Newfies Afloat

[kpnut]

1 hour ago, Tempest said:

We first went to Pets at home for some raw food for Roxy and Yogi

I feed Finlay raw food too Warren, usually ‘the dogs butcher’. And can manage 12 days food in the fridge/freezer at a push. 
For you, with two dogs and both being about twice the size of Finlay, I’m interested to know how you manage on the boat. 

Also, did you know there’s a raw food specialist shop on the way into Norwich. Raw Dog Food Company in Taverham. 
Unit 3
Beech Avenue Business Park,
Beech Avenue,
Taverham,
Norwich
NR8 6HW
Tel: 01603 869707

Sounds like you’ve had a wonderful first day’s holiday. 

[Tempest]

12 hours ago, kpnut said:

Unit 3
Beech Avenue Business Park,
Beech Avenue,
Taverham,
Norwich
NR8 6HW
Tel: 01603 869707

Thanks for the heads up with this as I wasn't aware

Our supplier is a local farm who supplies wholesale and retail

They are a 5 minute drive from our house

https://www.petaroni.com/

But they supply raw foods in rolls which are quite large and we struggle to get many in the freezer compartment, so when away we tend to get the Pets at Home ones which come in blocks as you can fit more of these in the freezer

If coming for a fortnight we also bring a mobile freezer box which keeps them chilled until we need them

They have only one block shared (half each) with a dry biscuit mix (Roxy one cup, Yogi 2 cups) and they share a can of pilchards which are mixed in with the raw food and biscuits because the fish oil is good for their coats

So we tend to come away with 7 blocks, 7 tins of pilchards and a bag of dry food which lasts us the week

For breakfast Roxy just has half a cup of dry food and Yogi has a full cup

Roxy has less because she is an older dog and we are trying to keep her weight under control

She got up to 76Kg and currently she is 70Kg which is around 11 stone!

What a beautiful morning

This is our current view

[kpnut]

You’re right, the shape makes a big difference to the storage. I have plastic boxes that hold just the right amount for a day. And luckily 4 fit very neatly inside the freezer compartment on the boat. Another 8 in the bottom of the fridge. I defrost so they are just cutable at home, portion them out and refreeze. They stay pretty much frozen in the bottom of the fridge until I need each one. If I’m there longer, Finlay goes into a cold pressed biscuit thing called ‘Guru’. It goes rather mushy if I add water, but he likes it well enough. 

I like the idea of the Pilchards. I sometimes buy whole fish to add, but usually buy an ‘oily fish and tripe’ pack. But it’s a bit watery and disgusting compared with the meat packs. I’ll often buy a pack of chicken mince, 50% bone and do half and half with an ox and lamb no bone mix (has the meat and offal) it’s cheaper than a ‘complete’. Maybe two days a week with that as the bone content is still a bit high. 
 

I went in the pet shop in Wroxham, by the bridge, but their cheaper frozen raw were from a firm I don’t like, smelly and far too much bone. And the other brands they stock are expensive. Hence finding the one in Norwich, but not exactly easy to get to halfway through a trip on the boat!

 

Anyway, maybe this all ought to be in a different thread -feeding dogs on boats - so I won’t take up any more of your holiday blog with it. 
 

The day looks stunning already. Enjoy. I’m hoping to get the tail end of it by coming down halfway through the week. 

[Tempest]

Not long now and we are back and it seems such a looooooooooooooooooooooong time ago since we were here!

Well it was!!

We arrive in Norfolk on 1st May for 2 days at Bumble Barn (The B&B of the Cross Keys, Dilham with the wonderful Paul and Karen as the owners) with Roxy and Yogi. 

We have to be more careful with Roxy these days as she is approaching 10 years of age which is a good age for a Newfie and she is starting to get a little stiff in the back legs.

Just a couple of chill days before making our way to Horning Pleasurecraft to pick up Moonlight Shadow on Friday 3rd May.

Its a bit of a mix this time as our son, daughter in law and granddaughter with their dog Bleu were meant to join us Saturday until Tuesday, but the thought of 4 adults, 1 grandchild, 2 newfies and a welsh collie on board sent shivers down my spine!

