More Holiday Tales Please! (especially From Hirers)

[YnysMon]

It’s that lovely time of year when we are lucky enough to have more holiday tales being posted. However, I’d just like to encourage new posters. It’s so lovely to hear new perspectives from people that might not have posted before. Short or long, we don’t care, we just like to hear how you enjoyed yourself (or not!).

[KevinB]

I’m hoping to get round to doing one again this year, it takes up a fair bit of time but also nice to look back on. Currently aboard Tideway from HPC, our last day tomo 

[Broads01]

Two tales to come from me, all being well.

[YnysMon]

1 hour ago, KevinB said:

I’m hoping to get round to doing one again this year, it takes up a fair bit of time but also nice to look back on. Currently aboard Tideway from HPC, our last day tomo 

Looking forward to your tale! I know how much time it takes, as I probably overdo it. The reason I do it probably chimes with yours…it’s nice to look back on.

[Smoggy]

1 hour ago, KevinB said:

I’m hoping to get round to doing one again this year, it takes up a fair bit of time but also nice to look back on. Currently aboard Tideway from HPC, our last day tomo 

I think we saw you in oulton broad, beccles, then cantley (may have been reedham) not stalking you honest....

[KevinB]

9 hours ago, Smoggy said:

I think we saw you in oulton broad, beccles, then cantley (may have been reedham) not stalking you honest....

Possibly  stopped at all except Beccles , didn’t make it there this year unfortunately , are you Snowbird? 

[Mouldy]

11 hours ago, KevinB said:

Currently aboard Tideway from HPC, our last day tomo 

I saw you yesterday as well, although I can’t remember where (it’s an age thing!).  It would have been somewhere between Paddy’s Lane and Somerleyton, so a fair bit of scope!

I think I also may have glimpsed @Troyboy heading up The Bure.  The wife was at the helm, but I did see someone waving frantically from the helm of a 36’ bathtub!

[KevinB]

11 minutes ago, Mouldy said:

I saw you yesterday as well, although I can’t remember where (it’s an age thing!).  It would have been somewhere between Paddy’s Lane and Somerleyton, so a fair bit of scope!

 Know the feeling!  Yes that would have been us, headed up the Ant yesterday, we were lucky enough to get a mooring at Neatishead

[hazelgirl]

I will try and post one from our trip in Sept, my first time afloat for about 4 years and my partner has never been so....should be interesting 

[Smoggy]

1 hour ago, KevinB said:

Possibly  stopped at all except Beccles , didn’t make it there this year unfortunately , are you Snowbird? 

I am indeed, the grubby (MM taught me well) princess 30ds not the seamaster 30.

Must have imagined beccles, I knew I'd seen tideway in various places, it stands out a bit as it's the name of a friends boat on the great ouse.

[MauriceMynah]

Accolade gratefully accepted Smoggy. Thank you. 

[Speleologist]

Unfortunately I don't think I'll be able to produce a Broads holiday tale this year. Last October I had the opportunity to forgo my rag and stick roots and do a short cruise on Moorhen, which I thoroughly enjoyed. However with time in the UK being severely limited it looks as if the only UK boating I will mamnage this year is a three day cruise on the Lancaster Canal with my cousin. We plan to take a trip through the countryside where our shared family have their roots.

[Broads01]

20 minutes ago, Speleologist said:

it looks as if the only UK boating I will mamnage this year is a three day cruise on the Lancaster Canal with my cousin. We plan to take a trip through the countryside where

I'd be very interested to hear about that. I know Lancaster well as my elder daughter lives there. I've often wondered what a cruise on the Lancaster Canal would be like, knowing it's the longest stretch of lock-free canal in the country. Although I've been coming to the big lock-free playground we all love for most of my life, I do like locks as well and the fact that the Lancaster is lock-free puts me off strangely, so very interested to read your experience. 

[RS2021]

50 minutes ago, Broads01 said:

knowing it's the longest stretch of lock-free canal in the country.

