NorfolkNog

........seriously sounds a very good beer indeed Iain! But yes, you are right, its best served not at room temperature but not too cold either, around 50 - 55 in old money. It sounds an ideal gravity too, you can enjoy a few without getting too carried away although I do like the sound of a cha cha with Grace (if I knew how to do one that is) Good price too for a quality beer. I shall await the results of further sampling with interest BTW - how did the footy go???

Now there's a thought!

Well, in another twist, I see that the Broadshaven is being advertised yet again via Fleurets. It is the lease being advertised so I'm guessing its still in the hands of Punch Taverns. There were strong rumours locally it had been sold, so if this was the case, it may have fallen through. We may never know. Any takers?? Forgot to add, they are advertising the lease of the Bell at Salhouse as well although I think that's Enterprise. All tarred with the same brush

Hi Carol Fantastic film, thanks for sharing with us. And another great job by Video Impact of Loddon too fascinating to see the wooden boat being built, amazing craftsmanship and it was interesting to see the planks being steamed in the steam box. They looked a bit hot! Plenty of flappy things too and the breakfast at the end made me quite hungry! Excellent stuff

Hi Iain Wow! No, not tried that one. It looks good stuff. A million times better than a can of John Smiths! You have excellent taste. Please let us know what you think and fingers crossed for the boys at Ayr United!!!

Us as well Jean! Sadly missed. Hopefully when Mrs Nog is up and about again we'll pop in and pay Paul a visit

White Horse, Neatishead Best pub on the Broads? Well my colleagues at Norwich and Norfolk CAMRA, whose patch covers virtually all the Broads, certainly think so. They have just awarded the White Horse the prestigious Rural Pub of the Year award. The Town winner was the Fat Cat Brewery Tap. Ian Stamp, Pubs Officer for the Norwich and Norfolk Branch, said “It's great to have two first-time winners of our Pub of the Year competition, and both are cracking pubs! "Ricky at the White Horse has taken a quiet village pub, on the verge of closure, and, following a doubtless expensive and sensitive renovation, turned it into a destination venue not just for locals, tourists and diners, with friendly staff and excellent meals, but also for beer drinkers, and a range of real ales and other craft beers which far surpasses expectations. Ian is now the Chairman of Norwich CAMRA and I know visits the pub on a regular basis. Back track a few years and the White Horse was one of the last unaltered pubs on the Broads apart from the White Horse at Upton. It still retained the small parlour rooms and original bar fittings. The small cosy back room had an open range fire and was small enough to hold a conversation with anyone in the room (see photo). I must say I did like it as it was but the problem was that the rooms didn’t really reflect the overall footprint of the pub. Trade was slow and the pub was in the hands of a pubco, Punch I believe. The way things were going was that it could easily have ended up as executive flats which was the fate of the Railway at Reedham. An open pub is preferable to a closed pub any day! So it is necessary to move with the times. Fortunately the current owner came along and made a substantial investment to sensitively renovate the pub and to turn it into the success it is today. The front rooms have been retained but the biggest change is the expansion of the former back bar into the part which was once the yard area. This has created a much bigger bar and eating area together with new toilets and a function room. The pub now sells a selection of quality real ales including those from its own brewery. There are also a range of keg ‘craft’ ales and a wide selection of wines and spirits. The beers are normally from the quality smaller breweries both local and nationally and I’ve not seen any signs of a Doombar take over yet! There doesn’t seem to be any discrimination against drinkers either and I suspect it would class itself as a pub that does food. I personally don’t like to waste valuable drinking time eating. But that’s just me! However the food is certainly very popular and from what I’ve observed is well appreciated. Like any establishment serving hundreds, indeed thousands of meals you will inevitably get the occasional hiccup. Also it must be very difficult when everyone wants feeding at the same time! If I get a beer which is not up to scratch I take it back and complain politely but firmly. I wouldn’t go away and moan about it on a forum. I think equally if anyone does get food or service which they are not happy about, the thing to do is to speak to someone at the time, either the manager or the duty manager. In most cases they will be eager to put things right but in fairness cannot do so when you have left the pub! The White Horse has built up an enviable reputation in a relatively short time and hopefully will provide an oasis for visitors and locals alike for years to come.

