How And ,why And When Did You First Visit The Broads

[TheQ]

1978, when you finish training in the RAF you fill in a form with three choices of posting.

In the trade I was in there was,

Saxa Vord in the Shetlands,

Benbecula, in the Hebrides

Bishops court in Northern Ireland

Boulmer in Northumberland 

Staxton Wold, near Scarborough,

Neatishead, I think you know where that is,

West Drayton near Uxbridge.

And the impossible dream Troodos in Cyprus..

So I put Neatishead at the top of my list, I've read Arthur Ransom... to my surprise I got it.

Most of the course got West Drayton, a concrete monstrosity of a place which was also a training camp for scopies...

1979 the RAF sailing association had a dinghy training course at Horning, I've sailed from there ever since.

[Gracie]

 Another brilliant topic Ian

Like Grendel and Ray I love any place I'm moored at. I prefer a lunch time stop at a pub for a main meal (much to the kids relief ) then find a wild mooring or mud weight to enjoy a glass of wine and some family fishing fun for the rest of the afternoon and evening

I haven't been under Potter bridge for many years but have fond memories of the cruise up there and then on to Hickling Broad, beautiful

The cruise up to  the end of navigation at Coltishall, how beautiful is that. Like Bucket said in his post I also have enjoyed sitting at the Rising Sun with a drink just taking in the view and watching the boats coming in to moor

Mud weighting on Barton Broad I have to say was stunning. I remember taking my children out in the dingy at sunset, all you could hear was the water rippling and the occasional splash of fish jumping (or was it a crocodile Kate ) We just sat there listening for ages, you don't make memories like that in a Hotel room

The only place I really don't like mooring is Yarmouth Yacht station, the rise and fall of the tide there puts me off. Try clambering off the boat at low tide in summer attire, so not a good look  x

[Chelsea14Ian]

I have more!

[CambridgeCabby]

I love Womack dyke , Gays staithe , and obviously “The taxi rank” , do also enjoy Upton dyke .

But to be honest , if I’m afloat on The Broads then I’m contented no matter where we come to stop 

[YnysMon]

6 hours ago, kpnut said:

 

Too right, both of you. 
 

Far easier to say where I don’t like. I don’t like Potter Heigham (I did like the quiet moorings), or Hoveton St. John’s, either in or out of the main season. 
I don’t really like Womack staithe or Ranworth or Salhouse in season but love them out of season. 
Wild moorings trump everything else! 

I’m with you on those mooring preferences. Generally, I’m not keen on ‘sardine’ stern moorings, except when moored alongside convivial fellow boaters in a ‘meet up’’ when you know your fellow boaters will be considerate. At other times I get stressed if people start up engines. 

[jeffbroadslover]

Hi Kpnut,

I too have enjoyed a holiday in one of the houseboats at Horning. My son loved to take the dinghy with an outboard to the little shop that used to be next to the Ferry Inn to buy milk and the morning paper each day.

The passing boat was one of the Connoisseur class from Porter & Haylett at Wroxham ( now at HW and renamed)

Jeff

[Chelsea14Ian]

What's your favourite  first night moorings?

[Ray]

When we were moored at Sutton Staithe we would head down the Ant in hopes of finding the nice cut in wild mooring on the starbound side heading downstream between How Hill and Ludham Bridge

When we moored at PH we would head for Womack and the little wild mooring on the starboard just after you turn off the Thurne

Now we moor at Brundall we like Rockland for a first night.

All these are short cruises because traditionally we enjoy a good pub lunch before casting off 😁🍺

[kpnut]

It depends on what time I set off, but a wildmooring down the Ant (moor at Stalham) is good. If I have friends on board sometimes we go to our furthest point eg Stokesby and work our way back during their holiday. 

[Chelsea14Ian]

I've said this before, but when at Cove,Brundall our first night was always at Berney Arms.Often nights had a slight mist,adding too the magic of breydon. I'm sure if you looked hard enough you could see those sea monsters. Or was that the booze from the pub.

[Gracie]

Pretty much anywhere I can get as we have to take our holidays during school holidays so we are normally zig zagging down the Ant  on a Saturday afternoon with the rest of the  great escapees , the hordes and the riff raff  

Anywhere really, wild moor, mud weight, I quite like the excitement and hustle and bustle of How Hill for a first night if I can get in x

[Broads01]

The date we arrived to take over our first hire boat will always be imprinted on my mind: 14th August 1981. I was 10 years old, my sister was 8 and my parents had been wanting to try the Broads for a few years and had waited until they thought my sister and I were old enough. The boat was Consul 3 from Norfolk Broads Yachting Company in Wroxham, a Broom 30, registration K494. I had been excitedly staring at the photo of the boat in Hoseasons brochure for many months and that moment I could see the boat for real from my seat in the car will always stay with me. The boat seemed so much bigger and more impressive than I could ever have imagined. To this day, over 40 years and many, many hires later, the moment I first set eyes on a boat is special and I think it comes from that day.

