New Member And New To Boating

[Ruthie1970]

Hi everyone I have stumbled across this forum only yesterday and I have enjoyed getting to read everyone comments and finding my way about the site  We are due to arrive at Loddon on Saturday for a week cruising and can’t tell you how excited we are. The boatyard has given us a suggested itinerary for southern broads Loddon to Reedham with over night stay for Saturday then Surlingham and Norwich for Sunday with over night stay, then Norwich to Brundall morning and Rockland Broad afternoon with overnight stay.Tuesday morning Rockland to Reedham village then afternoon on to Somerleyton . Wednesday St Olaves afternoon Beccles . Thursday Oulton Broad and stay overnight then morning Waveney River centre and afternoon back to Loddon for overnight ready for home.

Would anyone suggest another itinerary or is this one about ok ? 
 

 

[YnysMon]

Just one of many possible itineraries. I tend to plan my itinerary around the tides, as I hate having to crank up the engine to fight against incoming or outgoing tides, at least on the southern Broads where the tide tends to be more noticeable than the northern Broads. However, I also know that lots of other forum members are happy to cruise against the tides, so don’t let that put you off. 

There’s a good link to tide tables here: also lots of other useful info.

https://www.mynorfolkbroadsboating.co.uk/

see the link to the left of the page for the link to tide tables.

another thing to bear in mind...the rise and fall between tides and the strength of the tide is greater the nearer Yarmouth you are. Reedham has a Yacht Station attendant during the day who will help you with your mooring lines, to take into account the rise and fall of the tide. You won’t have that assistance at St Olaves, which has a similar rise and fall, so if you intend to moor there read up the advice on ‘spring lines’ that’s available via the link above, or moor up at Reedham before you go to St Olaves and ask for advice.

Oh, and if you are planning to overnight moor at Oulton Broad or Beccles Yacht Stations...at this time of the year it’s best to phone ahead and book your mooring spot.

Enjoy! The Broads are magical.

 

 

[Mouldy]

There are a few things I’d change - Norwich is a wonderful city, with a beautiful cathedral, castle, excellent shopping opportunities, market and nightlife (if you want it).  The moorings are very good at the Yacht Station, but it is alongside a very busy road and noisy..  I prefer to visit the city during the day and cruise out to Bramerton or The Ferry House at Surlingham to overnight.  The other destination I might change is Reedham for your first mooring experience.  The tide can run very fast and it is sometimes challenging.  Perhaps reschedule for later in the week.

I would also suggest downloading an app called Aweigh, for either android or Ios devices, which gives tide times, flow, bridge heights, mooring locations and other useful info.

Best advice is to take your time, slow down and don’t worry.  If you’ve never been before, it’s a holiday like no other and you will probably get hooked like the rest of us.  
 

Enjoy it!!

[SwanR]

Welcome to the forum Ruthie. I’m sure you will have a great time. 

Two favourite places of mine on the southern rivers are Langley Dyke off the Yare and North Cove down the Waveney. It’s a case of waking up and seeing what you feel like doing. And if you pass somewhere you like the look of then stop. 

There are many places to moor and for me the only night I plan is the last night because you need to be in reasonable distance of the boatyard. 

[SwanR]

I would also recommend taking a look at the handy information area of the forum. There’s a chart of distance and cruising time, very handy for getting an idea of how long you will be underway between moorings. Most hire companies recommend 3 hours cruising a day so this comes in very useful. 

Helen mentioned the tides. The important thing is to moor against the tide even if that means going past and turning round. It really does give you so much more control. 

[Oddfellow]

You will get excellent advise and service from Fiona and Richard at Pacific. Have a great holiday. 

 

[ranworthbreeze]

Hello Ruthie,

Welcome to the forum.

Your plan looks OK, I would overnight at Reedham Ferry rather than at Reedham. It might be better to go with the flow and adapt your plan to suit. If you overnight at the Norwich Yacht Station I would go to the far end (you will see 3 Electric posts, it is a lot quieter there. rope up through the mooring rings but tie off on the boat, it is also a good idea to drop the mud weight.

Its a pity that you are setting off from Loddon, it will be on my list for visiting. I am setting off now on Sunday rather than Tuesday because one of our owners is leaving early. If you see Ranworth Breeze give me a wave.

