Burgh Castle Moorings

[Hylander]

I have just read that these have been completely closed, all signs removed and the agreement with the landowner revoked ,  electric post obviously gone as well.     Well thanks BA well done pat on the back, another good and safe mooring that was needed.         I can recall when these were brand spanking new , all paid for by the EU monetary fund at the time.     There was a sign up for some time.

 

Now they have taken that one away will they put an electric post on the pub side?

[MauriceMynah]

I don't know the southern waters too well.   Where are (sorry, were) these moorings in relation to Goodchilds yard?

[JohnK]

I don't know the southern waters too well.   Where are (sorry, were) these moorings in relation to Goodchilds yard?

About 100m upstream on the same side.
Not really a big issue to go round the corner to the Berney Arms I wouldn’t have thought.

[keifsmate]

Same side as Goodhilds, but a little upstream.

[Guest]

27 minutes ago, Hylander said:

Now they have taken that one away will they put an electric post on the pub side?

What with all the work going on at the Berney Arms moorings surely they are at least looking at installing electric there instead.

[MauriceMynah]

So, if I head up river, past Goodchilds, what's the first mooring portside that I can use and how far to the nearest pub from there? Physically I have trouble getting on and off Nyx at the Fishermans at low water.

[JohnK]

So, if I head up river, past Goodchilds, what's the first mooring portside that I can use and how far to the nearest pub from there? Physically I have trouble getting on and off Nyx at the Fishermans at low water.

I’d guess St Olaves but I’m far from sure.

[Chelsea14Ian]

Not many people  stop at Berney Arms since the pub is on ,off and BA only have a few spaces there.I very much doubt they will put in electric posts.

[NorfolkNog]

This is a photo of the moorings about 18 months ago 

[Guest]

Well that's good I was intending stopping there on Tuesday  , if BA are in dispute with the land owner then no way will you see an electric post at the fisherman's as he owns that too and the marina and caravan park , goodness knows what BA paid for the moorings but they paid the land owner very little ( a 2 figure sum 5 yes ago ) .

The problem is now of cause there's no safe haven for boats traveling over braydon in the summer evenings so they could  be sailing at night to find a moorings as the fisherman's is single moorings and only a about 4 boats can get on , next is St olives n that's not that big then the next BA moorings are currently 3/4 closed while they work on them .

As for the electric post being installed at the Berny arms it largely depends on where the power source is coming from and how far away it is , BA don't like spending money on armoured cable for the underground cabling as its seriously expensive .

This is going to be a much bigger problem than first looks I believe and could easily escalate the amount of hire craft travelling with out lights just looking for a mooring .

believe the reason they were partly closed was for the piling but having not seen it for a few yes iv no idea of the condition of it but it was pretty good  before and its one thing I'll be looking at on Tuesday .

[Guest]

1 hour ago, JohnK said:

 

I’d guess St Olaves but I’m far from sure.

 

St olives or the other side of the bridge outside the bell pub both are busy moorings in summer and the bell ones are stern on which is tricky in the tidle flow there .

[Regulo]

Last time I was there the actual piling looked in not too bad condition, it was really just the steel quay headings and mooring posts that were deteriorating. But I'm not a civil engineer! I use that mooring for our regular trips South, so it looks like all round to the Berney in future. For some reason, I'm not comfortable there, but can't say why. Just a weird feeling of unease that I never got at Burgh Castle. The lack of moorings generally is becoming a big issue on the Broads, and I don't see it improving any time soon.

1 hour ago, MauriceMynah said:

Physically I have trouble getting on and off Nyx at the Fishermans at low water.

Come on, MM! Getting off when a pub beckons never presents a problem for you. Getting back on after is the problem! 

