2023 Broadcaster Now Out & About

[Bytheriver]

Just got hold of a copy & p25 states BA intend to introduce mooring charges at Reedham later in the year - Ranworth charges are listed.

[Bytheriver]

26 minutes ago, Bytheriver said:

Just got hold of a copy & p25 states BA intend to introduce mooring charges at Reedham later in the year - Ranworth charges are listed.

The on- line edition is here https://issuu.com/countrywidepublications1/docs/broadcaster_2023_issuu

[Wussername]

I have to congratulate the BA on this years Broadcaster, an informative read, well done, but with one exception. 

It is of course the introduction of mooring fees at Ranworth and Reedham.

The former, Ranworth, will see a new and exciting venture from Steve and his wife at the tea shop, now after an extensive refurb it will become a restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and evening meals. At Reedham over the last two years or so it has become a delightful place to stop for many people. Two good pubs, the post office providing coffee and tea's and of course the farm shop offering a wide range of quality foods together with once again coffee and tea's.

One must applaud the initiative of those concerned, together with their considerable financial commitment in endeavouring to making the Broads an even more appealing and attractive place to visit.

The  Broads Authority contribution, with regard to these two important visitor destinations,  must have surely been met with disappointment and dismay.

 

[Popeye]

Oh well, I will just save my petrol and not visit the Ranworth bit then. Sorry pub, store and the café for my lost trade. My drinks store is well stocked as well as the grub stakes and I have a preference to wild moorings anyway. Its bad enough listening to roaring diesels, uncouth loud mouthed inconsiderate people and barking dogs in the morning without paying for the privilege of doing so.

[Wussername]

25 minutes ago, Popeye said:

Oh well, I will just save my petrol and not visit the Ranworth bit then. Sorry pub, store and the café for my lost trade. My drinks store is well stocked as well as the grub stakes and I have a preference to wild moorings anyway. Its bad enough listening to roaring diesels, uncouth loud mouthed inconsiderate people and barking dogs in the morning without paying for the privilege of doing so.

I visit Ranworth frequently. By boat and by car. I live just a few miles away, a ten minute drive. I have seen Ranworth in its many forms, over many years, more years than I wish to remember.  

However, I can remember wonderful days and evenings at Ranworth and do you know what, I still do. I do not recognise " uncouth loud mouthed inconsiderate people and barking dogs in the morning " 

It happens occasionally, thankfully not often at Ranworth. Perhaps you have been somewhat unfortunate.  

[CambridgeCabby]

And the first item they list under the heading “Free things to do”  is climb St Helen’s Ranworth tower , well yes free to do once the BA has deprived you of £10 

[Bytheriver]

1 hour ago, Wussername said:

I have to congratulate the BA on this years Broadcaster, an informative read, well done, but with one exception. 

It is of course the introduction of mooring fees at Ranworth and Reedham.

The former, Ranworth, will see a new and exciting venture from Steve and his wife at the tea shop, now after an extensive refurb it will become a restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and evening meals. At Reedham over the last two years or so it has become a delightful place to stop for many people. Two good pubs, the post office providing coffee and tea's and of course the farm shop offering a wide range of quality foods together with once again coffee and tea's.

One must applaud the initiative of those concerned, together with their considerable financial commitment in endeavouring to making the Broads an even more appealing and attractive place to visit.

The  Broads Authority contribution, with regard to these two important visitor destinations,  must have surely been met with disappointment and dismay.

 

Thought I was the only one going to notice a better Broadcaster - Thought I have may have been swayed by the brighter cover ( new artist)

Don't forget at Reedham there are the bookable though chargeable moorings at The Lord Nelson + one though a little tight but free at The Ship ( bit near the bridge but fine for early risers.

[Andrewcook]

Over the years, Ranworth has been built on a good reputation Tea Rooms / General Store with Post Office and not last of all the Master's Pub has been refurbished in the past all this has been built up that will be down the Drain that's due to B A fault I believe. 

[Mouldy]

I don’t think that the imposition of mooring fees at Ranworth will affect trade there.  Folk have been paying to moor at the Island for years.  There’s no facilities, just an abundance of goose poo.  I’ll stump up a fiver at the Staithe to moor during the day and assume that the fee includes the charge for water.

Don’t get me wrong, I think the BA are bang out of order, but will the average holidaymaker spoil their holiday for the sake of £5 or £10, when they’ve stumped up 2 or 3k to hire a boat?  I think not.

[Wussername]

I think yes. It is a grudge payment. Not acceptable.

The £5, £10, £20 payment all add up don't you know. At Horning, The Swan, there was a £50 payment, or did i dream it. I think that the average holiday maker may decide enough is enough. Unless you are fortunate  enough to be above average.

[CambridgeCabby]

I do not begrudge paying for a mooring at a privately owned mooring at all , whether it is redeemable in full or partially against purchases ; it is my choice to moor there or not .

What I do find totally wrong is the imposition of a mooring charge at a previously free 24hr mooring which we have always been informed was paid for from our tolls (since the BA acquired them) , this year we have seen a 13% rise in our tolls and whilst that was enough to put us down the BA then proceeded to “kick us whilst we are down” by introducing these charges at Reedham and Ranworth so in real terms if we wish to moor at these spots for instance 10 times during the season this adds a further £100 to our fees which in our case us another 13% levy .

It is nothing more than a further rise in our tolls , but there is no way the BA could have got a 20%+ rise approved hence this underhanded way of achieving effectively the same .

The excuse that the fee is to pay for a Ranger is feeble at best , especially since their publication “The Broadcaster” states that payment should be made at the information center!!

