Norfolk Lady Tales

[Mouldy]

We went up to Brundall again on Saturday for another trip on Norfolk Lady.  Although the weather was grey and it had rained overnight, we were determined not to miss the opportunity of the promised sunny day.  I’ve already posted a few photos of the day on another thread, but during lockdown and with too much time on my hands to look on the net, temptation got the better of me and I bought what the wife describes as a new toy.

Here is a link to YouTube and a short video of Langley Dyke, taken from the air.  Apologies for any shortcomings - it was the first of a number of things for me including using iMovie on an iPad, and flying my ‘toy’ over water (which did make me slightly nervous).

Not sure how long it will remain on YouTube before copyright issues arise:

https://youtu.be/yKV2kVhLJh0

 

[Tempest]

Excellent video Malcolm

Especially for your first one, as you wouldn't have known

Looked a gorgeous day

Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

[Mouldy]

54 minutes ago, Tempest said:

Excellent video Malcolm . . . . . . . . .

Looked a gorgeous day.

Thanks Warren.   It was idyllic and served as a reminder (as if one were needed) of why we love the place so much!  With our week in Cornwall, that should have started on 29th June now cancelled, we live in hope that the current rules will be relaxed to allow us to spend the time afloat instead.

[YnysMon]

That was beautiful. Thanks Malcolm. Nice choice of music too. Very relaxing to watch, and just reminding us of how much we want to be on the Broads again. Lovely.

[Mouldy]

Having been up to Norfolk Lady for several days out since late May, we had been anxiously awaiting 4th July, so we could actually spend some time on our boat.  It will take too long to write a detailed blog of our two weeks on board, but needless to say we had a wonderful time cruising the northern and southern rivers.  We met Helen (Ynys Mon) and her family, fellow Forum members Motorboater and Smoggy and an old friend with whom we’d lost touch over the years, during our holiday.  Despite how busy it was, we found some lovely overnight moorings and enjoyed meals out at our favourite pubs (The Lion and The Ferry House).   The weather was typical of a British summer with a mixture of sunny, cloudy and wet days, but nothing could really have spoilt our time away.  At the end, neither of us wanted to go home and it was with heavy hearts that we left the Broads on Sunday 19th July, despite the fact that we will be heading back for another weekend at the end of next week.

Here are a few of the many photos I took, including a couple from my drone.

[YnysMon]

Thanks for posting Malcolm, lovely photos as always. Loved the dawn photos in particular. Where is that view from the final drone shot?

[Mouldy]

29 minutes ago, YnysMon said:

Where is that view from the final drone shot?

That’s Turf Fen Mill.  I was flying the drone from the field between the river and How Hill House early one morning.  As far as dawn shots are concerned, I was up at stupid o’clock on several occasions, snapping away.  Still water, reflections and golden sunlight can combine to make wonderful images.

[MotorBoater]

Fine pictures indeed, had a laugh at what looks like Glistening Horizon 2 with a mast through the roof at South Walsham, hope Richardsons don't think I installed a temporary modification.

Do you use filters on that lens of yours ? Try as I might I can't get cloud pics like yours.

We got back home on Monday, still got the fidgets, can't settle to sort out our record of the trip !

[Mouldy]

2 hours ago, MotorBoater said:

 . . . . . Do you use filters on that lens of yours ?

Hope you enjoyed your holiday and good to meet you.  To be honest, all of the photos posted are from my phone, except for the last three drone shots, so no filters used.  I haven’t had time to go through all of the pictures I took with my cameras yet.  I’ll post a few more up when I can.

I am frankly amazed at the quality of the phone pics.  Under certain conditions, controlling lens flare is impossible, manual overrides are not very intuitive and I’m not sure how well the images will stand up to any form of enlargement, but for social media etc., they are more than adequate.

[OldBerkshireBoy]

All good photos there, really like the 20th one though.

[Mouldy]

Thursday 17th September 

We set off from Northampton at about 15:00 and pulled up outside the Co-Op in Brundall two and a half hours later.  I nipped in to get some essential supplies before we headed round to the yard and Norfolk Lady.  We quickly unloaded the car and I cooked dinner whilst the wife unpacked our bags and put our belongings away.  
We had ordered a new mattress from a local supplier on our previous visit, to replace the worn and unsupportive one on the boat, along with a fitted sheet and mattress protector, all of which were due for delivery the following day.  We wanted to be there to receive them and see them safely installed before heading out for a week on the rivers.  I must confess we we’re slightly nervous, as we had made the template for the new items ourselves and hoped that we had made no errors.

It had been a nice day and the sun set over the yard as we sat down for a meal of pasta and sauce before watching tv for a while and heading for bed.  I wanted to be up early on Friday to clean the boat up a bit and wait for our delivery.  

[YnysMon]

Thanks Malcolm, I've been looking forward to another installment of Norfolk Lady tales.

