Broads01

I certainly had some fun at Thurne with the wind this afternoon.

If you still like Bolero you could go for that and then if there were issues at Ludham nearer the time, Richardsons would change your booking. It would depend on availability as to what they offered you though.

You syndicate folks are dedicated. I admire you giving up your valuable holiday time, I don't think I could do it.

Today I decided to do something different as you've seen, Bure Valley Railway. I like steam railways plus this one had an added interest for me - my late father volunteered there briefly before he became ill. Despite this I'd never visited personally so it was a but of a pilgrimage today. Before setting off for Wroxham, we had another walk as far as the altar cross and we both enjoyed the walk as much as yesterday. I'd forgotten that of you stand by the cross, you can see across to the Thurne, Thurne Mill and Womack, not to mention much of Fleet Dyke in a southerly direction. It was blowy and a bit wintry though so once we'd set off I didn't open the helm-side roof so much today. I reverted to my cold weather M.O. of repeatedly getting frustrated by being inside, opening the roof for a few minutes of cold air and then getting too cold so shutting it again. I turned in to Wroxham Broad and did mudweight briefly but it was too windy to feel comfortable so we continued in to Wroxham and moored at Barnes Brinkcraft. I enjoyed the Bure Valley Railway experience. It's probably one of the newer preserved railways having opened in 1990 on the site of an old passenger branch line (which was still used for freight until 1981). It trundles it's way slowly 9 miles to Aylsham where you get off and have time to visit the cafe before the return journey. It's narrow gauge so the locos and rolling stock are relatively tiny and they sort of shake you gently from side to side as they move along. Suzie isn't always a relaxed traveller, especially in the car but I found myself relaxed and sleepy and she was the same. We returned to the boat around 4 and shortly set off for Horning. I was thinking of mooring at the Ferry Inn but couldn't believe my luck when there was a gap just big enough for us on the Staithe. What the photo doesn't show is there's a boat not far in front of us so I think if we'd have been 35 foot we'd have been struggling. Unfortunately the kitchen at The Swan was closed but I've had a decent meal at The New Inn instead.

Mooring at Horning Staithe at 17:30? You'll never do it, I hear you say. Wrong!

You would say correctly.

Easy quick quiz. Where are we this afternoon?

That would be top screens down. Last October Richardsons staff were in force at Ludham Bridge with oil drums to get some of the dual steer boats back through.

We headed for Stalham first of all today, partly for Tesco and partly because it's a nice cruise anyway. It turned out quite a bright morning and not as cold. Between Neatishead and Stalham we saw only two boats. At Richardsons there were some gaps on Swan Quay so I was able to pull in there for water (it's still off at Neatishead) and Tesco. Suzie is never especially impressed when I leave her on the boat but needs must sometimes. Wayford Bridge was the next destination to see if there was any possibility of squeezing under. On arrival there only 6 foot 6 showing so not a chance (we need 6 foot 10). I turned around and decided to try my luck at one of the wild moorings above Barton Broad. Some of them are looking worse for wear after many weeks of being underwater. I finished up opting for Paddy's Lane instead and we had a very peaceful couple of hours there. This afternoon's final destination was St Benets. Although Suzie and I had a walk just before we left Paddy's Lane, when we were crossing Barton she was whining at the stern door as if trying to convince me she was in urgent need of a comfort break. I relented and made an impromptu mooring just on the right as we left Barton, only to soon realised it had been a typical doggy con trick all along. Oh well, it was actually a very pretty spot and so we stopped there for a short while and enjoyed the scenery. Carrying on downstream there were only two boats at How Hill and not many more than that at Ludham Bridge. We arrived at St. Benets around 4 and Suzie enjoyed herself off the lead as there were no livestock around.

I'd also add Wroxham Broad and Hoveton Little Broad.

I enjoyed myself at the Falgate although I think the food could have been better if I'm honest. It was a cold night and I was thankful for my sleeping bag because the shore power wasn't working for reasons I didn't know. A call to the boatyard sorted it very quickly - the guy arrived in about 20 minutes and immediately sussed the problem. I knew the electrics had tripped out yesterday and I'd reset it but I hadn't realised there was an additional trip in the stern wardrobe (well why have one trip switch when you can have two?). We were soon on our way, initial destination South Walsham. We crossed paths with Mermaid once again on our way down the Thurne, along with maybe two other boats. On the Bure we saw nobody at all before St Benets. We mudweighted for a while on an empty South Walsham Broad then after an Inner Broad detour headed for the curved mooring at Fleet Dyke. There I got in to a pickle again due to the wind which was determined to blow us off the bank more than once. Once I'd managed to step off with both ropes the boat was very quickly most of the ropes' length away from the bank. Good old Broads conditions can still challenge. This afternoon's cruise was destination Neatishead. Not only did I want electric after last night's cold experience but I wanted to stop overnight there having somehow not done so for 21 years. There always seems to be something stopping me moor there, mostly the spaces filling up early in the season but recently there's been the temporary closure and then last October there was a police incident there when I'd have otherwise moored. On the way Ludham Bridge was showing 7 foot 8 which I guess isn't too bad, especially as in reality there was much more. I spotted video blogger Daniel (One Dan and his Boat) walking near the bridge but by the time I realised I'd passed. Of course there were only 3 boats already at Neatishead, one of which was Moonlight Shadow. I said hello to Helen and Graham which was a bit of a challenge given Suzie was doing her grumpy small dog routine to counteract an exuberant Pozzick. Helen and I managed to have another conversation later thankfully whilst Suzie and I were on our way to the (very dog friendly) White Horse. It's also warm and welcoming.

