New To All Of This, Any Help Would Be Appreciated :)

[laura97]

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone could give me any advice. I’m hoping to take my boyfriend on a little night away for his birthday near the end of September. We’ve recently bought an inflatable kayak (just over 10ft long when inflated) and I was wondering whether anyone had any recommendations of places that we should stay? I’ve looked at the Innkeepers Lodge in Horning, which I think I’ve been to before on a family holiday. That looks really lovely and perhaps the perfect spot for us to try kayaking, but I was wondering if anyone with more knowledge could advise :) any other suggestions are also totally welcome. We’re both totally new to kayaking on the broads, have tried it back in Suffolk on license free rivers where all we literally had to do was inflate the boat and head off. However, I know there’s things like slipways that we’ll probably have to pay for but I have no idea how much they are or whether a lot of them are even open to public use. Thanks so much everyone, any help is very appreciated. I have also attached a picture of the kayak we have just for reference :)

 

[Vaughan]

Two places spring to mind :

Wayford Bridge Inn, who are sponsors of this forum and The Recruiting Sergeant at Coltishall.

Both offer very nice accommodation and very good food.  The second is perhaps more expensive but still good value for money.

The river at both locations will be very well suited to kayaking.

[CambridgeCabby]

Another option would be the Sutton Staithe Hotel or the Ranworth Maltsters air bnb 

[YnysMon]

I’d like to back up Vaughan’s suggestions. I’d be inclined to avoid Horning as the river there can be incredibly busy with motor cruisers, day boats and the large trip boat ‘Southern Comfort’.

Weyford Bridge Inn is located toward the top of the river Ant, and as the Weyford Bridge is quite low, quite a lot of motor cruisers can’t get under it, so it’s lovely and quiet on the river above the bridge. There is also a stretch of disused canal that cruisers are not allowed to use but canoes can, so that would be ideal.

The stretch of river up at Coltishall is also quiet. That’s the head of navigation for motor cruisers on the River Bure, but canoes can go further up the river. You just have to carry your canoe a short way to the other side of the lock.

If I was planning a canoeing outing I’d certainly opt for Weyford Bridge or Coltishall. The Ranworth and Sutton accommodations that CambridgeCabby has suggested are certainly good alternatives, but I don’t think the canoeing would be as good.

You might also consider staying somewhere in Beccles, where there’s probably a bigger choice of accommodation. You can use the slipway near the yacht station to launch your canoe, and there is parking not too far away. The river between Beccles and Geldeston is very popular with canoeists and paddle boarders as it’s fairly quiet. 

[Graham47]

The Rising Sun at Coltishall. It’s right on the river, does accommodation and very popular spot for Canoes, Paddleboards and Kayaks.

 

[laura97]

43 minutes ago, Vaughan said:

Two places spring to mind :

Wayford Bridge Inn, who are sponsors of this forum and The Recruiting Sergeant at Coltishall.

Both offer very nice accommodation and very good food.  The second is perhaps more expensive but still good value for money.

The river at both locations will be very well suited to kayaking.

Thank you so much Vaughan, these sound like wonderful suggestions. I’ve had a look at both and the Wayford Bridge in looks pretty perfect for what I was hoping to gift my partner for his birthday. Thanks so much! 

[laura97]

3 minutes ago, Graham47 said:

The Rising Sun at Coltishall. It’s right on the river, does accommodation and very popular spot for Canoes, Paddleboards and Kayaks.

 

Thanks so much Graham. The rising sun does look fab, unfortunately they’re fully booked for when me and my partner would like to go but there’s been so many good suggestions that I’ve got plenty of other places to try now too. Thanks so much

[laura97]

23 minutes ago, YnysMon said:

I’d like to back up Vaughan’s suggestions. I’d be inclined to avoid Horning as the river there can be incredibly busy with motor cruisers, day boats and the large trip boat ‘Southern Comfort’.

Weyford Bridge Inn is located toward the top of the river Ant, and as the Weyford Bridge is quite low, quite a lot of motor cruisers can’t get under it, so it’s lovely and quiet on the river above the bridge. There is also a stretch of disused canal that cruisers are not allowed to use but canoes can, so that would be ideal.

The stretch of river up at Coltishall is also quiet. That’s the head of navigation for motor cruisers on the River Bure, but canoes can go further up the river. You just have to carry your canoe a short way to the other side of the lock.

If I was planning a canoeing outing I’d certainly opt for Weyford Bridge or Coltishall. The Ranworth and Sutton accommodations that CambridgeCabby has suggested are certainly good alternatives, but I don’t think the canoeing would be as good.

You might also consider staying somewhere in Beccles, where there’s probably a bigger choice of accommodation. You can use the slipway near the yacht station to launch your canoe, and there is parking not too far away. The river between Beccles and Geldeston is very popular with canoeists and paddle boarders as it’s fairly quiet. 