[Mouldy]

Friday 18th September

I was awake quite early, so at about 06:00 rolled out of bed and switched on the kettle and immersion heater.  The wife stirred not long after and readied herself to take the dog for a walk.  I made tea and had toast and marmalade whilst she was out and made the same for her when she returned, before showering and getting ready.

I went back to the Co-Op with a longer shopping list to buy supplies for the weekend and until we got to our planned destination of Ludham, where we wanted to visit the butchers on Monday.  I’d received an email from the couriers to confirm delivery was planned for Friday and it wasn’t long after I’d returned to the boat that a ‘Big Green Parcel Machine’ arrived.  I wandered up to meet the driver and was soon carrying our mattress back to Norfolk Lady.  
We hurriedly dragged the old one out and unpacked the new one and we’re delighted to see that it fitted perfectly.  The sheet and mattress protector weren’t there, but a call to the suppliers revealed that they were to be delivered later by a different courier.

Paul, at the yard, said that there was a dump at Strumpshaw, so the old mattress and topper were rolled up and loaded into my car and I made the short journey to dispose of them.  By the time I returned, the other items had been delivered and the bed made up.  As much as I was looking forward to trying the mattress and assess whether it had been worth the not inconsiderable cost, there was other work to do.

We had some lunch and I set about cleaning, compounding and waxing the boat.  It wasn’t too bad, having been done a few months ago, but she certainly looked better for it.  The fenders were cleaned and the wife cleaned the windows and we were ready for the off on Saturday morning.

We wandered round to The Yare later for dinner, where we met Warren (Tempest) and his family and had a chat, before returning to to the boat.

I was quite tired after a fairly busy day, so it wasn’t too long before we went to bed.  I was happy that the mattress fitted and appeared to be very comfortable too and was looking forward to another week on board.  

 

[Mouldy]

Saturday 19th September 

After a comfortable nights sleep, I awoke feeling satisfied that the money spent on the mattress had been well worth it.  The day started in much the same way as the previous one, with the wife taking Harley for her walk whilst I had some tea and toast.  Again, I made her some breakfast when she returned before going for my shower.  
Once we were ready it was nearly time to set off.  I had picked that Saturday 19th as a start date as the tide times for Yarmouth should have given us the potential for a decent amount of time on the northern rivers.  I’d pondered the Breydon crossing and despite the Spring tides on Saturday, had elected to head north early Sunday.  Saturday night was to be spent either at Polkeys Mill or Berney Mill moorings, so we were in no real hurry to get there.

We eventually set off just after 09:30, turning left onto The Yare and had a slow cruise towards our overnight destination.  We passed The Beauchamp Arms and noticed that some more work had been done since our last visit, but sadly nothing to make it look more inviting and encourage me in.  There weren’t many other boats on the river when we set off, but it wasn’t long before we were passed by a few in both directions, including Ranworth Breeze just as we neared Cantley.  
Somehow, we’d managed to forget to top up,our water before leaving the yard.  Obviously, it was my fault (so the wife said), so we’d decided to stop at Reedham to use the hose.  Deb also thought that whilst we were there, it would be rude not to support a local business and have fish and chips for lunch.  When we arrived, it was apparent that the spring tides were having an effect and the river was close to overtopping the quay.  The ranger helped us to moor as usual, before turning to bellow at a crew who were speeding through Reedham and generating a huge wash and I quickly lowered the fenders to prevent damage to the hull from the concrete heading.  
Once the water was topped up, I headed up the hill to the chippy for cod and chips twice and had a quick chat with the owner whilst he cooked the food fresh, before returning to the boat to eat them.  Very enjoyable they were too.

Food finished, we cast off for Polkeys Mill.  When we arrived, there were already a couple of boats there, but still plenty of space for us.  I moored at the end furthest from the mill and farm, leaving sufficient slack in the ropes to allow for the rise and fall of the tides.  
We sat and chilled for a while, before taking the dog for a walk towards Berney Mill.  Unfortunately, the dog has developed arthritis and has to have medication daily to help.  After about twenty minutes, it was evident that she was struggling bit, so we turned and wandered back to the boat, where the wife did some sewing and I took a few photos.

I was surprised at the number of craft that passed us into the early evening in both directions and wondered where they were heading for.  It was too, late to cross Breydon and there was a limited amount of space at Reedham for craft heading that way.

We had dinner and watched tv for a while before heading for bed.  Another early night was required as we needed to be on the move by about 06:00 to arrive at Yarmouth for slack the following morning.

 

[Tempest]

Great to meet you and have a chat on the Friday.

