Moonlight Shadow Tales

[Broads01]

The Wayford-Dilham stretch is wonderful indeed, Malcom. Good to fit that one in whilst you're on a boat that fits under Wayford.

[Tempest]

14 hours ago, YnysMon said:

Glad to see the Moonlight Shadow website is growing in interest. Lovely to see Malcolm’s drone shots. You’ve done an excellent job there Warren. 

Thanks Helen

Keeps me out of mischief!

[Mouldy]

The tale resumes on Wednesday, when we cast off from How Hill, heading for Hoveton.  The weather was very different to the glorious sunshine of the previous afternoon, but it was dry, if rather overcast.  The trip down The Ant was uneventful and we had plenty of room to negotiate the bridge without lowering the roof.

There we’re a few boats out, but less than I’d expected as we passed through Horning.  No chance to moor there, even if we wanted to- the Staithe was full (as usual)!  We moored at Barnes, in the basin created by the controversial pontoon.  It was tight, as they appeared to have a large proportion of the fleet in.

With the water topped up, we wandered into town.  I had an errand to perform on behalf of the MS syndicate, then we went to Roy’s (where else) for provisions before getting some lunch from Greys Fish and Chips, which we took back to the boat to eat.

As we were eating, the rain started - light at first, then progressively heavier.  I know we need it, but not on my holiday, thanks!! 🤨. We set off after lunch heading back towards Horning.  I had a thought to overnight at Cockshoot Dyke, if there was space, ready to go to Ranworth on Thursday.  The rain continued to fall until we reached Horning and then eased off.  With plenty of space at the desired moorings, we tied up and walked along to The Broad.  As ever, there wasn’t much to see, but it was pleasant enough all the same.

We had a light dinner of chicken salad, a few beverages of the alcoholic variety and a couple of games of crib, before retiring for the night.

I woke to a glorious sunny day, this morning, dressed and hastened out with a camera.  The wife got up to walk Harley and our guests , obviously affected by the relaxing, Norfolk air, slept on until after 07:15.  When they were up, we had breakfast and departed the moorings at about 08:45.

We turned into Ranworth Dam and as it opened onto the Broad, I could see at leat two moorings available, so headed across and moored.  A few overnighters departed and more boats arrived through the morning, as one might expect and the moorings soon filled overseen by an overzealous  ranger, who was busy organising the incoming craft.

After we’d topped up with water, we set off for the church.  The day had developed into a lovely, sunny, warm late spring morning.  The wife took Sue (one of our friends) to the cafe with Harley and Paul and I ventured up the tower, having first checked the time!  I’ve been caught up there before at 12:00!! 😁. We took a few photos from the top, before joining the wives at the cafe for a coffee and cake (it’d be rude not to!)

Back on board Moonlight Shadow, it was soon time for lunch - some mushroom quiche from Roy’s and salad, before setting off across Malthouse Broad for our overnight destination, which is when we are now, sitting at Upton Dyke, waiting to walk to the pub for dinner, another first for us, as we’ve never ventured along the dyke before.  It’s clouded over a little, but very pleasant still.  We spotted a certain Charlie Griffin aboard a very smart looking Broad Ambition heading up The Bure as we chugged down.  Looking good, Griff - that’s the boat, I mean!! 😁

Were heading back over Breydon tomorrow to return home in the evening.  My wife had some sad news earlier in the week and we need to visit her family in Northampton on Saturday, so will visit Paul at Swancraft tomorrow afternoon for fuel and pump outs, before returning MS to Broom, ready for Helen (Ynys Mon) and the beginning of her next adventure on Saturday.

[YnysMon]

Thanks Malcolm, lovely photos as always. How was Upton Dyke? Slack water at Yarmouth is around 10am on Sunday, and I was wondering about the feasibility of getting up the Bure in time to go to Upton White Horse for lunch, as we had a lovely Sunday roast there last year.

[SwanR]

Lovely photos as always. We certainly did need that rain yesterday but what a glorious day today. 

Forecast for next week is currently 21 degrees ready for Helen to arrive. 🤭

[Mouldy]

2 hours ago, YnysMon said:

Thanks Malcolm, lovely photos as always. How was Upton Dyke? Slack water at Yarmouth is around 10am on Sunday, and I was wondering about the feasibility of getting up the Bure in time to go to Upton White Horse for lunch, as we had a lovely Sunday roast there last year.

