Hi There - Broads Next Week For A Short Break; Help With Itinerary...?!

[vanessan]

May I ask the question please - have you been on the Broads before?

[Nucktheking]

14 minutes ago, vanessan said:

May I ask the question please - have you been on the Broads before?

Once - about 35 years ago. And it was on a very slow sailing boat that took the whole width of a Broad to tack. Progress into the wind was EXTREMELY slow....! 

I did come to Great Yarmouth in a rented motorhome a couple of years ago; does that count...? 

N.

[andyg]

Firstly enjoy yourself, to me that sounds like a very busy itinerary. Pushing that far down south on a short break will make for some long days. But hey if that what floats your boat, go for it. Just don't expect to much of your fuel deposit back. 

[Nucktheking]

9 minutes ago, andyg said:

Firstly enjoy yourself, to me that sounds like a very busy itinerary. Pushing that far down south on a short break will make for some long days. But hey if that what floats your boat, go for it. Just don't expect to much of your fuel deposit back. 

Thanks @andyg. Good advice.

To be honest, we might get to Horning the first night, decide we like the pub(s) so much that we don't move for the next 3 days  

And you are right - enjoyment and relaxation is the main point in going! Although I am trying to plan everything now (so that the options are there if I need them), if we find that it's too cold to be anywhere but inside, and the engine noise means we don't want to be doing that for 5/6 hours a day, then the whole plan can change - and then we will just potter around the North Broads and not go through Yarmouth at all: but that is very easy to plan in situ.

N.

 

[vanessan]

1 hour ago, Nucktheking said:

Once - about 35 years ago. And it was on a very slow sailing boat that took the whole width of a Broad to tack. Progress into the wind was EXTREMELY slow....! 

I did come to Great Yarmouth in a rented motorhome a couple of years ago; does that count...? 

N.

You do seem to have planned some long days bearing in mind the time you  have and, as has already been mentioned, the stretches below Stracey Arms and St Olaves will not be the most scenic! We usually suggest people ‘go with the flow’ for a few days, there will be plenty to see and pubs to visit in the north. Still, whatever you do decide, I hope you have a very enjoyable trip. 
And, no, I don’t think a rented motor home in GY really cuts the mustard! 

[CambridgeCabby]

Personally , and I stress this is just as I see it , a short break of just four days isn’t the ideal amount of time if you wish to also explore the Southern Broads travelling from Stalham.

There is plenty on the northern rivers to explore , if you want a longer journey then if you aim for somewhere like Acle or Stokesby as your first overnight , then travel to Coltishall (bridge passage dependant) the following day (4hrs 15mins from Stokesby) , then for your following two nights your choice is endless but if pub is essential somewhere like Horning or Ranworth then finishing up at Upton or Womack which would leave you a 2hr 45 journey in the morning or Neatishead which leaves only 45mins or even Sutton (15mins) .

The beauty of staying on the northern rivers during your short break is the choice and if one mooring is full the next is near as opposed to the southern rivers where it can easily be an hour between moorings if your chosen spot is full .

Then next time you come , hire on the southern rivers and explore that side then , you will certainly come again The Broads are a drug and very addictive !!

[YnysMon]

Nothing wrong with a long cruising day. My favourites.

I’ve been a bit wary of going through Gt Yarmouth (going north) too close to sunset ever since our last hire. The engine didn’t have that much ‘oomph’ to plug away against the still outgoing tide and we ended up mooring on an emergency pontoon as we couldn’t get to Stracey Arms before sunset. Not good for our dog as we couldn’t get her to land to ‘relieve’ herself.

More recently we have discovered that it’s much better to travel back north through Gt Yarmouth about half an hour after slack water, as the tide doesn’t really start flowing up the Bure until then. That’s assuming you aren’t hiring a boat with a high air draft though, as that will be an hour and a half after low water. There’s a bit of a disconnect between the turn of the tide at Yarmouth. It starts flowing up Breydon Water much earlier than it does up the Bure.

[Nucktheking]

1 hour ago, vanessan said:

You do seem to have planned some long days bearing in mind the time you  have and, as has already been mentioned, the stretches below Stracey Arms and St Olaves will not be the most scenic! We usually suggest people ‘go with the flow’ for a few days, there will be plenty to see and pubs to visit in the north. Still, whatever you do decide, I hope you have a very enjoyable trip. 
And, no, I don’t think a rented motor home in GY really cuts the mustard! 

Thanks to all; you've changed my mind!

We will now, I think, follow this route:

https://www.norfolkbroadsboathire.biz/suggested-itinerary-from-Stalham-4-nights.asp

although we will still make for Horning on the first night.