We have never moored at Pyres Mill due to the rise and fall for our tiny dogs........ But might give it a go when the tides are right as the spot does look great for walks

[Mouldy]

25 minutes ago, Tempest said:

We have never moored at Pyres Mill due to the rise and fall for our tiny dogs........ But might give it a go when the tides are right as the spot does look great for walks

To be honest, we’ve never moored at Polkeys Mill before, although we have moored overnight at Berney Mill many years ago.  Norfolk Lady has quite a high freeboard, but despite that, we had to lift Harley from the boat to the bank and back down again at low water.  To be fair, we were there on the day of spring tides, so the difference should not be so dramatic when normal tides prevail.  
It was very peaceful, though and we would have been happy to walk to Berney Mill and back had the dog not appeared to struggle as much.  It was very convenient to cross Breydon on Sunday with the required early start, too.

[vanessan]

I much prefer Polkey’s now to Berney Arms, I’m not sure why! We have to lift our two little dogs off but it’s worth it as they are lovely walks along the river bank either way. 

[Mouldy]

Sunday 20th September

Sunday dawned, although to be fair, it hadn’t quite when we rolled out of bed.  I quickly dressed and put the kettle on, the wife readied herself to take Harley for a short walk to empty her holding tanks.  With at least three plus hours cruising until we reached The Stracey Arms and the next mooring, that was essential.

I lifted Harley onto the bank and helped the wife, as the tide was falling and we were a good couple of feet lower than the quay heading, before starting to squeegee the condensation from the inside of the windows.  Fortunately, we invested in one of those window vacuums (no names, but yellow) that we leave on the boat, which helped and I’d just about finished by the time the wife and pooch returned. 
I helped them back on board, started the engine and we cast off shortly after 06:15.  With the revs set to about 1400, we were making just over 6mph with the help of the current and before long were passing Berney Mill and heading onto Breydon Water.  As we did, the sun poked its head over the horizon.  It looked as if it could be a lovely day.

Breydon itself was a little choppy and for a while, we were the only boat visible, although we were passed by one much later during the crossing, that headed straight on through Yarmouth and probably out to sea.  We were almost at Breydon Bridge before anything passed in the opposite direction, when about five or six craft almost in a convoy went by.
We rounded the yellow post and headed up The Bure.  My timing wasn’t too bad -  we were punching the last of the ebbing current, which slowed progress slightly and passed under both bridges, which were showing just over 9’3” clearance, before progressing by the Yacht Station and the unsightly ruins of Marina Quays.

By this time, Deb had showered and changed, so she took the helm whilst I went to get ready.  I heard several craft pass in the opposite direction, obviously heading for Yarmouth and potentially Breydon.

Feeling refreshed after my shower, I was soon back at the helm and the wife made some toast for breakfast.  We cruised passed the Stracey moorings, where quite a few craft were moored and Stokesby into Acle.  I wanted to top up the water, so turned into the old Horizon Craft basin, where there is still a hose and moored, stern on.  There was a bit of a breeze, but it hadn’t affected us too much and we were soon tied up and filling with water.

By now it was about 09:30 and as hoped, it had turned into a lovely morning with just a few light clouds.  Another boat, one of Ferry’s sedan style cruisers edged gingerly into the basin and moored near us.  I went to help as they seemed unsure of what to do.  It turned out that they’d been on board since the previous Tuesday and this was the first time they’d filled with water!!

We finished with the hose and I explained to them what to do and how to fill up.  Must have been a thorough handover.  We had a chat for a while before continuing our journey again and cast off around 10(ish), heading for Womack Dyke, where we hoped to moor for the night.

The difference in volume in river traffic between the southern and northern rivers was becoming ever more apparent as we neared the junction of The Bure and Thurne.  It really was like the M25 and just as busy as when we’d been there back in July.

Shortly after turning onto The Thurne, we were passed by a private craft whose crew must have been desperate to see the Christmas tat in Lathams.  The helmsman was clearly unhappy with my progress, observing the speed limit and somewhat recklessly passed me at speed just after we’d gone by Thure Mill.  Why is there never a Ranger to witness such stupidity?

We arrived at the entrance to Womack Dyke, picking a gap in the seemingly endless stream of cruisers, yachts and day boats heading down from Potter.  There was plenty of space at the BA moorings, so I turned Norfolk Lady and we moored up.  
It was early, so we sat and chilled for a while, watching the goings on and the passing boats, before having some lunch.  In the afternoon we were going to walk into Potter, but the dog was limping, her arthritis obviously making her stiff, so we had a slow walk into Ludham, where I bought a few bits from Throwers, before wandering back towards the boat.

We had an ice cream each from the shop at Womack Staithe and stopped at the little bakery that has opened just along from the Staithe, where we bought some cinnamon whirls and Portuguese tarts.  Very nice they were, too.
Once back on board, we sat and whiled away the rest of the afternoon, before having dinner and another early night.  It had been a long day and we were fairly tired, probably aided by a couple of alcoholics beverages that we’d enjoyed with our meal.