[Chelsea14Ian]

I don't know what is happening at Berney Arms I believe if the pub was up and running,normal hours in the season. That would help.Last year there was times when people  were asked to pay 10 pounds. Which I feel was unfair not even sure they had the right to do so.We last stopped at Berney did not feel welcome,Which in the past was always on our list to moor.Richard is right.There seems to be a lack of good moorings before BW. Let's hope something can be done to improve matters

[vanessan]

I understood that the Burgh Castle moorings were maintained by the EA and they were always unlikely to do anything major to them. When we stopped there in the latter part of last year, the piling was looking pretty grim and being steel could do a lot of damage to boats. It is a great shame, the Castle is always worth a visit and there are some good walks from there. There is really not a lot at Berney especially as the Mill is seldom open. (The station is worth a walk to however, just to see what’s there!)It is quite a distance from Burgh Castle to St Olaves and boats crossing late in the day could struggle if the Berney moorings are full. Having said that, double mooring is allowed - if you fancy trying it with the strong tides there. 

[Meantime]

2 hours ago, Hylander said:

 Well thanks BA well done pat on the back, another good and safe mooring that was needed.

I am a great fan of these moorings, but it is because they are NOT safe, that they have been closed.

 

1 hour ago, JohnK said:

Not really a big issue to go round the corner to the Berney Arms I wouldn’t have thought.

For solo cruisers the moorings at BOTH the Berney and Burgh are important. When solo cruising and attempting to moor it is far easier for me to moor on the port side. Therefore it depends on what the tide is doing as to which mooring I would use. On a flood tide I would find it far easier to moor at The Berney. On an ebb tide I would find it far easier to moor at Burgh Castle. It was great knowing both these strategic moorings close to Breydon were available and that you could arrive at any state of tide and find a safe mooring.

 

1 hour ago, MauriceMynah said:

So, if I head up river, past Goodchilds, what's the first mooring portside that I can use and how far to the nearest pub from there? Physically I have trouble getting on and off Nyx at the Fishermans at low water.

The next mooring is at St Olaves. Easy to get on and off normally, but the footpath behind the bungalows towards The Bell can be a bit over grown and muddy at times.

 

1 hour ago, Chelsea14Ian said:

Not many people  stop at Berney Arms since the pub is on ,off and BA only have a few spaces there.I very much doubt they will put in electric posts.

The BA have purchased or leased a second part of this mooring up by the windmill so there is quite a stretch of BA mooring there now. I wouldn't expect the pub to reopen for some time and to get power to the BA moorings would be prohibitively expensive.

 

38 minutes ago, Ricardo said:

Well that's good I was intending stopping there on Tuesday  , if BA are in dispute with the land owner then no way will you see an electric post at the fisherman's as he owns that too and the marina and caravan park , goodness knows what BA paid for the moorings but they paid the land owner very little ( a 2 figure sum 5 yes ago ) .

The problem is now of cause there's no safe haven for boats traveling over braydon in the summer evenings so they could  be sailing at night to find a moorings as the fisherman's is single moorings and only a about 4 boats can get on , next is St olives n that's not that big then the next BA moorings are currently 3/4 closed while they work on them .

The BA are not in dispute with the land owner. The Environment Agency are responsible for the piling along this stretch and it is the poor condition of the piling that has caused the closure of this mooring. The BA has terminated the lease with the land owner presumably because they have now become useless as a safe mooring. However it is the EA, not the land owner who is responsible for the piling, so one presumes it is up to the land owner to put pressure on the EA to sort the piling, so they can then lease the mooring back to the BA again. Sadly I wouldn't expect this to happen any time soon.

The closure of this mooring should not be an excuse for boats cruising into the night as Ricardo suggests as the BA will point to the extra mooring leased at The Berney Arms windmill just around the corner. The Berney moorings are rarely full now the pub is closed.

26 minutes ago, Chelsea14Ian said:

I don't know what is happening at Berney Arms I believe if the pub was up and running,normal hours in the season. That would help.Last year there was times when people  were asked to pay 10 pounds. Which I feel was unfair not even sure they had the right to do so.We last stopped at Berney did not feel welcome,Which in the past was always on our list to moor.Richard is right.There seems to be a lack of good moorings before BW. Let's hope something can be done to improve matters

The commune running the Berney Arms café can only charge for the section of mooring at the pub end. There is still two BA moorings slightly further upstream along the bank, as well as the RSPB section between the two BA sections. At a push there is also Polkey's Mill about 25mins further upstream towards Reedham. At high water this is actually a very safe mooring as they have tall timbers that extend upwards well beyond the quay heading height to stop boats riding over the edge.