Go for it Helen.  The food was good tonight.  It was our first visit and won’t be the last.  If you pass through Yarmouth at slack, you should be at Upton before 12:30 with no stops.

We had a carvery at The Kings Arms in Ludham on Sunday and that was excellent too.

[Mouldy]

1 hour ago, SwanR said:

Lovely photos as always. We certainly did need that rain yesterday but what a glorious day today. 

Forecast for next week is currently 21 degrees ready for Helen to arrive. 🤭

Thanks Jean.  Photos so far are from the drone and my phone (iPhone 13).  I haven’t had a chance to download the pictures from my cameras yet!

[YnysMon]

3 minutes ago, Mouldy said:

We had a carvery at The Kings Arms in Ludham on Sunday and that was excellent too.

We’ve been hearing lots of good things about the Kings Arms carvery too. Must try it out sometime! I love Ludham. I have very fond memories of arriving at Ludham on our very first Broads holiday. It was a scorching hot July day and we had arrived far too early for our early afternoon handover at Hunter’s Yard, so we visited the church (lovely and cool in there) and then had lunch at the Alfresco Tearooms before making our way to the boatyard.

By the way, I’m very sad that Alfresco’s have closed. Every meal we had there was consistently good. 

[DAVIDH]

Those moorings at Upton Dyke look pretty full with the yachts both sides Malcolm. Is that where you moored? 

[YnysMon]

1 minute ago, DAVIDH said:

Those moorings at Upton Dyke look pretty full with the yachts both sides Malcolm. Is that where you moored? 

How was turning around down there? We have moored up in the Eastwood Whelpton Yard (on a Hunters boat) in July and there seemed to be lots of room…except that most of their fleet was out. I’ve also walked past in November when all the fleet were there, most with lovely (not) bowsprits facing the staithe. 

[Mouldy]

9 minutes ago, DAVIDH said:

Those moorings at Upton Dyke look pretty full with the yachts both sides Malcolm. Is that where you moored? 

Yes, it was.  Just managed to turn in the dyke and reverse to the parish Staithe.  Most of Whelptons fleet is in the yard, so we couldn’t turn any further along.  You should be ok in Goosander though David.

6 minutes ago, YnysMon said:

How was turning around down there? We have moored up in the Eastwood Whelpton Yard (on a Hunters boat) in July and there seemed to be lots of room…except that most of their fleet was out. I’ve also walked past in November when all the fleet were there, most with lovely (not) bowsprits facing the staithe. 

Tight in the dyke.  We’re at the river end of the parish moorings, so turned where we could and reversed the last few yards to moor.  

[Broads01]

I love Upton Dyke, Malcom but I must admit the longest boat I've ever taken down there was 31 foot. Is the Parish Staithe at the far end? Maybe you could get a photo in the morning of the boat in situ and show where you turned? 

[YnysMon]

The thing that makes me a bit twitchy about Upton is (a) just how many Eastwood Whelpton (EW) boats are going to be moored opposite the Staithe and (b) if the staithe is full and EW also crammed, the prospect of reversing all the way down that narrow Dyke. 
Might chance it though. If you do manage to moor there it’s magical. 

[BrundallNavy]

There are a couple of visitors mooring on the right hand side of the Dyke as you enter near the bench if you don’t fancy going all the way down. You can always drop off a runner to check the parish Staithe before committing down the Dyke. The parish moorings on the left have enough room for 4 boats just turn on the ropes the EW staff are always willing to help if you need it. 

[YnysMon]

4 hours ago, BrundallNavy said:

There are a couple of visitors mooring on the right hand side of the Dyke as you enter near the bench if you don’t fancy going all the way down. You can always drop off a runner to check the parish Staithe before committing down the Dyke. The parish moorings on the left have enough room for 4 boats just turn on the ropes the EW staff are always willing to help if you need it. 

Thanks. Our plans for Sunday have now changed. We'll stay down south as we now won't be returning south later in the week, so we might not make it to Upton. Not for Sunday lunch anyway. 

