Back In Burgh Castle...

[MaceSwinger]

...in a static caravan

 

We only drove back to Leicestershire from Brundal, after a lovely week afloat, and we're back already. I must say it was strange driving over Breydon Bridge and Postwick Viaduct instead of cruising under it!

 

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[SwanR]

48 minutes ago, MaceSwinger said:

I must say it was strange driving over Breydon Bridge and Postwick Viaduct instead of cruising under it!

You get used to that but I always look for the yellow post and the state of the tide whenever we drive over Breydon Bridge. How are you liking the caravan? 

[MaceSwinger]

You get used to that but I always look for the yellow post and the state of the tide whenever we drive over Breydon Bridge. How are you liking the caravan? 

At 24x12 It's smaller than the boat we had and it doesn't float! It's been a long time since I've stayed in one; I don't mind the caravan but I loathe parks like this, it's the same with Waveney River Centre too. The whole family's here though, so it's not so bad.

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[SwanR]

Ah that does sound on the small side. We own one that’s 35 x 10 and keep it on a small site. No facilities, which keeps the site fees down, and mostly owners with a few that are rented out. 

[Cheesey69]

I used to get a strange disconnect when I used to drive my artic to Great Yarmouth going past Stokesby on the A47 then around the yacht station 

it’s like two different worlds 

[webntweb]

After reluctantly selling our share in Lightning two years ago we too returned to a land based holiday and spent last week with our grandchildren: Thomas 10, Jessica 7 and the twins Jack and Adam 4, and their parents in a caravan at Cherry Tree near Burgh Castle.

The weather was generally extremely good with next to no rain and pretty high temperatures.

We were on a new part of the camp in one of a group of brand new 41ft x 14ft caravans which were well spaced apart and mixed with even larger lodges.

With the virus, we had no intention of using the club or amusements etc and thought the children would possibly be bored.

We couldn't have been more wrong as there were lots of young children from toddlers to about 10 year olds, who, as most of the caravans were set in a large circular area, spent the week whizzing about on scooters and small bicycles racing each other or playing hide and seek - much like we did as children.

Sunday was a glorious day and we spent the afternoon on the lovely sands of Gorleston Beach, with the grandchildren paddling and splashing about. It was fairly busy but generally everybody was distancing, with the pub on the front doing a roaring trade.

Monday we parked at Salhouse and walked down to the Broad - another lovely day (we did have a light shower for about half and hour but just moved our chairs under the trees). The grandchildren, among many others, paddled and swam from the little beach between the two mooring areas. Quite a few swans but no ducks for them to feed. Spent the evening sat on the caravan's veranda with a few glasses and later watching a terrific thunderstorm out at sea.

Tuesday, another sunny day - breezy at first but quite still later, I got my boating fix hiring Bittern from Hickling for a full day. We cruised to Horsey and turned in the dyke, then on to Potter Heigham where we moored between the anglers on the green just above the bridge. Had lunch, then a walk round Woods yard for some nostalgia before we finally found some ducks for the grandchildren to feed at the Staithe. As we cruised back up river from Potter our 7 year old granddaughter had really got the hang of steering in a straight line so we left her to it for the rest of the afternoon. We headed up to West Somerton (again a mixture of anglers and boats all enjoying themselves) and spent a very pleasant, sunny hour sat on the bank having a glass or two, before cruising slowly back to Hickling. We would have had plenty of time to cruise either Waxham Cut (forbidden by the boatyard) or to Catfield Staithe (again a no-no - If i'd known that the dyke had been dredged only two weeks previously, I would have tried to convince the boatyard we were capable of handling the boat up there). While we were above Potter we saw four or five of Martham's woodies either moored up or just pottering around. We spent a lovely, warm evening in the garden at the Thurne Lion having good, reasonably priced food and drink.

Wednesday morning (again sunny and warm) we had a walk round the camp while the grandchildren went with their parents for a swim in the camp's outdoor pool = they had to book a 45 minute slot the day before and only a limited amount of people are allowed to use the pool at any time. The staff spend 15 minutes between each booking wiping down all the surfaces and ladders etc round the pool. Evening on the veranda again, this time playing bingo with the grandchildren - well, you can't visit a caravan park without playing bingo!

Thursday dawned blue sky floor to ceiling so we packed a picnic and headed for Sea Palling. There is direct access to the beach from the approach road but if you follow the road past the caravan park for about quarter of a mile there is roadside parking (very narrow) and also a couple of fields where you can park for a nominal fee. A short path over the dunes leads to a lovely sandy beach - broken up into bays every few hundred yards by rocky sea defences which make the individual bays very safe for paddling and swimming. No facilities so take everything with you. It was pretty busy but plenty of room to keep well away from each other. Blue skies all day, no rain except for a thunderstorm in the early hours.

Friday, after an early lunch we went for a drink in the garden at the Bell, St Olaves. A little light rain so we had the garden to ourselves - unlike the previous Sunday when there wasn't a table to be had. We went on to Loddon to take the grandchildren to the park on the road next to the chippy, then down to the staithe (which was surprisingly only half full) but again no ducks to feed. We walked through the churchyard and down to Pyes Mill (where there were only 3 boats moored) but again no ducks - where are they all. Back to the caravan for a chippy tea and another couple of games of bingo and another glass watching the sunset.

After boating holidays for 60 years I thought it may be depressing to be landlocked on the Broads but we really enjoyed ourselves - helped of course by superb weather - and I'm sure we will do something similar next year.

Enjoy your boating - I'm only a little bit jealous.

 

 

 

 

[SwanR]

That's a great write-up. Please do add any return trips to the holiday tales section. I've posted a few topics there when I've done similar weeks to that which you described, and I don't think anyone minds. It's great to hear about places around the Broads. We typically think of the boating holidays but there are other places to see when you're travelling by road. It's not the same arriving somewhere by car as arriving by boat, but you can still have a great time.

We upgraded our caravan a couple of years ago and added a deck. Really good decision for getting the most out of it on a fine day.

[MaceSwinger]

It was Cherry Tree we stayed on and I must say it was torturous being so close to the water and not being on a boat, especially walking to the Fort and seeing the river and Goodchild!

 

Probably didn't help that I finished my weekend off by looking at brokerage in Potter and Brundall after shipping my wife off with my parents before I drove back to Sandhurst. Talk about back to earth with a bump!

 

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