemingly fewer places to dispose of refuse or fill up with water too. I remember a conversation I had with one of the workmen at Summercraft just before they sold most of their fleet in 2019. He said we were one of only a few 'returners' they still had and that the Broads increasingly relied upon 'new' boaters, but the problem was, very few returned after a first visit. I think this is what the BA rely on and consequently, they will willingly pay the £10 (and other charges that will no doubt follow) and the returners will gradually stop returning. On a positive note, we now use the excellent Bridgecraft in Acle, and it was heartening that ALL of their boats were booked out, both last Saturday and today.

You may well be right, but why were all the boats (including the two mentioned) put up for sale in November 2019 then?

We spent 20 years visiting the Broads with Summercraft, initially on Glitter Girl and then regularly on Gala Girl, normally Gala 2. As many others commented, the presentation of their boats was immaculate and the main reason we kept returning, often twice each year. We last used Gala 2 in October 2019 - it was the perfect size for a family of 3, easy to manage and very clean (although no bow thrusters). We were therefore very disappointed to discover via Facebook about a month after this that their remaining fleet had been put up for sale. Given the amount of times we'd used them, we thought they might have let regular returning customers know. We had had the impression they were running things down for a while; a few other boats from their fleet had been sold a few years before and although presentation remained superb, the boats were looking a little dated inside. It seemed to us, Summercraft were putting more time into their cottage letting, which I don't doubt is more lucrative, easier to manage and maintain and far less hassle than managing a boatyard, particularly as retirement looms. When we were last there, Calvin had mentioned that trade had not been as good that year; very few returners like ourselves and most first timers not returning. I guess refits for the remaining fleet to make them more modern would not have been worth the outlay. When we read last year that Gala 2 (and Gardenia) had been retained, my assumption was that the selling off of the boats had been interrupted by Covid 19 and the market probably fell flat. I'm 2nd guessing, but think Summercraft probably thought that they would spend a small sum changing the decor on the 2 boats left and hire them out for another year or two, before trying again. Although Gala 2 has had the word 'refi' mentioned, it doesn't appear that to me. The cracked sink in the bathroom was replaced in 2018/19 and the rest appears to be new curtains and bedlinen. We saw it last week while out on Humber Bridge - walked past for old times sake and it looked the same inside. Sue did send us a card in Dec 2020 to let us know Gala was available for hire, but we had already booked with Bridgecraft by then (the original holiday booked for April 2020, has only just happened last week due to Covid!). I also notice that the hiring fee for Gala 2 has risen significantly since it has reappeared. For October and April, it is now well over £900 when the fuel is included, and £1200+ in peak time summer. That's a lot for a boat of its size and age. You pays your money and takes your choice I guess - I would imagine you are guaranteed one of the best presented boats on the broads for that money and it is already booked out for the first half of April 2022.