Thank you so much, this is such a helpful bunch of info that I would have had no idea of otherwise. It makes total sense that Horning would be busy and so yes, I think it probably is best for myself and partner to avoid it. Don’t want to get knocked over by any of the big boat traffic. Sorry to be a pain, but you sound like you know so much about it and so I was just wondering about slipway options for Wayford Bridge? We’ve never been to this area before and I don’t know if there’s a lot of charges to use the slipway or whether perhaps there’s a spot where we could almost just lower ourselves in and paddle off? Neither of us are that precious about getting our swim stuff soggy 😂 thanks so much for the advice

[CambridgeCabby]

The Sutton Staithe boatyard also has a slipway 

[kpnut]

Could you lower yourselves in on the public moorings at Wayford bridge, not sure if it’s allowed. Someone will know. 
If it’s a special treat and your budget stretched, there’s the olde saddlery b+b at Neatishead and a lovely stretch of river there. 

[Guest]

33 minutes ago, laura97 said:

Thank you so much Vaughan, these sound like wonderful suggestions. I’ve had a look at both and the Wayford Bridge in looks pretty perfect for what I was hoping to gift my partner for his birthday. Thanks so much! 

You can't go wrong with Wayford Bridge, and if your boat is an inflatable as you say then just lob it into the river at the moorings...keeping hold of it so it doesn't sail or blow away 

That is if you are mobile enough to climb into it from the bank of course.

From Wayford you can enjoy heading up to Dilham for a short row, or head off in the direction of Barton for numerous options of destination.

Assuming your boyfriend doesn't enjoy the birthday gift you have in store for him at the hotel of course 

[YnysMon]

I did not know about slipway options at Weyford Bridge, I’m afraid. You could make enquiries at the nearby boatyard. As others have said, if you are nimble and used to canoeing, it should be possible to get into your canoe from the public moorings.

Edited to add this Broads Authority webpage on slipways.

https://www.broads-authority.gov.uk/boating/facilities/slipways-and-launching-points

[laura97]

1 hour ago, CambridgeCabby said:

The Sutton Staithe boatyard also has a slipway 

Thank you!

[laura97]

Just now, YnysMon said:

I did not know about slipway options at Weyford Bridge, I’m afraid. You could make enquiries at the nearby boatyard. As others have said, if you are nimble and used to canoeing, it should be possible to get into your canoe from the public moorings.

No worries, thank you so much for all of your other advice. Thanks again! 

[laura97]

1 hour ago, kpnut said:

Could you lower yourselves in on the public moorings at Wayford bridge, not sure if it’s allowed. Someone will know. 
If it’s a special treat and your budget stretched, there’s the olde saddlery b+b at Neatishead and a lovely stretch of river there. 

Thank you, yeah I think it may be that we just go along and see what the options are like. I think if it’s allowed then we might try as you say just lowering the boat into the water from a public mooring

[laura97]

56 minutes ago, BroadsExplorer said:

You can't go wrong with Wayford Bridge, and if your boat is an inflatable as you say then just lob it into the river at the moorings...keeping hold of it so it doesn't sail or blow away 

That is if you are mobile enough to climb into it from the bank of course.

From Wayford you can enjoy heading up to Dilham for a short row, or head off in the direction of Barton for numerous options of destination.

Assuming your boyfriend doesn't enjoy the birthday gift you have in store for him at the hotel of course 

Thanks for the advice regarding lobbing the boat into the water. Going up to Dilham or Barton sounds like a brilliant idea, thanks

[YnysMon]

I’ve edited my earlier post with a link to info about slipways.

[grendel]

there is a good launch site at the staithe at belaugh (between wroxham and coltishall) I have seen many a paddle boarder and canoist launch from there (just north of belaugh boatyard) with parking for about 4 or so cars.

[TeamElla]

I would suggest that you join this organisation:-

https://members.britishcanoeing.org.uk/become-a-member/

This provides a Waterways Licence giving block access to multiple uk waterways (including the Broads) where in each case you would otherwise have to pay a fee (even when canoeing).

It also provides £10m liability insurance cover worldwide whilst you are engaged in canoeing activities.  

 

This then becomes irrelevant:-

https://www.broads-authority.gov.uk/boating/owning-a-boat/tolls

 

[TeamElla]

I'm not surprised that the insurance cover is so generous. After all, what damage can you do with a canoe?

By the way, the short visit toll for a canoe (without bcu membership) would otherwise have been £8.50 for up to 7 days

[BrundallNavy]

For an inflatable canoe you can launch almost anywhere free of charge. At Wayford you can launch from the footpath that passes under the bridge it’s around an hour up to Dilham. You could also drive to Coltishall and park near the ice cream van and launch from the river bank as it’s all grass paddle up to the lock and back and stop for lunch in the Rising Sun or Kings head. Which ever you choose have fun. 

[MauriceMynah]

At Wayford bridge there is a small slipway next to Bank's boat's. It's a natural stone/gravel slip which I believe is run by the parish, though I'm not sure.