Springer’s Retreat On The Rivers

[kpnut]

Just to round off the topic of wing mirrors, I found the exact one on APUK ‘tractor/lorry/digger’ I think it said. It was £13 with delivery. It was Grendel’s mention of Bedford camper that started off the successful outcome. Now verified as identical by bringing to the boat. Now I just need another pair of hands to hold it outside while I determine whether I’ll actually be able to see anything with it, probably a matter of ‘how long a fixing arm do I need?’ There are two lengths I’ve found on eBay. 

[kpnut]

Wednesday 25th October

 Back on the boat, hooray. Nothing untoward appears to have taken place with all this stormy wet weather. The tree next to me is still upright even it has shedded a lot of its smaller parts onto my boat.

I stopped in Potter heigham for a walk with the dog before arrival and to assess the water level. Well, ‘high’ is the only word to use (as expected). We splashed our way along behind the upstream chalets for a while, up to the mill. 
 

Thursday 26th October

I had thought I’d go along to st Benets but finding a space at Irstead, that did me just fine. Then it started raining, and raining, and raining, so we had a sleepy afternoon in. 
It cheered up just before dusk, with a bit of watery sun, so we had a nosey round the lanes, wading through a few floods and doing some steadiness/patience training with the dog as I have never heard so many pheasants shouting at each other so loudly. Brilliant training in sitting quietly by my side, even with his bum in a puddle! There were also any number of hares about on the stubble. 
 

Friday 27th October

An earlier start as I wanted to see if there would be a space on Horning staithe. What a fantastically atmospheric trip along, coming in and out of the mist. No space at Horning, mind you. So I opted to go all the way along to Potter Heigham as I had a date with SwanR and a cup of tea, and Bridgestones would be a good place for that. 

Horning Ferry Inn carpark ( I think some of that is river too!)

Cockshoot dyke

Potter Heigham where my fender lines weren’t long enough for the fenders to be of any use. 

After a short walk/paddle along the Martham side I dried the dog off and left him to sleep off his exertions while Jean and I caught up with news. 

[petersjoy]

I thought that was you i saw on HW's webcam this morning.

[SwanR]

It was so lovely to catch up. Those scones and cups of tea and coffee lasted us a good long while. 🤭

 Stay safe, dry, and warm for the rest of your trip. I saw a chap almost fall in when he slipped on the quay heading in NBD’s yard this morning while mooring up. 

[kpnut]

Saturday 28th October

What a glorious morning. Really calm, and super sunshine. It was when I took Finlay out for a run that I saw that the high tide this morning will be higher than yesterday. The water was higher over the quay heading with another 4 hours to go to high tide. Yesterday I’d arrived at just before high tide. Walking down past the pilots’ office, I had to wade across more of the carpark and it was deeper, and it was running off onto the road by the chippie. 
Good thing they’ve put this sign out, or some unsuspecting person might have a surprise, falling into the slipway. 

This little video shows the quay heading at the top of the picture. The tide comes in faster than I thought.

 

I spent a while doing ‘housework’ and generally spending a long time doing not a lot, (well, I was basking in the warmth of using the electric heater), and watching the HW boats going to and fro, before setting off back up to Stalham. 
This wasn’t in my original plan, but I’d seen a poster for Norfolk Wherry Brass band concert at Stalham this evening, and the easiest option  for attending was to spend the night on my home mooring. Lulu said there was a space at Irstead and I originally thought I’d stop in there for a quick chat, but of course the space soon got taken.

Ludham Bridge had less clearance than yesterday, 6’10” on the first board and just on 7’ on the board by the bridge. This was right on high tide. 

I managed to hold station long enough for a quick chat with GarryN who was busy washing Daisy Chain on the moorings before continuing on.

Not wanting to get back home too early with this lovely weather, I stopped at How Hill for a walk down to the secret garden and to buy a couple of ice creams for the freezer. Most of the colour has gone from the garden now, it would have been perfect about three weeks ago I reckon, but the Katsura tree was still just about giving off the whiff of  Werthers Originals. 

The few leaves left on the Katsura tree.

I love these rhododendron trunks, with the foliage cut back.

The most colourful tree in the garden at the moment, an acer of some sort.

And here’s the hope for next spring. Azalea (or maybe rhododendrons) buds.

Daisy Chain passed us as we walked back along the moorings to the boat, but Finlay was too distracted by a couple of dogs passing us to say hello to Oscar!