My Mum and Dad were boating novices and yet my Dad thought nothing when we set off of heading straight up through Wroxham Bridge (no pilot in those days). We passed through without incident and had a lovely cruise as far as Coltishall common, except there was no space to moor there. We turned around and I recall an aborted attempt at a wild mooring before we ended up finding a space at the Hoveton viaduct mooring. There, minor disaster struck. I was tasked with taking the stern rope. I can remember being stood on the narrow stern deck (life jacket on) and throwing the rope to my Mum but at the same time having my ankles too close to it and as she pulled the rope taut into the river I went. I was pulled out safely, shaken but completely undeterred. I've only fallen in once since and that wasn't until 2017!

We enjoyed a brilliant week on the North Broads. I remember the adventures of the "beach" at Salhouse (bows on to the mud in those days), my parents getting in a panic as the Ant narrowed above Wayford Bridge and enjoying being piloted under Potter and the wildness beyond.

We returned to boating the following year on the Severn and Avon, then to the Broads in 1983 and 1986 with Aston Boats and Mistral Craft with our first Thames trip in between. The first boat I hired as an adult was at the age of 18 in 1989 with my then girlfriend (later my first wife) which was a Safari 25 called Fiesta from Hearts at Thorpe (Pennant Holidays in those days). My first wife and I took our two children many times over the years and both children still enjoy coming with me as adults. My Mum and Dad later separated and it took me far too long to invite either of them to return with me. My Dad enjoyed a few trips himself before I had a very memorable final holiday with him on Bright Horizon 1 just before he passed away in 2013. After our 1986 trip, my Mum didn't return with me until 2017 buy she's since done so on a few occasions, having had her 80th birthday last year.

Our first boat is still on the Broads and still with its original distinctive dark yellow colour (the boatyard livery at the time). I believe it's named "ChrisaLiz" and has a mooring in the marina near Barton Turf. I love to see it as it brings back such wonderful memories. 

[WherryNice]

7 hours ago, Broads01 said:

The first boat I hired as an adult was at the age of 18 in 1989 with my then girlfriend (later my first wife) which was a Safari 25 called Fiesta from Hearts at Thorpe (Pennant Holidays in those days).

That's very interesting, do you happen to remember the reg number? My Safari was one of the Fiestas according to the Database you see:)

[Broads01]

15 minutes ago, WherryNice said:

That's very interesting, do you happen to remember the reg number? My Safari was one of the Fiestas according to the Database you see:)

Yep, L96. It became Summer Light for a while when Pennants finished and I think it might be called "Timeless" now? I saw it last year at Upton Dyke I think.

[WherryNice]

5 minutes ago, Broads01 said:

Yep, L96. It became Summer Light for a while when Pennants finished and I think it might be called "Timeless" now? I saw it last year at Upton Dyke I think.

Ah, that's not the one, although mine was also a Summer light at the end of her hire career.

[RegalSafari]

Yep timeless is based at Upton Dyke, bob is normally on the river system saw him today in potters. 

My first boat hire was Kingfisher Sundance when I was in year 6 at Primary School for Easter. I wrote a book about the adventure as it was fantastic. There was 9 us my mum and dad, brother and sister, and my dad's twin sister and family. 

Before hiring for several years my dad took the caravan to Bureside and my dad would take three trips 1x towing boat to Bureside, then caravan then going back to pick boat up. We had a trailer sailer for many years ever since I can remember. The boat is currently located at Carrington Waters Derbyshire under different ownership but seem wired seeing the boat. Went everywhere in that boat Torquay sailing in the bay, Tenby Sandersfoot , Poole,  Salcome, Lake District, York, Lincoln it was great 

Boating all my life really but not always in Norfolk 

Also sailed that boat off Filey a few times but launching in the sea from the beach was not ideal. 

I have sailed off the Yorkshire coast a few times at Bird and Filey a few times but only in dinghies namely an Enterprise / Merlin 

Hired from Richardson / Kingfisher / Faircraft / Herbert woods and Wood Dyke Boatyard. 

[SteveO]

Our first encounter with the Broads was in the early 1980's, when we went for a holiday with Nik's parents who lived near Ipswich. We all decided that it would be nice to visit Norwich for the day and set off in father-in-law's Austin Maxi up the A140.  It was a sunny day and I developed a splitting headache, which was not helped by a lunchtime pint in one of central Norwich's many hostelries - think it was the Lamb Inn on Haymarket.  We decided to take a trip out to look at the Broads and so it was off to Wroxham. The in-laws went off shopping to Roys and so we decided to rent a dayboat for an hour from Faircraft Loynes. We only got as far as Wroxham Broad, but thoroughly enjoyed it and vowed to return for a boating holiday. Our first hire, the following September,  was Wicked Lady III - a Hampton Safari from Crown Cruisers of Somerleyton. After our introduction to the boat and a cursory test drive we set off in the torrential rain, up the New Cut to Reedham. There was nowhere to moor even in those days and so in desperation we ended up tying up alongside another boat, which was already double-moored. We finished up in the Lord Nelson, or was it the Ship? Or was it both? Had a bite to eat, a few beers and carefully picked our way over slippery decks back to the Wicked Lady. We woke to weak sunshine, tied up next to the quay, the two boats inside us having departed early. In that week, we covered justabout the whole navigable system. By the end of the week we were well and truly addicted and have been back justabout every year since then.First as hirers and latterly as owners.