There is a connection with the guy opening (hopefully) the Lord Nelson at Reedham. He has, or did have, the lease on the Rising Sun and I think he did have another pub in North Norfolk. I believe it's owned by one of the big pubco's and it would be great to see it sold off to someone like Rick I suspect the Pubco won't want to lose the opportunity to milk more leaseholders in the future.

I heard a tale that years ago a husband and wife were on the Broads. The husband was seemingly something of a philanderer and the wife, tired of him chatting up the local barmaids, nailed his boots to the post, presumably to stop him wandering! I belive also that these are not the original boots and have been replaced at least once. I can't vouch for this being the correct story but it does stick in my mind. Carol will most likely know

New summer menu courtesy of Twitter

Good to have you on board Rick

True indeed Iain. If they are not turned into Co-ops, McDonalds or Paddy Power they are sold off as executive flats. Good to see Rick on the Forum too. I'll post a bit more on the White Horse later. The Yare is OK. It's never going to blow you away with the beer or the grub but it does what it says on the tin ..... most of the time I've been in often enough.

Hi Carol I think you are right. I've just been looking at the Norfolk pubs website and there are the 2 Stracey Arms listed. Both were owned by Bullards too and the Bullards signage can be seen in the etched windows of the first pub. However this certainly looks to be the Kirby Bedon one and as you rightly say the second is the Tunstall one

Very sorry to hear about this, Rockland is usually one of the more peaceful moorings which must make it doubly annoying. We went down there a couple of years ago and the Staithe was crammed with fishermen. We ended up mooring on the Short Dyke and walking round via the footpath. It's not far to walk although I'm not sure if you are supposed to moor there.

I'd certainly give another thumbs up for the Pleasure Boat. The beer has always been good for me and they are not afraid to stock quality local guests. Cider too. I've always found it friendly, reasonably priced and the garden is one of the nicest places on the Broads to sit out on a sunny day.

Hi Jon Just been reading your holiday tale, many thanks for sharing with us. Sorry to hear about your back, hope you're feeling better now. Glad you managed to find some good beer and I spotted the St Peters you had on board, excellent stuff. The guy at the Red Lion is keen on his beer and it’s always been well kept in my experience. I’m ashamed to say I’ve been a CAMRA member for many years and never realised that you could get Hoseasons discount! Must look out for that if we book through them again.

Hi Jon Very helpful and balanced reviews, many thanks The White Horse is an interesting one. My colleagues at Norwich CAMRA have voted it rural pub of the year and it has won many plaudits, deservedly so. But I do wonder if it's possible to take an eye off the ball occasionally? Also agree with the Red Lion, excellent pub IMHO and the landlord certainly knows his beer. Recruiting Sergeant is renowned for its grub. The beer used to be a bit pedestrian but recently they have been selling quality local ales such as Grain and Humpty Dumpty really glad you enjoyed it.

Nice find up here in the land of flat caps, Adnams Mosaic very tasty :-)

Hmmmmmm, not good. I know the pub has changed hands but it harks back to the days when the pub closed at nine kicking us out on the street (been there, got the T Shirt)

It's one of the Broads hidden gems. Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the feedback too!

We had a nosey round Bolero in December. Attached a couple of pics

You're very welcome, enjoy It's a lovely walk to the beach and a very welcome stop off on the way back.

The Nelson Head at Horsey is a cracking pub. It's maybe about 15 minutes walk from the moorings at Horsey Staithe. Well worth the walk though Forgot to say, turn left from the Staithe car park and follow the road round.

Don't forget Def Leppard!