I still wondered that myself when I passed you.

I spotted a couple of closures today which I don't know whether or not have been mentioned already. Firstly at Ranworth, the boardwalk is closed "until further notice". Secondly, below Acle Bridge, the former pay moorings near Acle Dyke are now closed. This used to be a nice spot and a handy overflow for when the moorings nearer the bridge were full. We last moored there 3 years ago for those reasons so it's disappointing.

Another sunny day with a cold wind today. I've had the roof shut most of the time to keep the wind out bit the occasional slide back of the helm side has been lovely. Ranworth remained quiet overnight and we set off soon after 9. Leading up to this trip and right until this morning I hadn't been able to.make up my mind whether or not to go south. As I set off I still didn't know and it was no use asking Suzie. If I was to head for Great Yarmouth, today was the day because low water was just before 4 and timings worked OK for 2 or 3 days. I decided to head down to Stokesby whilst I made my mind up, remembering the gluten-free cake selection in the village shop. Mermaid was moored at Acle Bridge and I shared a wave with Sam as I passed. Stokesby was as quiet as I expected and the shop didn't disappoint. It was somewhat windy and uninviting there and with the wind set to continue for the rest of the day I finally made up my mind - stay north. After some lunch aboard I returned upstream, passing Mermaid once again and decided to head for Womack. My memory was playing tricks with me as it turned out because I thought Womack Staithe had electric but as I saw when I arrived it doesn't, so I headed for Potter instead. We're one of only 3 boats on the BA moorings this evening. Suzie enjoyed a run off the lead upstream of the bridge (5ft 6 showing). I'm currently at the Falgate which is warm and welcoming.

I was also out a year ago the week leading up to Easter. That week was also quiet (although not as quiet as this week has been so far) until Good Friday when things suddenly picked up.

Coincidentally, my boat was moored next to Belmore TC which I'm hiring with my elder daughter in September. You may notice that one of the boats has a very slightly taller air draft than the other 😊.

It's been a long day but a very successful one. My alarm went off at 0500, we set off at 0630 and arrived in Roy's car park just before 1100. Leg stretch and food shopping done we arrived at Barnes at 1200 and the boat was ready as promised. We were off downriver before 1300 and pulled in at Wroxham Island. A combination of forgetting how the thruster switched on, strongish wind and accidentally leaving the boat in gear when I left the helm contributed to a complete balls up of the mooring. No harm done, I was able to have some food and finish unpacking before setting off again - destination Ranworth. It was a chilly but sunny afternoon and the Bure was even quieter than I expected. As I passed Salhouse, I could only see 3 boats moored (one of which was B.A.) and New Inn , Ferry Inn and Cockshoot were all empty save for the odd dayboat. We arrived at Ranworth around 1600 with about 7 boats here. I called Barnes because one of the locking bolts for the sliding rooves was broken and I couldn't therefore secure the boat. The engineer arrived promptly and fitted a new bolt without fuss. Dinner tonight was in the Granary for the first time and I enjoyed it. I chose the sea bass which was superb.

I'm moored at Ranworth this evening and walked past. I knew it was closed but expected to see some signage outside, "Re-opening Soon" at the very least. I feel if they're planning to open this week then that fact needs to be clear, otherwise when they do open nobody will know.

Spotted them in the distance at Salhouse when I passed around lunchtime.

Early in the morning I'm setting off for my first ever March hire. My first trip is actually only a week earlier than last year but I've never hired in March before. The weather forecast looks pretty reasonable though and not especially cold and tonight I'm as excited as ever. I'll be aboard Brinks Encore Plus 6, solo human with my faithful boating companion, Suzie, our Shih Tzu. This afternoon I had the pleasant surprise of a phone call from Barnes to say the boat would be ready by 12 (presumably because it's not been on hire this week). Even with an early alarm call tomorrow I may not make it from South Wales by then but we'll see. Give us a wave if you see us in the week ahead. Helen, I'm sure our paths will cross somewhere.

I've seen the Chet look like that before and I do hope it's attended to because it's narrow enough anyway. I like Pyes Mill, also Malcom and I also prefer it to the Staithe generally so let's hope it gets fixed. Helen, one of these days I'll summon up the motivation to get out of bed as early as you to beat the tide. I see the benefit but when boating I tend to stick to my normal sleep pattern and put up with the tides.

That's fair enough. I think the ideal thing is somewhere like The Lion where they allow dogs but also have a non-dog area.

You took the words right out of my mouth.