Springer’s Retreat On The Rivers

[kpnut]

I’ve never seen that one move and there’s lots of algae on the waterline. So probably a houseboat. Not that I’ve ever seen signs of life, but it does have very dark windows. 

[MauriceMynah]

There seems to be a trend to design "marmite" boats.  This is only to be encouraged given that one day, they might get it right.

I like neither of the boats mentioned but thank the good lord for their existence,,, they make my own boat even more attractive to me.

No, the only business that should never think outside the box is undertakers.

[Wussername]

52 minutes ago, MauriceMynah said:

No, the only business that should never think outside the box is undertakers.

 I have to disagree. For me a Viking farewell. 

If you don’t want to be traditionally buried or cremated, you might envision yourself having a Viking funeral. And that probably means you want the type of Viking funeral you’ve seen in the movies. 

We all know how it works: the warrior’s body floats out into the sunset on a carved longboat, adorned with jewels, mementos, and possibly a sword or two. Attendees stand in reverent silence as a skilled archer sends a flaming arrow to magically set the whole thing alight. 

Malthouse broad would be good. Having moored at the quay and not paid.

[grendel]

I once made a 2 foot model longboat for the very purpose of having someones ashes put aboard and then have it set sail alight into the sea.

apparently the ceremony went very well.

 and do you know how difficult it is to keep arrows alight when you loose them, most blow out instantly, unless you have some special movie effects concoction keeping them alight.

[kpnut]

How wonderful. 

Tuesday 30th May

what? I’m getting rained on!

Having arrived at St Benet’s, I soon set off on my walk. I conscientiously walked to put a bag in the poo bin near the gatehouse and got told off for not having my dog on a lead. I wasn’t even going in to the Abbey site and it only says ‘keep dogs under control’ on the actual footpath. Finlay’s always under control. Oh well, I suppose the lady guide didn’t know that. I retraced my steps to go along the causeway footpath to Ludham Bridge, wanting to stop in at LBBY to confirm something with George. That was the first shower of rain, mizzly drizzle really, nothing much but it does  soak in to your clothes. I hadn’t brought a coat!
I noticed someone trying the doors of Dollies bakery, but it was locked even though the sign said it was open. I wonder if it’s closed down as I haven’t seen it actively open for the last few visits to the boatyard. I stopped at Ken’s veg shed to buy some strawberries. For anyone who doesn’t know where he is, turn down Hall Road after walking past the Dog Inn and he’s just down there on the left. 
Then up the track by Ludham Hall, where more blustery rain fell on me, turning right at the end of the field to a path leading onto Lovers Lane that comes out on Staithe Road. That is a very pretty lane, leading to the village centre. Having been shopping in Roys yesterday I unfortunately couldn’t justify a trip to the butchers, but did decide on a glass of cider in the Kings Arms. Once inside, seeing folk eating and checking the time I thought I’d treat myself to lunch. I was going for whitebait, but then spotted a blackboard on the bar that said ‘recycled teenager menu’. (I think it’s a quirky take on an OAP menu). Well, who could resist roast turkey, fish and chips or pie, for £7. There were more choices too. With a pud for £3. 
‘Recycled’ Fish, chips and peas with tartare sauce came to my table a little while later and very tasty it was. 
That visit made me sleepy, I could have stayed all afternoon. But no, we went out into the now dry weather, had a look in the church (first time I’ve managed that). It seems to have an intact painted screen, no centuries old vandalism here! It’s a large church for a little village. 

Residents have also made a nice cross stitch mural of all sorts of local scenes and events. 

We walked back down Staithe Road, this time carrying on past the entrance to Lovers Lane and turning right at the junction. A number of houses have those Dutch gable ends, making them look posh. I’m sure that was the original purpose of them.
Soon after the junction, I turned into a track to the left that leads round to the concrete track down to St Benets. 
At the Hundred dyke that shows where the course of the river Ant used to come across the marsh I could see across to the shed of LBBY and to the buildings of Coldharbour Farm looking the other way. Coldharbour Farm on the Thurne between Thurne Dyke and Womack Dyke is more or less where the Ant came out to join the Thurne. It’s hard to imagine a big river going along this small dyke once upon a time. 