[Mouldy]

So to conclude my tale, our meal at The White Horse was excellent and we will definitely be back.  The wife and I had a sharing platter of charcuterie, served with olives, sun dried tomatoes and bruschetta as a starter, which was light and tasty and turned out to have been a good decision, especially for me.  I’d chosen the steak pie with mash and peas for mains - anyone who knows me will probably understand that I have a passion for a good pie . . . . . . . . and it shows! 😉. What arrived would comfortably have served two and even I struggled.  Full to the top with tender meat, it was very good and exceptional value!  Our friends and we agreed that it had been well worth the visit, with a friendly atmosphere and great staff.

Back at the boat, we chatted about the week for a while before retiring early.  We had a reasonably early start on Friday to catch slack at Yarmouth.

We woke shortly before 06:00 to a glorious sunrise.  I felt compelled to take my camera out to grab a few shots whilst Deb walked along the dyke and back with the dog, before casting off about 06:45 and chugging slowly towards the main river.  When there was sufficient hot water, I went for a shower and to get ready, leaving the wife at the helm.  Once ready and back in the saloon, we wound the roof back to enjoy the beautiful morning.

Progress was a little slower than I’d anticipated, but I think the last time we cruised from Acle to Yarmouth, the river levels were higher, causing the falling current to run faster, giving us more of a push.  I’d expected the journey to take about two hours, but in reality took around 20 minutes longer.  There was still loads of clearance under the bridges though and it wasn’t long before we were heading back across Breydon.

As far as I could see, we were one of only two craft heading south, although there were a few more going the opposite way.  We were soon passing Berney Mill and the empty moorings at Polkeys Mill before arriving at Reedham, where there were a few craft moored, but. still plenty of spaces.  It was too early to return to the yard, so I headed down The Chet to Loddon, where we moored at the Staithe, at about 11:30.  Aside from one private boat, we were the only ones moored, but we’re soon joined by a couple of hire craft and another privateer.

The weather was glorious and we stayed there for a while to have lunch of various bits and pieces that were left in the fridge - salad, quiche, pork pie, cheese, ham, a few olives, the last of the coleslaw.  It was tasty and saved taking it home or throwing it away!!

All too soon, it was time to go, so we cast off and headed back up the river.  I took the helm whilst the ladies stripped beds and packed, until we reached the wider River Yare and Paul took over from me and I went to help with the cleaning and clearing, moving stuff to the aft cabin to make it easier to load the cars.

We called into Swancraft for fuel and pump outs - £1.55 a litre was infinitely preferable to Broom’s excessive charges and we took the opportunity to move a few items that we’d ‘borrowed’ from Norfolk Lady, back on board and to check out our new fridge (yep, another small issue that had developed, necessitating further expenditure).  I’d left my car at Swancraft, so my wife drove that back to Broom, whilst I steered Moonlight Shadow back to her home moorings, for what turned out to be the last time, as she will have a new base at Horning at the end of this week.

With cars packed and the boat cleaned, we locked up and left the boat at the end of a very enjoyable week.  Our son and his family will be aboard in August and all things being equal, our next allocation is in April 2023, but we hope to be back on Norfolk Lady next weekend.  

[Tempest]

Gorgeous photos and a great blog 

 

[DAVIDH]

It's a long time since I last visited Upton Dyke, but that pie and those views have reawakened the idea for my next visit on Goosander. Thanks for the write-up and the glorious images Malcolm.

[NotDeadYet]

Thoroughly enjoyed your tales and glorious photos, thank you.

 

[Broads01]

Thanks for the Upton photos in particular, Malcom. You did well to turn ahead of that mooring.

[Mouldy]

10 hours ago, Broads01 said:

Thanks for the Upton photos in particular, Malcom. You did well to turn ahead of that mooring.

Thanks Simon.  It was very tight and I couldn’t have achieved bit without the bow thruster, but I was able to turn and reverse to the mooring.  There was plenty of space further along the staithe, but with an early start planned, it was easier to get away from where we moored.

I would imagine that later in the season, with some of the EW fleet out, it would be much easier to turn as its wider further along.