As such we booked Conway Bridge from Bridgecraft as a treat for them and selfishly to give us a little more space, but we have some Motorola PMR446 2-Way Walkie Talkies to communicate as we travel and we will just be focussing on doing things that benefit a 19 month old granddaughter who has never visited the broads, so lots of feeding the birds, running around and enjoying life "safely" around the water.

Salhouse looks like one of our stops!!

As such we will be travelling down to Acle on the Saturday and meet them before a few days of fun before returning to Acle Monday evening for a family meal at the Bridge Inn before they leave the broads on Tuesday morning.

Then a quiet day Tuesday before meeting some more friends who have a mobile home and have booked a pitch at Ludham near the Dog Inn, so we have planned to meet them at Ludham bridge on Wednesday morning to take them up to Wroxham, and back before finishing off the evening at the Dog Inn before they retire.

Its getting closer now and I cant wait!!

It has been far too looooooooong!

[petersjoy]

38 minutes ago, Tempest said:

Then a quiet day Tuesday before meeting some more friends who have a mobile home and have booked a pitch at Ludham near the Dog Inn, so we have planned to meet them at Ludham bridge on Wednesday morning to take them up to Wroxham, and back before finishing off the evening at the Dog Inn before they retire.

Would that be on the Broadlands Site or Manor Farm, Our first visit back to the Broads since we sold the boat will be in July with the caravan at Manor Farm. that will be 18mths since selling. Looking forward to it,  still not missing the boat but enjoying caravanning.

Edited April 3 by petersjoy
Added month

[Tempest]

16 minutes ago, petersjoy said:

Would that be on the Broadlands Site or Manor Farm, Our first visit back to the Broads since we sold the boat will be in July with the caravan at Manor Farm. that will be 18mths since selling. Looking forward to it,  still not missing the boat but enjoying caravanning.

I believe they are staying at the Dog Inn site but not 100% sure

https://thedoginnludham.co.uk/camping/

They previously stayed at the Norfolk Broads Campsite

https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/club-sites/england/east-anglia/norfolk/norfolk-broads-club-campsite/?utm_source=localsearch&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gmb

But on this occasion they are travelling around the East coast and decided to stop off at Ludham for a couple of nights and as they had never been on the rivers we said we would take them up to Wroxham for lunch and then "bimble" back stopping off at Salhouse, Horning or elsewhere as we make our way back to Ludham bridge for the night and then a walk to the Dog Inn for evening meal and drinks so they are back "home" and we can head back to the boat

 

[Tempest]

28 minutes ago, petersjoy said:

Would that be on the Broadlands Site or Manor Farm, Our first visit back to the Broads since we sold the boat will be in July with the caravan at Manor Farm. that will be 18mths since selling. Looking forward to it,  still not missing the boat but enjoying caravanning.

I still recall mooring alongside you at Oulton Broad and a lovely evening that was..

Sad that you have sold your boat, but fully understand as we once considered purchasing a boat outright but now feel that syndicate membership suits us to the ground. We are now considering purchasing a second share ion a boat but have moved away from full ownership as the costs are just ridiculous!!

I fully understand the appeal of a motorhome and wish you the very best as i am currently looking at options for Silverstone for the British GP in 2025 which I WILL be attending and a motorhome option is high up on in my options!!

[Happy]

15 minutes ago, petersjoy said:

Would that be on the Broadlands Site or Manor Farm, Our first visit back to the Broads since we sold the boat will be in July with the caravan at Manor Farm. that will be 18mths since selling. Looking forward to it,  still not missing the boat but enjoying caravanning.

Hi.  You probably did'nt know that I was the sales manager of a touring caravan sales centre for a number of years.  We were quite successfull but every time I sold a new or used caravan I used to think 'you could buy a boat for that money'!   When we sold our last boat on the 'Broads' we bought a rather nice motor caravan but always seemed to go back to the 'Broads' with it.  With the now increasing mooring fees ro pay it seemed a good choice.  However, as a salesman at heart, I was offered a good profit and sold it.  We then bought a nice touring caravan so that we and my son and his partner an our grandkids could use it.  Its sat on my mates farm for the last 2 years, unused.  Maybe time I sold that too? 