And along the concrete track back to the moorings. 
That was a nice walk, 4.5 miles in total with two pubs to try, as well as the veg, the butchers, shopping if you need it in ‘Throwers’ and even icecream if you walk down to Womack Staithe. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent prepping some paintwork for redoing after getting scuffed etc over the past few months. 
Thinking I might put the heating on, in late May😂

Strawberries were lovely, I wonder what variety they were. Really sweet and juicy. 

[YnysMon]

I’ve heard good things about Dollies Bakery, but I fear that locals will stop going out of their way to try to visit them unless they have signs indicating when they will be open…and then are actually open when they say they will be. It’s not in a village, so essentially rely on passing trade. I think they used to be in Wroxham, so the decision to relocate to Ludham Bridge seems an odd business choice. Presumably they had their reasons.

St Catherine’s Church Ludham is a gem. Did you notice the screen that’s above the rood screen? A painting of the crucifixion on one side and Elizabethan (first) heraldic symbols on the other. They were obviously into recycling even in Tudor times. 

[bucket]

Lovely write up as always Kate!

[SwanR]

55 minutes ago, YnysMon said:

I think they used to be in Wroxham

Dollie’s relocated to share premises with Fizz and Fromage at the small business park opposite the station in Hoveton. 
 

Kate thanks for info about Ken’s veg shed. Must check that out. We also had a senior’s lunch in the King’s Arms last year. Great value for money. 

[YnysMon]

13 hours ago, SwanR said:

Dollie’s relocated to share premises with Fizz and Fromage at the small business park opposite the station in Hoveton. 
 

Kate thanks for info about Ken’s veg shed. Must check that out. We also had a senior’s lunch in the King’s Arms last year. Great value for money. 

Thanks Jean. So are they still in Wroxham as well as being at Ludham Bridge?

Must try lunch at the Kings Arms. I'm trying to get my head around being considered a 'senior' and to remember that I'm over 60 and have applied for retirement. Somehow my brain has difficulty processing this information.

[MauriceMynah]

10 minutes ago, YnysMon said:

Must try lunch at the Kings Arms. I'm trying to get my head around being considered a 'senior' and to remember that I'm over 60 and have applied for retirement. Somehow my brain has difficulty processing this information.

That happens as you get old :-)

[kpnut]

Wednesday 31st May

I cant quite believe it’s June and officially summer tomorrow. Why is long-awaited spring always the fastest season? 

A fairly early start (well for me anyway) after probably the most peaceful night I’ve ever had at St Benets. No water banging about for a change. 
I moored up at Ludham bridge and walked over to the boatyard to see about filling with diesel. I’d already said I’d go in, but as I’d passed there was no room and I don’t like to double moor there without asking first. 
They moved a couple of boats for me and I went back through the bridge, having to make a stern-on procedure, holding up a boat (Thunder syndicate boat) that followed me through.

“No panic, just think what you’re doing, it’s only like mooring up on your home mooring” and wow, I did it first time into a little slot. 
Diesel was £1.30. After a little banter, with George asking just when was he actually going to get to meet Tony (hubby) and me assuring him he does exist, I was on my way. Up to ????

Irstead was vacated just as I came up to the staithe, so there I stopped. I got straight down to putting on a coat of paint on the bedroom wall having done all the prep work yesterday. And doing some paint repair work by the helm. 
While that was drying, we went off on a roundabout route to the fudge lady to buy a chocolate/sugar fix for my son-in-law when I see them on Saturday. 
Gays Staithe was more or less full, space for a couple of boats  and Neatishead only half full. I wonder if folk are avoiding the back end due to shallow water.