Regards

Alan

[vanessan]

Welcome to the forum Ruthie1970. There are so many possibilities you are spoilt for choice. Some good ideas mentioned above. I have always enjoyed mooring overnight in Norwich and the traffic has never bothered me. Avoid Friday and Saturday nights though, they can be a bit noisy when the pubs and clubs turnout! If you leave the City late afternoon, having spent the day there, it may be difficult to find a mooring free until you get to Brundall where you can use the 2 hire boatyards. 
I have never been a fan of strict  iteneraries for the Broads, there are so many factors that can throw them off course. As long as you have maps and tide tables, see what you like the look of as you pass and make a note of it if it is too early to stop. 
I hope you really enjoy your trip and enjoy it enough to want to return - like many of us!

[CambridgeCabby]

As others have said , I find it best not to have a fixed itinerary , I would certainly consider a trip up past Beccles to Geldston if your boat passes under Beccles old bridge , it’s a marvellous stretch of river , plus if available the pontoon mooring through the bridge are far more peaceful than the yacht station moorings .

If visiting Oulton give the yacht station a ring a reserve a mooring there so you know you have a place , we usually have a side on mooring on the pontoon which with electric is £18:50 but it’s worth it as your view is uninterrupted across the beautiful Broad , cheaper options such as stern in are available .

This year we visited Rockland St Mary and it is a stunning mooring with a true locals pub a couple of minutes walk away 

[tim]

Hi Ruthie

As Freedom has said I assume you are with Pacific?

We have hired from them for the last four years, I really cant speak highly enough of them, although they are a business they make you feel you are borrowing a boat from a mate, they are that friendly

Not the newest boats on the river, but I like the older boats they have more character, but well maintained and spotlessly clean!

We always head for The Ferry at Surlingham first night, for several reasons, it's imho the best pub on the broads, food and beer excellent, lovely river garden, dog friendly and if you ring or email them you can book a mooring. That takes away the stress of where you moor first night

As Mouldy says Norwich is a great city, but I dont stay there overnight anymore, get up early, get into Norwich see the city and get out!

You can head back to Commissioners Cut at Thorpe or Brammerton/Surlingham

It's good to go with the tides but I don't let it affect where I want to go, ok you may get a £20-£30 bill for extra fuel, which over the cost of your week is negligible imo!

Starting off from the Chet will be fun!

It's a bit narrow and twist and turns but you're going slow, just keep an eye out for the bigger boats, which you can normally see long before they arrive, slow down and let them pass, it'll take an hour to get to the The Yare which is very wide!

The only other tip I will add is move your day, get going early and moor early, it was bus when we were there 2 weeks ago and August can be very busy

In addition to the Yacht stations, you can pre-book moorings at Reedham Ferry and River Waveney centre

[MotorBoater]

Hello Ruthie,

Telling you the best plan is no plan probably doesn't sound very helpful but we don't set out to be anywhere at any particular time, we just have a basic idea of what we would like to see, at some point.

As has been said, if you want to stop then stop. If you start to worry about being somewhere you will miss so much on the way.

The Handy Information tab at the top of these pages are indeed a goldmine of info and we have a "Boat Book" of downloaded pages that we consult each night to decide what tomorrow might bring.

I would have thought the practical tips, like mooring against the tide, would be more helpful than where to go. A large part of the fun is finding out for yourself.

Diplomatically I would suggest that reading some of the threads on this forum would give an idea of places to avoid but there aren't many of those.

If you arrive determined to enjoy the experience you won't be disappointed.

[grendel]

I am on an 11 day break, and I set out with 3 target places I wanted to visit, I have achieve all those and now dont know until i set off where I plan to go the next morning, tomorrow being Thursday and with handback saturday morning, I plan to go back under Potter heigham bridge and spend the last 2 days pottering around above Potter heigham in the peace and relative quiet.

[VetChugger]

When are you going to transit the bridge Peter? I do like to see the Martham boats out and about.

[grendel]

probably about half an hour after i get there, as soon as a marthams pilot arrives to take me through.

[Ruthie1970]

Wow such a wealth of information thank you all  We are travelling on the Pacific Star and looking forward to meeting Fiona and Richard. They have advised us of our time slot to arrive for handover which is 14:30 and handover will take approx 1 to 2 hrs so we are hoping to be loaded up and ready to go by 16:30 the latest.

Now we have been thinking about what to do for our first night. We thought about staying in the boat yard and book a table at the Whitehorse in Chedgrave and then decide where to go the next day OR we are tempted to follow Tim advice about heading straight to Surlingham for food and drinks for the evening at The Ferry House and book a mooring and then on to Norwich the next morning and then leave afternoon time to moor up at Thorpe.

