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A Cruise around some of the Pubs of the Northern Broads


goodall_m1

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Off we go again, up into the upper reaches of the Bure,

into unexplored territory for me as we didn't get through Wroxham bridge last year.

Plenty of room at the Viaduct moorings the other side of the railway bridge.

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Very scenic up here reminds me of the upper Ant, going up to Dilham but a lot wider....

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We knicknamed this bit "Goose Green"...

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Passing through Beulagh we saw a survivor from the BBC's filming of "The Big Six"

(was that really filmed back in 1983!)

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Coming up towards Coltishall it gets a bit shallow near the bank, you can tell from the cow but the goose is also standing up!

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Into the expanse of Coltishall Common and plenty of room to moor-up and let the kids play around.

Our junior crew-member seem to think his siblings have shrunk!

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Coltishall Common seemed a good place to let the kids use that football I bought back at Ranworth.

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Unfortunately I forgot that we had one footballer with teeth, and the dog soon managed to deflate the ball!

(I've never seen that hound show so much energy as she did once she realised that there was a ball in play!)

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Coltishall is obviously a popular spot for the day boats, even those masquarading as being from Freedom...

(It seems that Fineway have a series of Fine Freedoms as well as the proper one!)

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The kids got going with the fishing again...

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But I was the only one to catch anything and I was able to do that with my bare hands

(as it wasn't a well fish, looked like it had come off worse from an encounter with a prop)

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I wandered over to the Red Lion (our sixth Broadland pub in six days!) to book a table only to find that they didn't take bookings.

They did, however, have a three course special menu for £9.95 a head (Monday to Friday 18:00 - 20:30)

A choice of three starters (Pate, Soup or Prawn Cocktail),

three mains (Scampi and Chips, Gammon Steak and Chips or Chicken Cesear Salad,

and three sweets (Ice Cream, Lemon Tart or Death by Chocolate)

£9.95 each was cheaper than a kid's meal + desert but now to convince them to go for one of the combinations available!

It was actually great value as the portion sizes were massive!

The soup was the equivalent of 1.5 tins of vegatable soup each!

The mains were big as well.

Even the adults didn't finish their meals!

Ok it was basic pub grub but well worth the money.

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Up fairly early again but the baby alarm seems to be sleeping in a bit more each day.

Tazman informs me that he saw a kingfisher on the other bank earlier, but too far away for his camera....

We turn the boat on the ropes again and off we go back downstream

(on my last visit here 15 or so years ago my mother asked me "Do we have to go back down the same river?"...)

As we clear the Common there is that elusive flash of tourquise again, but that kingfisher didn't want to pose for us!

I let Tazman take the helm and sit outside with the super zoom ready in case there is another, but no luck!

I did get a shot of a larger fisher though..

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Down the tree lined upper Bure we go with no other boats for ages

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On the starboard side I see a mooring that I hadn't noticed before, "Wroxham Village"

Looks nice for a quiet night if you want one...

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We moor up again in the Hoveton stern-to section and I take the dog off around the park coming on a strange structure under the railway bridge.

What is this for? Is it because trains in the UK dump liquid waste onto the tracks?

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What is the attraction of Hoveton.

Ask the kids and they will tell you... ROYS!

Forget the foodhall, they want to visit the toy shop, and their mother wants the childrens clothes department!

I caught a candid shot of Ryan sitting on a bench waiting for us to go!

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We got talking to the crew on one of Ricko's boats next to us after we noticed their emergency repairs to the gel-coat.

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(It appears that they were clobbered up the stern by one of the Horizon boats down at Acle...)

(The Broads equivalent of a blue on blue encounter!)

The impact was hard enough to throw one of the crew down the length of the boat.

A 999 call for a paramedic for an injury because of a boat smash was apparently responded to with

a paramedic, and ambulance, a police car and two fire engines...

We call the pilot and there is so little traffic coming north on a Friday afternoon that he actually walks up to take us south.

We drop him off on the starboard side just after the bridge and carry on down to Wroxham Broad.

Here the skipper decides that we can let the kids have a session at the helm,

using the flagged buoys in the broad to give them something to steer for

(playing slalom)

First the two who are allowed to do it on their own are given a go with supervision right at hand...

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Their sister is a natural but the skipper is actually still in charge (as she is under eight)

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And Ryan is allowed to see what it would be like from the skipper's lap

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After a few trips back and forth across the broad, picking our route to avoid the yacht that is also tacking up the broad,

and the day boats that just don't know where they are going we are off down the Bure again.

One of our junior forum members does his bit to attract attention to the flag!

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The river is a bit busier now

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We eventually arrive at Horning and line up to reverse into our reserved mooring at the New Inn (our seventh and last Broadland pub for this cruise)

and Guz is on hand to help us in.

Up to the bar for a round and bring the drinks back and sit on the boat watching the boats go by....

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And feed an overseas visitor who cruises by

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Then into the pub for our final night meal...

Finishing up with the last ice cream of the trip!

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It is going to be an early start this morning to get back to the yard and off by 9 am....

But as usual we are up and about early and ready to start up at 07:00

(normally regarded as the earliest that you should do so!)

Before we do we spotted a heron with a puffin by its shoulder...

(why do they have a puffin in the Broads?)

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And get a nice morning shot of Horning reach.

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Then we start the engine (with its usual clouds of blue smoke) and we are ready to slip down the river.

Drifting down past the Ferry Inn ( a Broadland pub that we had passed four times without stopping) and

back up the dyke to Freedom.

Slow astern and into the quay, get the car keys when the office opens at 08:00 and it is time to start to unloading all the clobber!

Give the younger kids the remains of the bread to feed to the Aylesbury ducks whilst the rest of us go backwards and forwards with the bags etc.

Refill the water tank and give the boat a sweep through (OK the Saturday Crew will be on to give her a real clean but we don't want them to criticise what they find!)

Then its off to the office to reclaim the cash deposit we had to place on the dinghy.

Was I happy with "Fair Freedom", I was so impressed with the Freedom's service an comitment that

I used half of the dinghy deposit as the deposit on next years trip.

(Pay by the end of December and get this year's prices)

As we walked away from her then engineer was already taking the cooling system apart to change the leaking heat exchanger

so the next crew shouldn't have to keep putting as much water into her!

Watch out for the next installment from me and Tazman this time next year!

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by Brian » September 1st, 2010, 8:45 pm

THis has to be one of the best BRoads Write ups i have read

Thanks Brian, from both myself and Martin.........High praise indeed!

Well my kids make me smile everyday even at 5am!

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Here's to next years trip! :Stinky

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Great write up, Nice to meet you both, do you remember seeing me Martin? :naughty:

Of course I do Clive, but I didn't know whether that as a recently married man you had actually told SHMBO

that you were popping into the New Inn, or had told her that you were having to work late at the yard....

So we didn't mention it just in case we would drop you in it!....

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I was home alone for the week Martin so I was just having a few beers while waiting for the chineese,

thats why i didnt order it until 15 mins before I wanted to leave!

:bow Great reply! :bow

I almost believe you.... :shocked:shocked

Seriously great meeting you, and I love your abode! :roll::roll:

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Oops, proof reading doesn't seem to be my forte!

The observant among you will have spotted the obvious typo in my post about our visit to Coltishall...

For the less observant:

Please note that the pub on the riverside at the end of the Common

is actually the Rising Sun and not (as I called it) the Red Lion!

If you can't find the typo then one of the mods will have corrected for me!

Martin

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