The level was extremely low and I could see the mud in the back corners. The new grass is coming up well, the seed also providing a nice meal for the pigeons.

The garden of the house opposite the moorings was looking very colourful. 

I saw a sign saying the parish council are going to provide a swing and a bench on the little grass area to the side of the carpark. 

More painting on my return. I feel the summer might actually be one of not bringing all this diy stuff to the boat each time. Would be nice!!!!!

[Mouldy]

10 hours ago, YnysMon said:

I'm trying to get my head around being considered a 'senior' and to remember that I'm over 60 and have applied for retirement. Somehow my brain has difficulty processing this information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Wouldn’t worry, Helen.  I finished work in August 2020, when I took voluntary redundancy from my last job.  Due to the pandemic and restructuring of our department, it was the most palatable option and one decision which I don’t regret at all.  So almost three years on and my brain still seems unable to process the fact that I’m now 67 and not 25, to the extent that I’ve just bought a new motorbike.

That said, my real age becomes all too apparent when faced with anything too strenuous.  Good job we bought a bungalow with a huge ruddy garden then! 

 

 

[kpnut]

What a cute family of geese. 
Right on the corner of the electric mooring at Irstead, they started to settle for the evening. First having their tea, grazing on the grass a while. The babies soon found a space to sit and cuddle up to each other. Mum came over and tucked two of them under her wing. The third had other ideas and climbed aboard her back, taking a few attempts to reach his goal. Within minutes, he was fast asleep. 

[Jbx5]

The Geese are standing guard at Irstead this morning making sure no one is mooring up 😂 It was never empty like this when we used to go past in the boat !

John 

[CambridgeCabby]

They’re saving it for Lulu 

[kpnut]

She’ll need some extra cleaning power before she can use it. Finlay loved it! All the extra tasty snacks😮

[YnysMon]

1 hour ago, kpnut said:

She’ll need some extra cleaning power before she can use it. Finlay loved it! All the extra tasty snacks😮

Can I just say...eww. Assuming I'm right in thinking what you mean by 'tasty snacks'. 

[Lulu]

23 minutes ago, YnysMon said:

Can I just say...eww. Assuming I'm right in thinking what you mean by 'tasty snacks'. 

Desmond’s favourite 🤢

[YnysMon]

Just now, Lulu said:

Desmond’s favourite 🤢

I'm pretty sure it would be Pozzick's too, if he got a chance.

[Mouldy]

52 minutes ago, Lulu said:

Desmond’s favourite 🤢

Nooooooooooooooooo!  Please, no! 🤢

[MauriceMynah]

Probably very nice on toast.... for Desmond I mean

[kpnut]

Full of nutrition!!!!

[kpnut]

June trip. This will be a brief log (sigh of relief by many) as I won’t be doing much walking, but written ‘for the record’. 
 

Wednesday 14th June. 
Springer’s Retreat had been delivered back to my mooring the previous Friday after it’s final but of work. George at LBBY had had an issue when 2packing the shower floor and didn’t want me having the boat back till he was 100% happy with it. Kind and conscientious of him, if frustrating. The end result is wonderful. 
 

With this fantastic weather I therefore decided to arrive a day earlier than originally planned. After a thorough watering of the allotment and leaving Tony with a list of instructions for the rest of the month, I made a day of the journey, heading for Holkham Hall, near Wells Next the Sea. I’ll put a post about it in the ‘places to visit’ thread, if I can remember it’s proper title and find it. 
An excellent choice of day out. Well worth the detour. 