Sam took some lovely photos of SR as I passed Irstead and again, I managed a few words, this time without trying to stop, and I was soon home, waving to Simon and Katie on Pipedreams on the way.

With time to kill, I’ve cooked tomorrow night’s tea (mince and stuffed pepper). I could get used to this life of just pottering around. 
 

Something I noticed earlier, and have noticed before, is the depth of reed/vegetation along the riverbanks. I wonder if some of this was removed, would there be more room for water? And relieve the overtopping of the quay headings? And more importantly, the flooding of properties?

I realise it’s there to prevent erosion and gives fish somewhere to hide, but it is very deep and dense in many places, more noticeable at this time of year.

[Bluebell]

Regarding the fenders not working in the high water levels, I keep a couple of spares on long lines with weights on the bottom to stop them floating too high…😎

[kpnut]

14 minutes ago, Bluebell said:

keep a couple of spares on long lines with weights on the bottom to stop them floating too high…😎

I did have a spare one and Grendel suggested I tie a rhond anchor to it, but by then it was quiztime and I was too snug inside. If it had been windy, I might have motivated myself to go out for peace of mind. 
Another good purpose of fishing weights I would think, along with weighting down the shower curtain!

[Mouldy]

44 minutes ago, Bluebell said:

Regarding the fenders not working in the high water levels, I keep a couple of spares on long lines with weights on the bottom to stop them floating too high…😎

I have a couple of spare fenders, but when the river levels are high, I allow them to float horizontally at the water level when deployed.  That way, they prevent the hull from hitting the quay heading.

[kpnut]

2 hours ago, Mouldy said:

I have a couple of spare fenders, but when the river levels are high, I allow them to float horizontally at the water level when deployed.  That way, they prevent the hull from hitting the quay heading.

Ah, but not when they are floating ON the quay heading!

[YnysMon]

Coo, wellies are definitely on our packing list for our next trip!

[MauriceMynah]

I think we can learn a bit from our canal narrow boat friends here. I seem to recollect they use fenders made from rope covered chain. An 18 to 24 inch long version of one of those would sit comfortably between the Hull and the quayside. 

[grendel]

I see a couple of the Marthams fleet are stuck the wrong side of Potter Heigham Bridge, but if Ludham is down to 7 foot, i doubt even Marthams can get them through potter heigham (I have been taken under with less than 5'10" at PH.)

[Broads01]

10 hours ago, YnysMon said:

Coo, wellies are definitely on our packing list for our next trip!

Never mind wellies, I think you need waders or even a dinghy!

[Jbx5]

3 hours ago, Broads01 said:

Never mind wellies, I think you need waders or even a dinghy!

This is so true just been down to Horning it’s quite bad, the road down to the ferry is a no go for cars would need a decent pair of wellies to even attempt it! 
 

John 

[kpnut]

It was halfway up my wellies yesterday morning at Potter Heigham. 
The PH Bridge board said just about on 5’ when I left yesterday morning, about an hour before high tide. 

[Mouldy]

19 hours ago, kpnut said:

Ah, but not when they are floating ON the quay heading!

Good point, well made.  I’ll shut up and return to my decorating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . have I mentioned that I hate decorating?

[kpnut]

55 minutes ago, Mouldy said:

have I mentioned that I hate decorating?

Thinking of you Mouldy!!!!
It’s the getting started that I hate. It’s always worse in my head than the actual doing. 

[Bluebell]

Mrs Bluebell made me redundant from decorating last year. We now have a young professional working his way through the house having painted the outside last summer.

i haven’t missed it at all…😎

[kpnut]

That was very generous of her. When I did that to Tony, I ended up taking up the reins myself. Needless to say, it only gets done once in a blue moon, although now I’ve got rid of all the wallpaper and only have to paint it’s not so bad. 

[Mouldy]

15 minutes ago, kpnut said:

Thinking of you Mouldy!!!!
It’s the getting started that I hate. It’s always worse in my head than the actual doing. 

I don’t like getting started and I don’t like doing!  Just getting the boxes of necessary tools out of the garage gives me palpitations!  I’d love to meet the bloody cowboys who decorated our living room last time.  Undoing their shortcuts has taken far too long!  That and filling where the electrician chased the walls out to install additional sockets .  Still, I reckon another fortnight should do it . . . . . . but I’m already two weeks in! 🤨

[kpnut]

1 minute ago, Mouldy said:

Undoing their shortcuts has taken far too long!