Not quite. The Ashby/Coventry and the Birmingham level offer slightly more. That said the Lancaster is a great canal and has a character of its own having been isolated from the main system for so long. There are some locks on the Glasson branch which for some reason the current hire companies don't allow you to go through. It didn't used to be like that and it made a great detour.

[Jbx5]

We walked down to Glassen dock when we hired  on the Lancaster canal earlier in the year. Very scenic but beware the crazy swan that nests on the tow path!

[YnysMon]

2 hours ago, Speleologist said:

Unfortunately I don't think I'll be able to produce a Broads holiday tale this year. Last October I had the opportunity to forgo my rag and stick roots and do a short cruise on Moorhen, which I thoroughly enjoyed. However with time in the UK being severely limited it looks as if the only UK boating I will mamnage this year is a three day cruise on the Lancaster Canal with my cousin. We plan to take a trip through the countryside where our shared family have their roots.

We aren’t ‘exclusive’. A tale from the Lancaster canal would be very welcome, thank you. (I’ve posted our ‘other tales’ under the Members out and about section previously).

[Smoggy]

The rogue swan is not uncommon,  in St.neots there was one at the rivermill known as hissing sid that had many dinghies and kayaks over, but sometimes when folk talked about hissing sid in the pub there they were actually referring to the woman in the house next door that owned the whole plot, usually the husband and son.... 

[Speleologist]

22 hours ago, Jbx5 said:

We walked down to Glassen dock when we hired  on the Lancaster canal earlier in the year. Very scenic but beware the crazy swan that nests on the tow path!

I think |I know that swan! I took a walk down the Glasson Branch when I was in the UK last month. It was an interesting time to visit due to both the lack of water in the basin and the outer sea lock being out of commission, resulting in no water in the outer harbour.

[Speleologist]

23 hours ago, Broads01 said:

Although I've been coming to the big lock-free playground we all love for most of my life, I do like locks as well and the fact that the Lancaster is lock-free puts me off strangely, so very interested to read your experience. 

The Glasson Branch does have locks, but the local hire companies don't allow you on there. One day I would like to approach Glasson Basin from the sea. it looks to be a seriously challenging exercise in getting the tides right!

[Speleologist]

21 hours ago, YnysMon said:

We aren’t ‘exclusive’. A tale from the Lancaster canal would be very welcome, thank you.

I'll see what I can do come  October.

[johnash]

On 19/07/2023 at 22:02, YnysMon said:

It’s that lovely time of year when we are lucky enough to have more holiday tales being posted. However, I’d just like to encourage new posters. It’s so lovely to hear new perspectives from people that might not have posted before. Short or long, we don’t care, we just like to hear how you enjoyed yourself (or not!).

For health/age reasons we regrettably are not renting a cruiser this time. Although we've now moved to Spain, we still love the Broads, so we've made a compromise. We're renting "Broadlands", a cottage within Herbert Woods boatyard, but located directly on the river, with its own moorings, so we're renting a day boat from them for 4 of the days that we're there (one day included in the cottage rental). Also an electric day boat from Martham Ferry B.Y. so that we can explore Hickling etc as HW don't like they're dayboats going through the bridge and up the river. 

We also plan to visit some of our favourite spots by road. We won't be going that far in the day boat, but we shall see how far we make it. 

I do a Blog when we visit the USA and, if our little trip will be of interest to others, I would be happy to include some photos and narrative of how we are getting on there. Also quite happy if this won't be of any particular interest which I'd quite understand!

Thank you all for this forum! We will by flying the NBN pennant each day (if I can find a way of fixing it- I have a post with fixings for a rail or similar - any suggestions?!) and, we would love it, if you're passing Broadlands (just downstream of the entrance to HW), if you gave us a wave, if we're there! We're staying from 16th to 23rd of September. Can't wait!
 

[YnysMon]

4 hours ago, johnash said:

if our little trip will be of interest to others, I would be happy to include some photos and narrative of how we are getting on there

Yes please! When I do non-Broads blog I usually stick it in the Members out and about section. 