 

This was the official line from the BA when I enquired last June.

Thank you for your enquiry.

 

Approximately half the mooring at Burgh Castle is closed because the steel sheet piling has deteriorated to such an extent that there are holes and sharp edges and we can no longer maintain secure and safe fixings for the timber fendering and safety chains.  The piling is slightly better in some areas and where this is the case we are managing to keep this open and safe for use with regular checks and repairs.

 

The Broads Authority manages the 24hr mooring at Burgh Castle and maintains the timberwork, paths and safety equipment.  However the steel piling is owned by the Environment Agency and requires major investment by them to replace it.  The Broads Authority has been pressing the Environment Agency for information on their plans for the piling at Burgh Castle and we expect to hear soon.  Whatever the Environment Agency decide to do, major work is now required on this site before it can be fully reopened and it is not likely that this will happen this year.

 

We have noticed recently that at busy times vessels have been moored on the section immediately upstream of the Broads Authority mooring. Please be aware this is private land and is not managed for mooring so we cannot guarantee the depth or the ground conditions and as a result of ongoing reptile surveys Adders have been seen along the bank of that section of piling.

 

I hope this answers your question.

 

Regards

Name Removed

Ranger (Breydon Team)

[JennyMorgan]

2 hours ago, JohnK said:

 

About 100m upstream on the same side.
Not really a big issue to go round the corner to the Berney Arms I wouldn’t have thought.

 

Agreed but when the tide is sluicing out it can be an issue for a sailing boat plus there is no boozer at Berney.

[JohnK]

Agreed but when the tide is sluicing out it can be an issue for a sailing boat plus there is no boozer at Berney.

Well there is. It just has no booze

[Guest]

6 minutes ago, JohnK said:

 

Well there is. It just has no booze

 

But then it's just an r

[Chelsea14Ian]

Yes it's good that there is a second  BA moorings,but a well ran pub would bring the place back to life.As I said when spending two weeks on the broads we looked forward to spending our first night at Berney Arms. Now we just go past.

[vanessan]

7 minutes ago, Chelsea14Ian said:

Yes it's good that there is a second  BA moorings,but a well ran pub would bring the place back to life.As I said when spending two weeks on the broads we looked forward to spending our first night at Berney Arms. Now we just go past.

I believe the Berney has a history of expensive leases hence the changes of landlords over recent years. Planning permission has been refused to change to a residential dwelling so it’s probably more than likely that nothing will happen in the foreseeable future. 

[Guest]

6 minutes ago, vanessan said:

I believe the Berney has a history of expensive leases hence the changes of landlords over recent years. Planning permission has been refused to change to a residential dwelling so it’s probably more than likely that nothing will happen in the foreseeable future. 

In addition to high leasing costs, are tied Landlords still obliged to purchase "all" of their beverages direct from the brewery? 

[Chelsea14Ian]

I understand what's happening at the pub,over the years have stopped there many times.Its as I said it would be good if the long time future of the pub is settled.

[webntweb]

Based at Brundall so been using the Burgh mooring a couple of times a year for an early morning start to cross to the north. 

Ideal for me as I use the electric post for my medical equipment. 

I'm really going to miss this mooring, as I'm sure many others will.
 

[Guest]

3 hours ago, EastCoastIPA said:

The closure of this mooring should not be an excuse for boats cruising into the night as Ricardo suggests as the BA will point to the extra mooring leased at The Berney Arms windmill just around the corner. The Berney moorings are rarely full now the pub is closed

Its not an excuse but has far more chance of happening which was my point , anyone heading for beccles isn't going up the yare and if the fisherman's is full then you have no choice but to push on , its not as if I didn't happen when the moorings were available many times iv seen hire boats traveling at night in that area . 

[Broads01]

I tend to agree Ricardo. Inexperienced hirers could very easily be caught out by carrying on upstream and thinking "there's bound to be somewhere else". 

I have happy memories of overnighting at Burgh Castle so this is bad news I feel. I always enjoyed the view across to Berney Mill.  Whilst I like visiting pubs, I don't very much like mooring right in front of one so I can't seeing myself stopping in front of the Fisherman's, not that there's likely to be space anyway.