I have to say I'm a bit disappointed not to 'do' Yarmouth and Breydon Water, but I think the tides at the very end, and very beginning, of the day, make it too much of a gamble; any other time and it seems like it would work, so we'll have to come back another time...!

The general feeling seems to be that there is enough to see in the North Broads over 4 days. Seems like it could also be worth paying the £20 to go through Potter Heigham bridge - again, any view on that would be helpful.

Thanks to so many of you for your rapid, patient, detailed and helpful advice. Keep it coming: especially now the decision is made to stay North of Acle!

N.

[CambridgeCabby]

As it is spring tides the passage under Potter bridge will be highly unlikely to say the least .

 

[NorfolkNog]

28 minutes ago, CambridgeCabby said:

As it is spring tides the passage under Potter bridge will be highly unlikely to say the least .

 

I would agree, passage through Potter Heigham is pretty rare these days and given conditions at the moment probably best to have a plan B. You could hire a day boat but given the time available maybe save that one for another holiday! 

[YnysMon]

I’ve never been under Potter Bridge in a cruiser. However, we have gone through several times when we’ve hired sailing boats (you drop the mast, obviously). Our first introduction to the Broads was hiring from Hunter’s Yard. A wonderful heritage fleet of saileys dating from the 1930s/40s. Recently they have fitted several of the boats with Torqeedo’s, (electric). Previously the experience of hiring one of their boats was a classic ‘Coot Club’ (Arthur Ransom) experience. When the wind died you just had to quant. The layout of their 4 person ‘Lullaby’ class of boats is pretty similar to the layout picture in Arthur Ransom’s book.

https://www.huntersyard.co.uk/

When we were newbies to the Broads I found that reading the various tales in the holidays blogs section of this forum helpful. We picked up a lot of tips from there. Still do in fact.

Our first trip on a cruiser was a four day trip on the northern Broads. Granted it was in early March, so short days, but we found plenty of places to explore without going south.

Although we can’t get under Potter Heigham bridge in our syndicate boat, we love to explore the upper reaches of the Ant up to Dilham and the Bure up to Coltishall. These depend on getting under low Weyford bridge / Wroxham bridge (the latter with pilot), so very much depend on your air draft and/or the river levels. 

[grendel]

personally if heading through Great Yarmouth North or south with an early or late tide time, I would either go through the bridge and moor up at GY  then head further north in the morning with the tides, or if headed south, stop at GY and head over breydon early next day.

[MauriceMynah]

It is so difficult to come up with an itinerary for somebody else, especially for a first timer. I think the one you have chosen sounds very good but may I add some suggestions.

Wroxham is a good shopping venue, and plenty of take-away options, but personally, I'd head further upstream, under the bridge to Coltishall.. Then Coltishall to Wroxham (short stop) and on to Horning. If no mooring available at Horning, double back to Salhouse.

Generally speaking, that would be more or less where I would go to get the balance between cruising and relaxing.

[BrundallNavy]

9 hours ago, CambridgeCabby said:

As it is spring tides the passage under Potter bridge will be highly unlikely to say the least .

 

With the current river heights Wroxham might also out. 

[vanessan]

10 hours ago, Nucktheking said:

have to say I'm a bit disappointed not to 'do' Yarmouth and Breydon Water,

Only one thing for it then, you’ll have to return. Perhaps for a full week? 🙂

I do think you have made the right decision and the weather forecast for next week is looking good. (Your trip is next week isn’t it? 🤔). I see low water at Wroxham next week is during the mornings so you may well be able to get under the bridge for a trip to Coltishall, Gold Gem is low enough but it does depend on those tides settling down a bit. As already mentioned, Potter Heigham bridge is more than likely to be a no-no, a small dinghy is the answer these days it seems! 
Enjoy!!

[PaulN]

You mention staying at the Berney Arms, are you aware that the pub has been closed for many years?

We enjoy the Firsherman's Inn, if the Landlord's moorings are full, there is a long Broas Authority free mooring immediately adjacent to it where we have never had a problem getting a berth and the bank is a bit lower making getting on and off the boat easier at low tide. 

[vanessan]

13 minutes ago, PaulN said:

You mention staying at the Berney Arms, are you aware that the pub has been closed for many years?

We enjoy the Firsherman's Inn, if the Landlord's moorings are full, there is a long Broas Authority free mooring immediately adjacent to it where we have never had a problem getting a berth and the bank is a bit lower making getting on and off the boat easier at low tide. 

The Burgh Castle moorings ceased to be BA 24 hour moorings a few years back, they were taken over by the marina I think and still offered as 24 hour moorings. No maintenance has taken place and the steel piling is a bit the worse for wear. However, I believe the BA are taking them back again and preparing to carry out some refurbishment so things are looking good again. Maybe not in the short term though. 
The Fisherman’s moorings only have room for 3/4 boats and that just leaves Berney Arms if Burgh Castle is a no-go. With the length of pub moorings now closed off, it could get quite busy!