Now to throw a spanner in the works , I will be celebrating my 50th on the Thursday and really want to find somewhere nice to have a meal but struggling with this because if we don’t follow the suggested itinerary then am not going to know until day before or so where to go. I have stuck a pin in the map and ended up with Beccles so I booked the Wheatacre Whitelion for the evening but not sure if I have done the right thing ??? 
Also what notice should we give if we ring ahead to book a mooring at Beccles or any other yacht stations please and is there a list anywhere to view yacht stations and contacts for them ? 
One last thing how big are the fridges as am taking a couple of bottles of wine and Prosecco for my birthday celebrations 🥳 
 

[Ruthie1970]

Thanks for link Ynysmon https://www.mynorfolkbroadsboating.co.uk/norfolk broads authority moorings.html I have located the yacht station list, very helpful 😀

[SwanR]

Sounds wonderful Ruthie, enjoy your birthday. I celebrated my 50th a few years ago with a holiday on the southern Broads. Hooked!! Have been back every year since.

I think that the first night in the yard might be a good idea under the current circumstances. And then you can get away early the next morning with a leisurely cruise up a beautiful river getting used to the boat handling. 

On the other hand with a 14.30 time slot for handover you should still have plenty of daylight hours to cruise. Hard to predict however how busy the moorings will be.

I love Beccles. And the stretch of the Waveney down to there is amongst the most beautiful of all IMHO. 

[tim]

If you don't think you'll be getting on your way until 4.30pm, that will be a bit late to get to Surlingham, it took us about 3hrs this year, however with a mooring booked and if you don't mind eating late it's doable

How about booking a mooring and table at the Ferry Reedham (by the chain ferry) we had a meal there the Friday before returning the boat and it was good!

I would then suggest heading down the Waveney to Beccles (and other places on the way)

For your birthday you could work your way back up the Yare towards Norwich, moor at Commissioners Cut Wednesday night (easy walk to the Rushcutters) cruise to Norwich and spend your birthday looking at the city, pre-book book mooring/table at the Surlingham Ferry for the evening, I'm sure you wont be disappointed

You could then cruise to Rockland Broad (beautiful) before going back to the boatyard Friday night for a meal at The White Horse Chedgrave, you then wont have to get up early to get back to the boatyard for 9am

As for the fridge, well they aren't the biggest but depends what you plan to do?

We tend to only eat breakfast on the boat, and eat out most of the time, but you can easily get your bubbly in, my wife's wine and my beer fit nicely

We take a cool box with us and about 8 freezer blocks that I rotate on a daily basis from the freezer compartment  that keeps stuff chilled and leaves room in the fridge for the important stuff!  

Whatever you decide to do I'm sure you will have a great time and a memorable birthday, have fun!

[YnysMon]

I had a look at the picture of the galley in Pacific Star on the yard’s webpage. It looks a decent sized fridge, just about as big as you’ll get on any boat. Expect it to be slightly smaller than a normal under-counter domestic fridge though.

For that special meal, there’s quite a selection of restaurants in Beccles itself. I tend to check out trip advisor in advance of our Norfolk visits. Although I take individual reviews with a pinch of salt, Upstairs at Baileys, Graze at the White Horse, and the Wine Vaults seem to rate highly pretty consistently. I haven’t visited any of them myself, but would like to sometime.

I would also echo the advice to stay in the yard the first night. There are several good places for a meal in Loddon and it will take the pressure off that first evening so that you can relax into your holiday. 
Helen

[grendel]

in the yard, or on pyes mill if there is a space

[tim]

All good advice but as a once a year boater, I’m itching the get moving and feel those rivers again even ifs only an hours cruise

It would personally drive me mad to get the keys and not move!  😉

But I’m probably like a child at Christmas with a new toy!  🤣

[Smoggy]

3 minutes ago, tim said:

But I’m probably like a child at Christmas with a new toy!  🤣

You mean you do the handover for the boat that cost you a fortune then spend the next 4 hours playing with an empty cardboard box and some screwed up paper? 

[tim]

Yup sounds about right, my daughter had a barbie jeep and trailer one Christmas, drove me nuts putting it together (and a few expletives) she then spend hours being dragged around the house by my son while sitting in the box!

Bloody kids!

Thery are still a pain but at 30 and 27 they cost more! 🤣

[Ruthie1970]

Thanks again everyone I think we are going to stay in the boatyard for the evening then make a early start and go from there , wish us luck and I will try and update this forum as we go 😀

[tim]

The beauty of the broads is there’s no right or wrong or planning just go where you fancy!

Just a word of warning the landlord of the White Horse is a very bad man, he preys on weak people like me and makes you drink more than you should!

You’ve been warned, prepare for a hangover the following day!  😉

Seriously, it’s a cracking pub with great staff, enjoy!