[Tempest]

14 minutes ago, Happy said:

We then bought a nice touring caravan so that we and my son and his partner an our grandkids could use it.  Its sat on my mates farm for the last 2 years, unused.  Maybe time I sold that too?

Its the thought that counts!

We have always tried to offer experiences and have had a static caravan, speedboat we used to take to Lake Windermere (when they allowed water-skiing!!), when we sold that we bought a touring caravan and had loads of great holidays, had a place in Spain we stopped at regularly and basically did as many things as possible to give our son "life experiences"

We have done many City breaks around the world and F1 is also a passion.

The Broads though were always seen as an annual "given" and they were always the place our son, our dogs, our friends and ourselves...............enjoyed the most!

Hence why we are still visiting today and introducing our granddaughter this year!

[petersjoy]

There is a story behind me selling the boat, at the time it wasn't financial but the way things have gone i probably did it at the right time.

The biggest decision i had was either a caravan or a motorhome, all my life from 17 i wanted motorhome, ' read all the mags in the 70's ' never wanted a caravan. After a lot of thinking about what would be best for us it had to be a caravan. So here i am after never wanting one or wanting to tow one, got one and loving it. Trouble is now thinking about a bigger one .

All this from spending 4hrs on a ride on lawnmower cutting a 4 acre field

[dom]

2 hours ago, Happy said:

We then bought a nice touring caravan so that we and my son and his partner an our grandkids could use it.  Its sat on my mates farm for the last 2 years, unused.  Maybe time I sold that too? 

I'd look for someone local who could clean it for you then let it out on AirBnB. Farmers are being told to diversify, so you can probably come to an arrangement with your mate so everyone's happy. Most areas you could probably get £100 a night, or go cheap, aim for the itinerant tradesman market and let it 5 days a week year round.

[Happy]

13 hours ago, dom said:

I'd look for someone local who could clean it for you then let it out on AirBnB. Farmers are being told to diversify, so you can probably come to an arrangement with your mate so everyone's happy. Most areas you could probably get £100 a night, or go cheap, aim for the itinerant tradesman market and let it 5 days a week year round.

Good thought but to be honest my buddy raises young cattle and with all the rain has'nt been able to let them out to graze.  He has used all of his farm produced hay to feed them and has had to buy food in at astronomical prices which I think might bring him down unfortunately so it will need to be moved/sold anyway 

[Tempest]

We usually stay at Bumble Barn near Dilham prior or after being on Moonlight Shadow and if anyone wants an insight into what it's like it will be on the channel 4 show, 4 in a bed all next week at 6pm 

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/fFjhvjHQJUm9tyV2/

[Tempest]

We arrive in Norfolk on Wednesday 1st May before making our way to Horning Pleasurecraft in Friday to pick up Moonlight Shadow and just wanted to outline my appreciation to Bridgecraft for their wonderful service and support.

I booked Conway Bridge for my son, his partner, our granddaughter and their dog from Saturday to Tuesday morning as they wanted to spend the Bank Holiday weekend with us.

We initially considered them joining us on Moonlight Shadow, but thought better of it!!

4 adults, a 19 month old granddaughter, 2 Newfoundlands and a Welsh Collie all on Moonlight Shadow? Nah!!! 

🥴🥴

So I made the booking with Bridgecraft and sent them a note explaining the situation 

Stephanie and the team there have been brilliant, ringing me to confirm details, then ringing my son who asked if it would be ok to park his vehicle at Bridgecraft early that Saturday morning as I planned to pick them up and go back to Horning to get onboard Moonlight Shadow and cruise down to Acle to collect Conway Bridge whenever it was available.

They not only agreed, but did better than that confirming a member of staff would be there to open the gates for them and get them parked up securely.

Also due to our circumstances and to help they would turnaround Conway Bridge quickly for them so they could get onboard from 11am, which means we can pick them up and run down to Bridgecraft on our granddaughters (Eleanor or Ellie) first ever Norfolk cruise in the morning and they will be all aboard by early afternoon 

Great service, great contact and great support 

👏👏👏👏