[annv]

Hi Nick you do not have to go through Yarmouth at low water i often go through 1 1/2 hours either side of high water, this depends on your air draft of course and how high /low the tide is,   normal high tide should give you 6 feet clearance through the bridges,  a call nearer the day to the quay attendants will give you how near to high tide you will get through,  you will use more diesel punching the tides but it's your wallet. Enjoy your holiday break, oh one other thing there are lots of places you can wild moor just make sure you have mooring pins and a hammer before you leave the boatyard to be able to do this. John

[BroadAmbition]

make sure you have mooring pins and a hammer

Or better still, Rhond anchors and no hammer as provided by the yard

Griff

[Nucktheking]

49 minutes ago, vanessan said:

The Burgh Castle moorings ceased to be BA 24 hour moorings a few years back, they were taken over by the marina I think and still offered as 24 hour moorings. No maintenance has taken place and the steel piling is a bit the worse for wear. However, I believe the BA are taking them back again and preparing to carry out some refurbishment so things are looking good again. Maybe not in the short term though. 
The Fisherman’s moorings only have room for 3/4 boats and that just leaves Berney Arms if Burgh Castle is a no-go. With the length of pub moorings now closed off, it could get quite busy!

When I spoke to Joe at the Fisherman's, he said that the 3/4 outside his pub were available, but the other ones were closed "for repair": but he wasn't sure how long they would remain so...

[Nucktheking]

1 hour ago, PaulN said:

You mention staying at the Berney Arms, are you aware that the pub has been closed for many years?

We enjoy the Firsherman's Inn, if the Landlord's moorings are full, there is a long Broas Authority free mooring immediately adjacent to it where we have never had a problem getting a berth and the bank is a bit lower making getting on and off the boat easier at low tide. 

Thanks @PaulN

I did know that there's not much at Berney Arms, but according to Joe at the Fisherman's (Burgh Castle) the mooring spaces are still there and mostly in decent nick.

[Nucktheking]

1 hour ago, annv said:

Hi Nick you do not have to go through Yarmouth at low water i often go through 1 1/2 hours either side of high water, this depends on your air draft of course and how high /low the tide is,   normal high tide should give you 6 feet clearance through the bridges,  a call nearer the day to the quay attendants will give you how near to high tide you will get through,  you will use more diesel punching the tides but it's your wallet. Enjoy your holiday break, oh one other thing there are lots of places you can wild moor just make sure you have mooring pins and a hammer before you leave the boatyard to be able to do this. John

Thanks@annv

John,

Interesting; and to add to this, I've just spoken to the Broads Authority helpline at Yarmouth, who have advised, with the tide times next week, going through around High Water, aiming to cross a couple of hours afterwards: around 2:00-2:30.

Now I'm confused again... 

[vanessan]

40 minutes ago, Nucktheking said:

When I spoke to Joe at the Fisherman's, he said that the 3/4 outside his pub were available, but the other ones were closed "for repair": but he wasn't sure how long they would remain so...

By the time you come back for your next trip  those moorings will be back in use. I’m glad to hear repair is underway. Thank you for that info. 

[JanetAnne]

This is all about bridge clearance versus tides. 

Your choice of boat will clear the bridges in GY at most tides but arriving with the tide up your chuff an hour before slack water means you are travelling faster than desired to maintain steerage and, should you need to stop for any reason, you'll be hard pressed to do so.

So go through at half tide before the flow builds to its maximum and you are fine but that hour or so before slack water is a no no when heading south if you can avoid it.

[Nucktheking]

18 minutes ago, JanetAnne said:

This is all about bridge clearance versus tides. 

Your choice of boat will clear the bridges in GY at most tides but arriving with the tide up your chuff an hour before slack water means you are travelling faster than desired to maintain steerage and, should you need to stop for any reason, you'll be hard pressed to do so.

So go through at half tide before the flow builds to its maximum and you are fine but that hour or so before slack water is a no no when heading south if you can avoid it.

@JanetAnne@annv

Brilliant - so it looks like getting to the South Broads is back ON again.

Here's the NEW plan:

- On Weds morning, set off from Horning at 9-ish to arrive Yarmouth around High Tide + 1.5hrs (13:00); if necessary wait until tide slackens, then head through and across Breydon.

- Weds afternoon: Potter around South for a bit, moor at Fisherman's Inn, Burgh Castle, for the night.

- Thurs morning: potter around/stay put, aiming for Yarmouth at High Tide + 1hr, (13:00). Use slack tide to make progress up Bure in afternoon.

Does that sound like it will work?

N.