I’ll try to add more photos later, as I only seem to be able to upload pictures from my phone direct to the Forum since the ‘upgrade’.

[Mouldy]

So, I've now discovered that I can only add images shot on my camera, by adding them on my Mac and not on my iPad.  Progress!!

Here's a few more shots from Saturday and a couple more from Sunday:

[Mouldy]

Monday 21st September

As usual, I was awake early.  The weather forecast for Monday had been good, so I quickly climbed out of bed and checked to see whether it was living up to its promise.  It was very misty, but the warm glow of the sun was already visible over the horizon, so I pulled some clothes on, grabbed a camera and headed outside.  There is something magical about the sunrise and the weather conditions were hinting at something quite atmospheric.

The nearby reeds and weeds were covered in water droplets from the mist and I spent a long time recording the scene as it developed – reflections in the still water, the rising sun, a swan breaking the mirror surface of the dyke, it really was spectacular.  I watched as a couple of boats left early, one of which from Woods possible returning to base at the end of a holiday.

Satisfied that I’d recorded what I wanted, I returned to the boat.  It was already after 08:00, so I started the engine to heat the water for showers.  We had some toast whilst we waited and took it in turns to get ready.  The mist was lifting and it was developing into a lovely day.

By 09:30 (ish), we were both showered and dressed, so walked into the village to get some supplies – meat for three meals and something for lunches from the butchers and other necessities from Throwers.  The queue for ther butchers was long.  So pleasing to see that it is still so popular in these days of home deliveries from the supermarkets and that the current management is maintaining the standards from the last owner.  Suitably stocked up with what we wanted, we went to Throwers for rolls, some salad, coleslaw and a couple of bottles of wine.  We planned to be in Stalham the following day, so just enough for Monday night really.

We headed back to the boat and set off shortly after.  I hoped to find a wild mooring somewhere up The Ant, so turned right out of Womack Dyke and back down The Thurne.  The river was busy, but with fewer day boats, slightly less so than the previous day.  We passed Thurne Dyke, where we wanted to be on Thursday night and bore right onto The Bure.  

We were soon at St Benet’s, where a few spaces were appearing as folks were departing, but kept going and turned right onto The Ant.  The wife took the helm, whilst I took down our burgee and staff and lowered the nav light, in readiness to pass under Ludham Bridge.  The height marker showed 8 foot clearance, but I knew from our last visit that it was six inches out, but edged slowly up to the bridge anyway just to be sure.  We passed under with about three inches or so to spare.  

It had turned into a beautiful, cloudless day and we chugged slowly up the river, enjoying the scenery.  How Hill was busy, with not many available moorings, but we didn’t want to be there anyway, so kept going.  Lunch was eaten as we cruised along – pork pies from the butchers and crusty rolls, washed down with a cuppa.  Beer might have been better, but we’d neglected to take any, so I made do!

Sadly all of the wild moorings were occupied, as were the ones at Irstead, so we crossed Barton Broad and headed for Paddys Lane.  The very end space furthest from Barton Turf and the boatyard was empty, so we moored there. We took Harley for a walk and I took a few photos.  When we got back to Norfolk Lady, the wife did her sewing and I read.  A couple of new hires from Richardsons turned up, one trying to moor in front of us, so I helped them secure their boat and had a chat with the crew.

Later, it was dinner time.  Chicken skewers from the butchers, marinated in garlic, honey and ginger with salad and new potatoes, washed down with a glass or two of wine.  A suitable meal  for the end of a perfect day.

By just after 21:00, I was feeling drowsy, so we had a hot drink and headed for bed.  I didn’t take much rocking.

[LizG]

You could produce a calendar just with your photos! Beautiful!

[Mouldy]

9 minutes ago, w-album said:

You could produce a calendar just with your photos! Beautiful!

Thank you!!  I will have a look if enough people want one, with a donation to the Forum, obviously.

[deebee29]

Stunning photos as always Malcolm. 
 

Makes up for what we’ve missed out on this year 

[YnysMon]

Super photos Malcolm.

You're making me hungry... I know from experience, those chicken skewers from Ludham butchers are very yummy.

[NotDeadYet]

Thank you very much. These posts and pictures are giving me great pleasure, as well as a heap of useful information about moorings and facilities.  We were out north and south a couple of weeks ago and I'm now at home thinking 'I wish I'd known that' as I read through your progress.  Mind you, it was so busy in the north, there was a fair bit of Hobson's Choice and mud weighting going on - a relief to get back to the south.  We're not new boaters, but we are new to the Broads (this was only our second visit), thus have a lot to learn. Like yourself, we live only a couple of hours from Brundall, but are only hiring at present, so visits are limited by economics and our failure to win the lottery so far.

BTW, we love Staffies and hope Harley's condition improves.

All the best, and thanks again,

Mike