Broads01

The Travelodge, was, well a Travelodge, being an OK room to stay, no more, no less. We could have done with air conditioning and a better bed but at £77 for the night it was cheap by today's standards. The location is handy though, being a quick drive down the road to Acle Bridge and a breakfast at Dune's River Cafe this morning in the sunshine. Then we had time for a drive to Wroxham for Mel to do some shopping and me to nose around the river with the dog. There was only 6 foot 8 showing at the bridge but a few craft had managed to pass through. After a visit to Tesco at Stalham we checked in to Richardsons at 2pm. The boat was ready for us and we were soon on our trial run. Unusually, Richardsons only let you load your belongings on to the boat once the trial run is complete. This, I was told, was to avoid people "failing" the trial run and then having to unload everything, which, I was told, used to happen. Trial run complete and our galley area at least slightly organised, we were away around 3-40...and then back again half an hour later once we'd realised we hadn't checked the bedding and we didn't have enough..doh! Off we went again and the weather couldn't have been better as we chugged down to Barton Broad and then as far as How Hill where we stopped for our first night, plenty of spaces just after 5. It did fill up after though, with the usual folks turning up about 8 o'clock and wondering why there were no spaces left. It was a beautiful evening.

We travelled to Norfolk today for a night at Acle Travelodge before picking up Silver Mystique from Richardsons tomorrow. "We" this time around is Mrs Broads01 (Mel), Suzie our Shih Tzu and myself. It was the worst journey from South Wales I can remember for some years - the M42 was slow, the A14 was slow and the A11 was worst of all. Never mind, we're here now and enjoyed a really nice meal at The Hermitage, our first visit there. Give us a wave if you see us.

We forget how much we've learned in terms of getting throttle amount right and I know I get it wrong sometimes. Some newbies are like the ones you witnessed, full on in forward and reverse and the boat veers all over the place. Others are the opposite, too tentative and they're left wondering why the boat never turns anywhere.

Great to hear from you, Robin and thanks for an excellent write-up. More of that please!

Does anyone know if the path between Rockland Short Dyke and the Staithe is OK?

That's a good question. I hope the answer is yes but I'm afraid the answer might be no.

I think I'll switch to using the BA timetable to save having to mentally translate the times.

How sad, such a lovely spot we've lost.

May I just check, is Langley Dyke now a complete no-go for overnight moorings?

It's amazing on the south Broads how many boaters, with a strong tide in their favour at Reedham say, still push the throttle lever all the way forward. You can tell by the engine note.

In my experience absolutely nobody slows down when they should - but hasn't that always been the case?

I don't think boatyards can be expected to look into a crystal ball and forecast the behaviour of a given party taking over a boat and whether they're same sex or mixed is immaterial. Am I right in thinking if you witness anti-social behaviour you should call Broads Control?

I'd be very interested to hear about that. I know Lancaster well as my elder daughter lives there. I've often wondered what a cruise on the Lancaster Canal would be like, knowing it's the longest stretch of lock-free canal in the country. Although I've been coming to the big lock-free playground we all love for most of my life, I do like locks as well and the fact that the Lancaster is lock-free puts me off strangely, so very interested to read your experience.

Hi there. My children are adults now but because I like to hire more often than I can get a crew I've hired solo regularly. Barnes are great in my experience, as are Ferry Marina. I believe Bridgecraft, Pacific Cruisers and Martham Boats are also options, although I've no experience of hiring solo myself from these.

Two tales to come from me, all being well.

I wonder that about myself too, Neil. What strikes me about your list is how many of the boatyards operated with a very small number of boats. Some things don't change though - Richardsons and Herbert Woods had the highest numbers, albeit far fewer than they each have today.

Here's a quiz question to which I don't know the answer but I bet one if you knowledgeable folks will. Which location had the highest number of boatyards and how many were there? When I was growing up in the 80s, Wroxham and Brundall had about 10 boatyards each. Oulton Broad had 4 I think (Topcraft, Newson, Truman and Hampton) but I know it had many more previously.

I had no idea they ever existed. I didn't visit between 1990 and 1992 and it seems I missed out!

I was only 10 years old when we hired from Norfolk Broads Yachting Company and I remember it was up that dyke somewhere but couldn't remember the exact location. Next time I'm in Hoveton I'll be able to visualise the old boatyard, thanks Neil.

Thanks, for sharing, Jean. I would imagine the silence in neutral is rather nice when you need to wait in neutral en route for a sail boat in front of you or some such. What was the noise like when you were cruising? How loud was the whir?

Good shout, Malcom. I've never been to the Cross Keys but I've read good reports recently.

I used to like the mooring opposite the houseboats just above Wayford Bridge but I'm aware that option is no longer available. The BA moorings are fine but there's not a lot of length there, so are there any other options within walking distance of the Wayford Bridge Hotel?

You don't do day boats, you don't do camping, you don't do moorings. What do you do?

To say hirers in bygone years we're "more caring" and had "different values" implies current hirers are inferior. My point is that the vast majority are not.

Please don't tar all current hirers with the same brush. The majority, like myself, treat boats and people with respect.