A Three Day Cruise On Moorhen

[Speleologist]

The other week, when I mentoined my plan to go over to the dark side for a brief Broads cruise I said that I would post something about it afterwards. So here is the tale of a confirmed rag and stick man, who has been sailing on the Broads for 55 years, making his first cruise in a motor boat. I'll add some photos to the thread as well'

I am instinctively a sailor. I have always preferred using the wind to get about afloat. I am also something of a traditionalist, preferring to resort to the quant in time of need rather than the engine. It was therefore something of a departure from the norm to end up doing a three day cruise on Moorhen.

When I considered a few days on the Broads, my first thought was to sail, but by October Hunters Yard have finished for the season. Furthermore most yachts from other yards are not fitted with self-tacking jibs, making them harder work for a single hander. Also of consideration was that I sail most days in the course of my job. (I am a Yachtmaster Instructor, working in Gibraltar).

My two week trip to the UK was centred around a small music festival in Barnsley on the middle Saturday. Around this were various hectic trips fitting in time with family and friends. I had already spent a couple of days with my son in North Yorkshire, with a fine time walking in Swaledale, Rock Climbing at Brimham Rocks and helping out with his house restoration. I had travelled south to Winchester to visit one of my brothers and have a curry with friends. I had stopped on the way in Northamptonshire to attend a lecture by Bob Comlay on the life and explorations of HW Tilman. I had gone back north to spend a couple of days with my cousin in Cumbria, walking and exploring in the Lake District. From there to the music festival in Barnsley. And this was just week one. After this hectic schedule the idea of a quiet few days on the Broads had a lot of appeal. A conversation with Eastwood Whelpton confirmed that Moorhen, their 1954 motor cruiser was available, they were happy to let her out for solo cruising and they could be flexible on start and end dates to suit my schedule. So, I booked.

On Sunday, after a superb day of music on Saturday I made a leisurely start. As an aside I should add that the festival, headlined by the wonderful Bar Steward Sons of Val Doonican was a great day. There’s a Broads connection as well. They have played on the Southern Comfort five times. Leaving Barnsley around mid-day I drove down, stopping for a late lunch at a roadside café and farm shop. I also picked up some duck eggs and some superb Cox’s apples from the shop. Carrying on I arrived in Upton just in time to get further supplies at the village community shop. I continued then to the Staithe and found Moorhen, climbed on board and made myself at home.

Moorhen is like stepping back in time, with her varnished wood hull and very traditional layout. She is however beautifully appointed. The fixtures and fittings and the equipment are all of high quality. There was even a welcome bag of goodies, containing quality tea, coffee, biscuits and chocolate from local suppliers. There was also fresh milk in the fridge. It’s the sort of detail that creates a good impression of value way more than the cost.

Once comfortably installed I headed in to Acle to pick up a Chinese takeaway and enjoyed it on board with the first half of a bottle of Malbec before settling down for the night. My bedtime reading was also sorted as there ware several books on board, including Roger Wardale’s book “Arthur Ransome on the Broads.” I have always had an interest in Arthur Ransome, having grown up with the Swallows and Amazons books. (My copy of Pigeon Post is the one my mother had as a child). This interest has grown in more recent years on discovering a family connection. He was known in a branch of my family as “The Undesirable Cousin” because of the suspicion that he had spied for the Russians. Over four nights on board I finished the book and learned things that I had not previously known.

On Monday morning I awoke to heavy rain, but all was snug on board, both below and in the cockpit, the awning being of a very high quality and good fit. A check on my weather forecast apps suggested that the rain would clear by about ten and this proved the case. By then I had completed the handover with the yard.  There has been much discussion on this forum and elsewhere of the quality of handovers but in this case I should say the following: my introduction to the systems and equipment in the boat was comprehensive and well done, the same being true of talking through my expectations and questions. They would also normally do session under way, but in my case (Yachtmaster, Powerboat and Inland Waterways instructor and with extensive Broads experience over 55 years) they decided it wasn’t necessary. However, for an inexperienced hirer you would be assured of a high-quality handover.

It was time to set off, and the rain, as forecast, had cleared. I had deliberately not arrived with a planned itinerary in mind, preferring to take each day at a time, but there was one necessary first call. Thus, I slipped the lines, went slowly down Upton Dyke and on reaching the Bure turned upstream. Hence it was to Thurne Mouth, up the Thurne and into Womack Water to moor at Womack Staithe.

It was at Womack Staithe that I first discovered how difficult Moorhen is to reverse. The best description is “nigh on impossible.” The small rudder, serious prop walk and high sides giving massive windage conspire to assure this. However, I managed after a few attempts to get in stern-to and realise the purpose of making Womack my first stop. Why? Because I could finish my stocking up at Ludham Butchers. I duly purchased pies, gammon steak, bacon, sausages and white pudding. To my disappointment they were bereft of black pudding, but essentially, with the duck eggs already on board I was set for fine breakfasts. Shopping done I popped in to the Kings Arms for a quick pint before setting off once again.