On arrival, immersion heater was switched on and in a while I was able try out the new shower. I don’t like showers at the best of times and this one had been horrible to use as the space was only 500mm square and the curtain stuck to you. The controls were on the other side of the room! And difficult to get the right temperature, entailing numerous ‘stick your hand out of the curtain, lean over to the controls to adjust, getting the toilet and the floor wet’. The floor was also bouncy. 
Well, now it’s a dream. Still a curtain as I couldn’t work out how a screen could be fitted without vast expense of bespoke shaped glass and even then it would be in the way as on a piano hinge it would still have stuck out too much. So curtain it had to be, but with the floor being taken up to rectify the bounciness, George cut the lip at the edge of the shower tray off, meaning I could extend the space with the new curtain long enough to divert the water into the tray. Although the bottom of the curtain still has a 500mm square footprint, the rail at the top is about 750 x 1000 and the useable space while having a shower is so much nicer. 
It’s thermostatically controlled using controls in the shower itself!
The wc has also been turned 45 degrees, with the plinth being reshaped and lowered and somehow the whole room just seems much bigger. So a complete revelation. 

As it turned out, the floor was really the only bit we wouldn’t have been able to ourselves, but that’s hindsight and with a husband nearer 80 than 75, the work would have taken just as long, with a lot more frustration in the form of arguments!!!!!!!

Thursday 15th June  
A day of little jobs getting done, going nowhere in the boat, just relishing having her back. 

Friday 16th June.
First full day of the fishing season and I was amazed to see so many wild moorings down the Ant still unoccupied as I followed MM on Nyx down the river. 
I pulled in at Johnny Crowes and there I stopped in the heat.    My aim was to walk to Catfield Fen to see if the swallowtail butterflies were out. Having no red shirt like advised by Grendel I made do with blue!

I knew the walk there would be generally shady, so wasn’t too worried for the dog about setting off in the early afternoon heat. Once on the Fen, there is no shade but the reeds along the path were as tall as me. And I found three butterflies just getting on with life, taking nectar from a purple-red thistle looking flower. I’m hopeless at plant ID. 

On the return to the boat, Finlay had a swim and was happy to lie in the shade on the stern for the rest of the day. 
 

Saturday 17th June. 
After spending the morning reading and watching boats go by, we explored more of the area’s footpaths, ending up at How Hill for an icecream. 
 

Sunday 18th June. 
I arrived back at Stalham at 9.30am to prep the boat for guests later. Not a lot more was done, the general banter of the moorings passing the day. 

My guests duly arrived, a feat in itself considering Lesley had contacted me the previous Tuesday to say she had prolapsed another disc in her back and could only crawl on the floor at home. A mixture of the body’s healing power and more probably strong painkillers has meant she’s mobile enough to get on board with crutches and will probably not disembark till Friday. Her husband Ray, dog Alfie and I with Finlay will still do some exploring. 
Her recovery doesn’t surprise me as having had three prolapsed discs myself and a discectomy operation 12 years ago, I know how quickly the acute problem can resolve. That doesn’t mean the problem disappears, just means it becomes bearably painful!!! One episode I had was on a Friday and I was walking up a Wainwright in the lake district on crutches the following week, probably doing more harm than good?
 

Monday 19th June. 
2 excited guests and a little Jack Russell now settled, so after a bacon butty breakfast we set off. The rain overnight had cleared the air somewhat and it turned out to be a beautiful day. A leisurely journey down the Ant following a couple of equally leisurely hireboats, noting again how many wild moorings were free. We could also have stopped at either mooring at Irstead if we’d wished, our destination of Cockshoot Broad soon arrived and we had choice of mooring spot, choosing the river end of the Horning side with its lovely view onto the river.
MM waved on his journey back downstream as I was mooring up. 
Why is it that every time I take a wander to the bird hide at Cockshoot, there’s never anything to see? For an expanse of water protected from boating and human traffic, there’s a noticeable absence of wildfowl on that broad. There’s far more on the main river, including a duck that decided to hitch a ride on my sunroof, peering down at me for quite a while, not at all bothered by the two dogs below and neither did they take any notice of her. 

[Lulu]

Love the duck photo! The bathroom looks fab. Wish our bathroom at home looked like that.

[YnysMon]

Lovely to see your shower room finished off. I thought it looked very smart when we stayed on board, but it's even better now you have your shower curtain in place.

Those ducks near Horning are a cheeky lot!