[PaulN]

On 08/05/2022 at 07:02, Mouldy said:

So to conclude my tale, our meal at The White Horse was excellent and we will definitely be back.  The wife and I had a sharing platter of charcuterie, served with olives, sun dried tomatoes and bruschetta as a starter, which was light and tasty and turned out to have been a good decision, especially for me.  I’d chosen the steak pie with mash and peas for mains - anyone who knows me will probably understand that I have a passion for a good pie . . . . . . . . and it shows! 😉. What arrived would comfortably have served two and even I struggled.  Full to the top with tender meat, it was very good and exceptional value!  Our friends and we agreed that it had been well worth the visit, with a friendly atmosphere and great staff.

Back at the boat, we chatted about the week for a while before retiring early.  We had a reasonably early start on Friday to catch slack at Yarmouth.

We woke shortly before 06:00 to a glorious sunrise.  I felt compelled to take my camera out to grab a few shots whilst Deb walked along the dyke and back with the dog, before casting off about 06:45 and chugging slowly towards the main river.  When there was sufficient hot water, I went for a shower and to get ready, leaving the wife at the helm.  Once ready and back in the saloon, we wound the roof back to enjoy the beautiful morning.

Progress was a little slower than I’d anticipated, but I think the last time we cruised from Acle to Yarmouth, the river levels were higher, causing the falling current to run faster, giving us more of a push.  I’d expected the journey to take about two hours, but in reality took around 20 minutes longer.  There was still loads of clearance under the bridges though and it wasn’t long before we were heading back across Breydon.

As far as I could see, we were one of only two craft heading south, although there were a few more going the opposite way.  We were soon passing Berney Mill and the empty moorings at Polkeys Mill before arriving at Reedham, where there were a few craft moored, but. still plenty of spaces.  It was too early to return to the yard, so I headed down The Chet to Loddon, where we moored at the Staithe, at about 11:30.  Aside from one private boat, we were the only ones moored, but we’re soon joined by a couple of hire craft and another privateer.

The weather was glorious and we stayed there for a while to have lunch of various bits and pieces that were left in the fridge - salad, quiche, pork pie, cheese, ham, a few olives, the last of the coleslaw.  It was tasty and saved taking it home or throwing it away!!

All too soon, it was time to go, so we cast off and headed back up the river.  I took the helm whilst the ladies stripped beds and packed, until we reached the wider River Yare and Paul took over from me and I went to help with the cleaning and clearing, moving stuff to the aft cabin to make it easier to load the cars.

We called into Swancraft for fuel and pump outs - £1.55 a litre was infinitely preferable to Broom’s excessive charges and we took the opportunity to move a few items that we’d ‘borrowed’ from Norfolk Lady, back on board and to check out our new fridge (yep, another small issue that had developed, necessitating further expenditure).  I’d left my car at Swancraft, so my wife drove that back to Broom, whilst I steered Moonlight Shadow back to her home moorings, for what turned out to be the last time, as she will have a new base at Horning at the end of this week.

With cars packed and the boat cleaned, we locked up and left the boat at the end of a very enjoyable week.  Our son and his family will be aboard in August and all things being equal, our next allocation is in April 2023, but we hope to be back on Norfolk Lady next weekend.  

Lovely photos Mouldy. Seeing your photos of Loddon has just reminded me of a strange anomaly we experienced late April this year. Wanting to get across Breydon at the correct time, we left Loddon at first light albeit it was a bit misty. In places along the Chet it became very misty and I had to go very slowly as it was difficult to see ahead, although I could see the bank.

My wife was taking photos of swans coming out of the mist, when she noticed that we could see very clearly via the iphone on camera mode but very poorly with normal eyesight. Strange that our normal vision saw the thick mist but the iphone didn't. The mist was low level over the river, seeing planes at 30,000 feet wasn't a problem. Has anyone else ever noticed this?

[grendel]

possibly a polarising filter on the camera lens.

[Mouldy]

Not sure, but I never cease to be amazed by the photos that my phone produces.  They’re ideal for social media and the Forum, but I’m not sure that they’d stand close scrutiny if enlarged and printed.  The only area in which they’re very deficient is protection from lens flare, which is very apparent in photos taken into or in the direction of the sun.   It’s been said that the best camera is the one you have with you at the time and with camera phones now and the fact that most of us carry smartphones, it’s never been more true.

[Mouldy]

Well, the World Cup has arrived in Neatishead!  I scored several goals on my last visit!!