I had thought of going on up the Thurne and under Potter Bridge. The idea of a night at Horsey, eating in the Nelson Head and a walk to the beach had a lot of appeal, but river levels were high and I suspected I would not get through the bridge, so I headed back to Thurne Mouth and up the Bure towards Wroxham. My thoughts ware possibly to go to Coltishall for the night. It’s not somewhere I would often visit as it’s not an easy destination under sail.

Heading up the Bure I moored up at St Benet’s Abbey for lunch of a Ludham Butchers pie and a Humpty Dumpty ale. (I can’t remember which one as I had several on board that got consumed at various points).

After lunch it was on up the Bure in beautiful sunshine enjoying every minute of the autumnal colours. However, a call to the bridge pilot confirmed that the river was so high that they were not taking any boats through, so I turned round at Wroxham Broad and headed back down the river to Salhouse, where I moored on the river just outside the broad. Once moored up I cooked my gammon steak with a duck egg, mushrooms, tomatoes and white pudding and finished the Malbec before settling down to continue with the book and have an early night.

An advantage of an early night is that it is very compatible with an early start and so I arose before daylight and was ready to depart around sunrise. The air was still and the autumn colours were beautifully reflected in the mirror smooth water. So began a gentle cruise down to Cockshoot Dyke in the cold, still and quiet morning.  A pot of tea was there beside me to keep my mug topped up.

Stopping at Cockshoot I decided that the right way round was to have a walk around the boardwalk before breakfast, whilst it was still quiet and almost deserted. I saw nobody once I left the dyke until my return, but I was able to enjoy the stillness of the early morning.

Returning to the boat I cooked up an excellent breakfast. (I do like duck eggs). I then set off again and headed downstream before turning off into Ranworth Dyke. On Malthouse Broad I dropped the mudweight well away from the busyness of the staithe and had a leisurely lunch involving another Humpty Dumpty beer, another Ludham Butchers pie and one of the excellent Cox apples. It was warm enough to sit in the cockpit in a pair of shorts and no shirt and I spend some time after lunch sitting in the sun with a book (the Arthur Ransome one) and a coffee.

Eventually there needs to be a decision to move on and, given that both the upper Thurne and Coltishall were off limits I decided that Dilham would be a good option and so I headed down to Ant Mouth and up the Ant. Most of my more   recent memories of the Ant below Ludham Bridge come from the Three Rivers Race. I am usually sailing up at the best speed possible amidst a mass of competing sailing boats and with a load of new hirers making their first tentative foray down from Stalham. What a delight to be motoring up an almost deserted river!

Once through the bridge I moored up to visit the shop. I’m well aware of the limited mooring space at Dilham and wanted to be prepared with emergency food in case I had to turn around, so I purchased a tinned pie and some beans just in case.

After shopping the voyage up to Dilham was an absolute delight, with few other boats on the move I was able to enjoy the tranquillity and the stunning beauty of the autumn colours reflected in the river. The only really busy time was on Barton Broad where the annual hire boat regatta was in full swing, with a good crowd of yachts from Martham and Eastwood Whelpton enjoying a perfect day for racing. Between Martham and the turning for Stalham there were a few boats about, but I only saw one under way further upstream. This was a hire boat that followed me up river before mooring below the bridge at Wayford Bridge.

Continuing through the bridge I passed the holiday cottages at The Granaries where I had stayed in Hop Sack Cottage one April many years ago. The great delight in staying here had been that the cottages share a proper swimming pool, designed for swimming, not lounging around, and it was on that holiday that we taught our younger son to swim.

Above Wayford everything was still and quiet as I passed up the narrowing river to arrive at Dilham with a couple of hours of daylight left. Having fixed the awning, I popped in to the Cross Keys to make a reservation for dinner and then set out on a bit of a walk. Footpaths across the fields took me to Tonnage Bridge, where I followed the North Walsham and Dilham Canal up to Honing Lock before crossing the canal at the lock and continuing to Honing Bridge then returning to Dilham via the road. This last stretch, along the road, afforded some excellent views of the setting sun.

It was almost full dark when I returned to the boat, and time for a rapid clean up of muddy shoes before heading to the Cross Keys for a superb ribeye steak eaten beside the glowing log burner. Suitably replete I returned to the boat for a bit more reading and an early night.

A major advantage of an early night is that it is very compatible with an early start the next day and so I was up and ready to be away by sunrise. This proved a very fortunate decision as I enjoyed the most amazing reflections on the calm river, in between patches of morning mist. The only problem was that the mist around Wayford Bridge was the heaviest I encountered and the approach to the bridge took a lot of care to get right in the poor visibility. Continuing south the mist rapidly cleared and I moored at How Hill for another proper cooked breakfast.