That is what drives me to do the job myself. At least I know it’s right. 

[YnysMon]

We ought to start some diy jobs now I’m retired, as most rooms in the house are well overdue for decoration. However, we have another week on the boat in less than a fortnight and will have another trip to Anglesey at the end of the month to start work on trying to sort Graham’s dads house (that will be a mammoth task).

The job for the next few days is to make some curtains for the heads on Moonlight Shadow. I made some earlier in the year, but the ones in the aft en-suite heads are already getting spotted with mildew, so it will be good to have a spare set of curtains.

[kpnut]

46 minutes ago, YnysMon said:

We ought to start some diy jobs now I’m retired, as most rooms in the house are well overdue for decoration.

You’ve already started the retirement thing I see Helen, finding excuses why not to do the things we all thought we’d have time for once retired. I have to put things like decorating etc in the calendar in big bold writing if anything’s going to get done. 

[kpnut]

I left my write up with getting back to Stalham for a night out at the brass band concert in the church. 
I duly attended and had a friendly evening, with supper and hearing some tunes I haven’t heard since my son lived at home and I was his groupie/driver for the various bands he was in before going off to music college. 
The church was freezing mind you, if I go to anything else I’ll be taking a blanket. And then I had to run down the high street back to the car in the midst of torrential rain. Very pleased I hadn’t left Finlay on the boat and walked up to the church. 
 

Sunday 29th October

What a super night’s sleep. I heard the rain a couple of times and my bilge pump was whining at one point which puzzled me till I decided what it was, but I didn’t wake up till the clock said 7.45. Not having a clue whether that was old time or new time, I guessed old time and stayed in bed a while. Looking at the clock in the saloon when I did emerge I realised I’d been wrong. I don’t know when the last time I woke so late can have been. Boat time is kicking in!

The day was really bright and sunny so, feeling it stretching out in front of me, I was in no hurry to get going.
A good walk with Finlay and a shopping trip to Tesco, then a waterfill and a visit to Richardsons reception to confirm that pumpouts stop for the winter from tomorrow and reception will be closed at weekends, a play with Oscar for Finlay while we chatted and I eventually left at lunchtime.
 

Soon afterwards, the clouds rolled in and it was miserable rain by the time I got to How Hill, so that’s where I stopped. 
An hour later, the sky cleared for the most wonderful dusk over Buttle marsh and Turf Fen drainage pump. 

Of course, it came remarkably early. 

[kpnut]

Monday 30th October

Another beautiful morning, with a few last Richardsons boats going home for the winter. 
Finlay and I had a wonderful walk down the riverbank and onto Blind Lane, the track running along the top of Buttles Marsh.

Carrying along the lane, it comes out on the road between Ludham Bridge and Ludham, meaning we had to walk on the road for a little while. It wasn’t busy. 
The pavement starts before the junction with Hall Lane and we walked past the Dog Inn, now closed for the winter according to its sign outside, and on to the Ludham Bridge moorings. These were very quiet, four boats plus the two Nancy Oldfield boats, one of which cast off as we walked past. 
We continued back to How Hill following the riverbank path. I was very pleasantly surprised with how little mud there was on the whole walk. 
When we got back to How Hill we popped up onto the field and then back for Finlay to have a swim to clean up. All in all, a very worthwhile walk of just under 3 miles. 

We then journeyed down through Ludham Bridge,

and down to the Bure, turning downstream past St Benet’s,

up the Thurne and turning into Womack dyke. Both the dyke moorings and staithe moorings are also pretty wet. 

As is Horsefen Lane between the two.

We stopped in at the Big Shop for a little treat of a couple of half price end of season goodies. They shut on Wednesday but will be doing pumpouts through the winter on Fridays and weekends, best to ring first.

And we then stopped in at the Kings Arms for a glass of cider. They still do their bargain meals at £7 for us oldies, and tonight is their first night of free winter sausage and mash if you buy enough to drink (don’t think it’s too much you have to buy!) Considering every table in the bar was reserved for this evening, it seems to be a popular place to dine. 
The boats at the staithe moorings had increased from two to six, all hire boats from Bridgecraft, NBD, Ferry Marina and HW. I’m presuming Barnes have joined Richardsons in finishing today.