As is well documented on here , Ranworth is often my chosen overnight mooring , but I for one would far rather pay the £5 charges at Womack Staithe which offers the same facilities, during a season at a conservative estimate , we spend upwards of £2000 in the shop and pub at Ranworth not a huge dent in their gross takings but if 100 other regular visitors feel similar then it will certainly impact.

 

 

[Aboattime]

48 minutes ago, Wussername said:

I think yes. It is a grudge payment. Not acceptable.

The £5, £10, £20 payment all add up don't you know. At Horning, The Swan, there was a £50 payment, or did i dream it. I think that the average holiday maker may decide enough is enough. Unless you are fortunate  enough to be above average.

No you didnt dream it,£50 for a 3 hour stay.

[grendel]

how about we all raid the piggy banks and pay with loose change- malicious compliance. 

[Chelsea14Ian]

It's not in place yet.Perhaps a legal challenge may happen.I hope so.

[YnysMon]

I’m not a concerned about Ranworth on a personal level as we don’t tend to moor there in season, though I do think the imposition of mooring fees there is out of order. However, has anyone else noticed the hike in fees for Norwich Yacht Station? When we last stopped for the day I’m sure it was just £6 (last September) and I think overnight was £13, though I might be wrong on that one as we haven’t overnighted there for a while. Daytime is now £8 and overnight £16. That’s a jump!

I wouldn’t be surprised if Great Yarmouth have had a similar hike in mooring fees. 

[Chelsea14Ian]

Perhaps they want to buy a new phone box.

[Bytheriver]

58 minutes ago, YnysMon said:

I’m not a concerned about Ranworth on a personal level as we don’t tend to moor there in season, though I do think the imposition of mooring fees there is out of order. However, has anyone else noticed the hike in fees for Norwich Yacht Station? When we last stopped for the day I’m sure it was just £6 (last September) and I think overnight was £13, though I might be wrong on that one as we haven’t overnighted there for a while. Daytime is now £8 and overnight £16. That’s a jump!

I wouldn’t be surprised if Great Yarmouth have had a similar hike in mooring fees. 

https://www.broads-authority.gov.uk/boating/facilities/yacht-stations

[Smoggy]

I'll be using reedham and pointing at the toll number and saying "no thanks I've already paid " they can take it from there, if they dare.

[Vaughan]

12 hours ago, Mouldy said:

but will the average holidaymaker spoil their holiday for the sake of £5 or £10, when they’ve stumped up 2 or 3k to hire a boat?  I think not.

Maybe not this year but will it put them off coming back next year?  I think yes.

[Mouldy]

10 hours ago, Chelsea14Ian said:

Perhaps they want to buy a new phone box.

I can think of a certain old police box that they could purchase, lock a different Doctor in and send him to do battle with some other dinosaurs! 

[Mouldy]

1 hour ago, Vaughan said:

Maybe not this year but will it put them off coming back next year?  I think yes.

If the economic situation doesn’t improve over the next few months, I don’t think mooring charges at Ranworth will prevent folk from visiting The Broads.  Sadly, hire costs will need to reduce or a boating holiday will be beyond the reach of many.  With cheap foreign holiday now an option, more people will revert back to a flyaway break, where sun is virtually guaranteed and ‘all inclusive’ means just that.

Ive already noticed that prices on caravan parks in the UK appear to have come down from the peaks following the pandemic.  We stayed on a site near the Lizard in Cornwall in 2019, rebooked for the following year with just a modest price increase, which was postponed to 2021 due to the lockdown.  The same holiday in the same mobile home had increased from £550 to £850 for 2022, but has come back down again for this year.

[DAVIDH]

The overseas market is definitely booming. Most travel agents are reporting record sales in January and February. 150% of the pre-pandemic 2019 sales. It's reportedly continuing too. They can't quite believe it either, coming amidst the largest fall in living standards since records began. Though we regularly see and hear of people who are struggling to make ends meet, who apparently account for 15% of the population. That still leaves 85% who are not "struggling". It's reported that many families built up savings during the two years of the pandemic, through just not being able to holiday where they want. Now the shackles are off, they are flocking to the sun, visiting relatives overseas, and indulging in the culture of new places. This has had the effect of emboldening tour operators to raise prices accordingly. And prices have shot up. 

I do think this year, the Broads boatyards will struggle to get the numbers they were used to over the preceding two years. But then, I think the same will apply overseas when reality bites and the "war chests" have been exhausted. Costs in every industry have risen exponentially these last 12 months. That has to be passed on to the consumer, who then goes on to demand pay rises sufficient to cope with these new price levels. Our public service sector, private industry, and even pensioners (of which I am one), have all seen above-the-norm pay settlements, which adds to the costs of running your business. I can't see prices ever dropping back to 2019 levels, but then again if I had a crystal ball, I bet I wouldn't be able to see through to the other side of the glass with all the uncertainty! 

[Happy]

Have you looked at the price of cruises lately?  There are some real bargains to be had - and you don't have to cook or steer the ship! 

[DAVIDH]

39 minutes ago, Happy said:

Have you looked at the price of cruises lately?  There are some real bargains to be had - and you don't have to cook or steer the ship!

Yes, that's true. It's down to the number of new cruise ships being launched. Overcapacity for the current size of the cruise market. Some stand out prices! 

[Gracie]

39 minutes ago, Happy said:

and you don't have to cook or steer the ship! 

That would be of great benefit to me and the boys too. I'm not sure zig zagging a ruddy great ship is a good idea either x

You know what really worries me, I fear the Broads will lose so many hirers and the cost of the hire putting new people off. Lord knows what will happen to the future of our Broads. With the soaring cost of even putting a meal on the table, adding more fees could be the final nail in the coffin for some people