Having breakfasted a trip ashore seemed a good idea. I have sailed past How Hill so many times, but never stopped. The Toad Hall Cottage museum was not yet open so, with a plan to visit on my return I set off through the woods to explore the Secret Garden. What a delightful place! The garden is stunning and I wandered around it several times as well as going further into the woods and discovering all the carefully crafted structures to encourage the insect life. On my return I visited the museum as planned. In the museum I particularly noted the patchwork quilts on the beds. These would have fascinated my parents, who were founder members of the Quilters Guild.

Back on the boat I continued down river in a still very fine day but a bit cloudier than the previous two. Ant mouth came and with it a decision. As the late Douglas Adams expressed it, the sophistication phase in the development of a society, defined by the question: “where shall we have lunch?”

I settled on heading down to South Walsham, where, after a gentle chug round the inner broad I pulled in to the 24-hour moorings for another pie and another beer. I worked off lunch with a walk around the footpaths of South Walsham.

Returning to the boat it was time to head off down the bure as Moorhen was due back first thing in the morning and the sensible thing was to return to Upton for the night so as I headed down the bure, I called the White Horse to reserve a table. The sky had now clouded over, but with no sign of rain and a bit of time to spare I decided to cruise on down to Stokesby and back, rather than go in early. This proved to be both well and ill judged. It was well judged because the timings saw me safely moored up at Upton about five minutes before sunset, but ill-judged as it meant that I got caught in a heavy rain shower. This was the only rain I experienced whilst under way. It didn’t last long and despite getting a bit wet as the awning wasn’t fitted, I had dried out by the time I was moored up and I had rigged the awning. Having done this, it was a walk to the pub for steak and Ale pie and a few beers, returning to finish the Arthur Ransome book and again have an early night.

The next morning, I arose in time to cook the last of the breakfast supplies before tidying up the boat and heading off to have lunch with my other brother in Halesworth and then heading in to the Royal Geographical Society in London for a lecture on the search for Shackleton’s Endurance and an excellent dinner. After this it was straight to Gatwick for a very short night’s sleep prior to an early flight home.

All in all, it was exactly what I wanted, a few days of slow relaxing time in the middle of a busy schedule. Moorhen was the perfect boat for such a trip, cosy, comfortable and traditional and equipped with everything I could possibly need, including four teapots! I certainly didn’t feel the lack of mod cons like a TV, but it was good to have USB charging points and hot water.

The service from Eastwood Whelpton was exemplary and I can highly recommend them and Moorhen if you want a few quiet days in a small traditional boat.

[Speleologist]

Moored for lunch at St Benets Abbey.

[Speleologist]

The moon at Upton on the Sunday night as I arrived.

[Speleologist]

Moorhen above and below deck.

[Speleologist]

Zoe on Barton Broad.

[Speleologist]

Heading down the Bure from Salhouse in the early morning.

[Speleologist]

A walk around Cockshoot.

[Speleologist]

Safely moored at Dilham.

[Speleologist]

Walking by the North Walsham and Dilham canal.

[Speleologist]

The moon as I left the Cross Keys.

[SwanR]

A very interesting read. Love seeing your photos too. 

[Speleologist]

Early morning down from Dilham.

[Speleologist]

Breakfast at How Hill.

[Speleologist]

How Hill woods and Secret Garden

[Speleologist]

Some of the bug houses in How Hill woods.

[Speleologist]

Toad Hall Cottage.

[Speleologist]

My holiday reading.

[Speleologist]

Walking around South Walsham.

[Speleologist]

South Walsham Inner Broad

[Speleologist]

The end of the trip. Back at Upton.

[kpnut]

What superb photos. I especially loved the one just about to go under Wayford Bridge with the sun on the water.

Did you find lots of mud on that walk up to Honing? It's often very boggy after you come out of the wood and go across a water meadow before you reach the bridge that crosses before the bog road bridge.

 

[Speleologist]

4 minutes ago, kpnut said:

Did you find lots of mud on that walk up to Honing?

 

It wasn't too bad. There were a couple of times when I regretted not wearing my Dubarry boots, but I returned with waking shoes that weren't too muddy and with dry feet.

[Speleologist]

I mentioned in my taleThe Bar Steward Sons of Val Doonican and their appearances on board the Southern Comfort. Here's a short video of  one of the occasions..

 

[YnysMon]

Thanks very much for posting. We have been admiring Moorhen, so it was lovely to hear you had such a good time on her. The couple of times we’ve moored at their yard we have found the Eastwood Whelpton crew to be very welcoming.

I was interested to hear about your walk from Dilham. It’s a lovely mooring and we have walked as far as Tonnage Bridge, but obviously we need to explore further up to Honing Lock! 

[Broads01]

Excellent write up and photos, thank you. I visited Upton recently and admired Moorhen from the outside. It's really good to see your interior shots because the Eastwood Whelpton website is limited with those.