[RS2021]

Glasson Basin at the turn of the century.

[AdamYorkshire]

Hi all, 

Just spent a lovely 4 nights aboard belmore with my wife and two children, 7 & 11. I first visited the broads in 2005 with my dad, it was our last trip, just me and him before he passed when I was just 16 in 2006. We were on broadland saturn back then. My son now it seems enjoyed this trip just as much as I did then. Apart from that, it was Robins YouTube videos which inspired my revisit and in particular the boat, belmore from barnes. 

After leaving it rather late to find a mooring on our 1st night, after stupidly leaving ranworth island quite late on, mainly through excitement of being back on a boat and wanting to 'play about', we headed to St bennets. Alas it was rammed. Running out of options and by now, 1930hrs we decided to spend our 1st night about mueweighting on south Walsham. What a amazing and peaceful night it was to settle in, that was until 3am when I was awoken by my wife, who claimed to have seen a UFO through the uncovered front windows. I dismissed this quickly, as knowing my wife, Im aware her imagination is vivid and corrupt. 

Waking early we headed upto the ant and ludham bridge. Heart was in mouth, maybe overly concerned but we squeezed with just a cigarette paper to spare. Thankfully it was quite early and nobody was awake to see the close shave. The ant was beautiful, the sun shined and it was a great start to the day. Made more so after our stop at toadhole and howhill where in the gardens we saw a huge grass snake, 2 feet in length layed upon lily pads, which then slithered under the water gracefully. After speaking to the Gardner my son was double pleased as he said in all his years there, he's only seen one. After a further cruise and visit to Stalham we found a wild mooring. Perfect and peaceful until the 1st mate (son) stood in human excrement left behind by some scumbag. None the less we had a lovely and memorabke evening, having a drink, bbq and fishing on the ant. 

Early start following day and awoke to rain and the windows misted up terribly. Advice on helping this appreciated. I had to make a move because I wanted to get to ludham at its lowest point, probably panicking a little too much. I wish I hadn't because I regret not spending more time on the ant. We made it through with about a inch clearance. Belmore is a high air draft. Headed up the thurne to lathams and the rain cleared and it became lovely and sunny. After pottering about and stopping over at the bridge inn at Acle, which the kids loved... Amusements and arcade etc we headed back north and moored opposite the ferry inn. A pleasant evening fishing with my family until a elderly couple arrived down the track, armed with a modified rake and rope. After chatting, they said they had drove from Norwich to try and retrieve the end of a fishing pole he had lost a few days prior. Something I question, because on asking he said it was 3 quid from a car boot. They stayed for 3 hours, splashing and asking us to move our boat in order to search beneath. I complied but after a while became annoyed and hinted at them as it was ruining a pleasant evening. I suspect something else was the treasure. 

Final full day we visited a variety of broads and villages. Climbed the church at ranworth which we loved, until the bell rang whilst my wife was in the bell tower section. Thankfully it was a brief relief from her nags about the ladder and steps, and how her thighs were bruised from climbing on and off the high freeboard of belmore. The final mooring, despite being sad about leaving the next morning was the best. Mudweighting on a deserted hoveton little broad, or black horse. I wanted to find and see this place after one of Robins videos. The sun setting, all alone, and sat watching it with my arm around son and daughter is a memory I shant forget and vow to replicate again. 

Planning to holiday again next year and just trying to book at the minute. Howether it will just be my son and I on this occasion. We're on a budget and found a decent boat with Richardson that would suit, but not allowed to as a sole parent with them. Thankfully after speaking to barnes brinkcraft they can accomadate. It's just a decision of belmore tc or brinks omega with a slightly lower airdraft. If Robin reads this I'd appreciate your thoughts on the two, knowing you've had both. 

Image below is a cozy shot I love, from when we were wild moored on the ant. 

Adam

 

[SwanR]

Lovely to read your write up. Thank you for sharing it. Four nights always goes so quickly with so many places to visit and to moor. Great that you’ll be back.