Wild Mooring South?

[Broads01]

I've heard it said, can't remember by whom, that wild mooring on the southern Broads is a no no, carrying a risk of grounding/sinking/whatever. I know that wild mooring opportunities on the south are few and far between but where they do exist, have I heard correctly? What degree of risk do they actually carry?

[Wussername]

South is the utopia of the Broads. Unbelievable views to be seen on the upper reaches of the Waveny. Norwich, the Wensum.  But you have to make an effort. You will be well rewarded.

Cruise the Yare. Enter the city of Norwich by the river Wensum. Look to the East towardsthe hills of Mousehole, the scene of Ketts Rebellion. 

The Bridge, Brishops Bridge. The scene of deaths and carnage.

And of course  Lollards Pitt. 

Lollards Pit, located just outside the old city boundary of the English city of Norwich, was the place where Lollards, and later a number of Marian martyrs, were burned at the stake for heresy. The condemned would be led across Bishop Bridge—and thus outside of the old city walls—to be. Executed.

Carry forward , past the green fields of the Norwich City Grammer School. You will pass a Swan pit. For the table of the Bishop of Norwich. 

And then, other delights, of the wonderful city of Norwich.

You will find yourself so close to the city of Norwich, its cathedral and castle, wonderful boutique restaurants and wine bars. . 

[MargeandParge]

If you get over the gore of the last post Beccles and beyond are nice there are a few places,  above The Waveny center and around all three broads. As our knowledgeable member Vaughan might tell you that between Thorpe and Norwich is OK too. Personally I wouldn't be happy below Reedham or St Olives. 

Kindest Regards Marge and Parge 

[Broads01]

I should have pointed out for those that don't know me, I've cruised the south extensively over the years so I know it well, it's just the wild mooring option I'm wondering about. I've always avoided it so far but I'm wondering whether I need to continue to do so or not? Realistically I'm talking about the upper areas of the Yare and Waveney plus the Chet.

[kpnut]

Once when in a bathtub hire boat, I found a wild mooring past Bramerton on the way to Norwich, not as far as the flyover. On the opposite bank to Bramerton and if I remember right there was an old building and a track nearby. 
But at low tide we ended up more of less on the bottom. It would be ok there though if not right up to the bank like I was to get the dogs off. 
I know I’ve marked a few possible spots on my map on the boat, but can’t remember the locations off the top of my head. 
I’m sure others have mentioned before about a wild mooring spot above Beccles old bridge. 

[NeilB]

There's a stretch of bank about 15 mins past the Waveney River Centre on the starboard bank which is safe.  There's also a couple above Beccles bridge, not sure about the Yare though.

[YnysMon]

We’ve stayed on the mooring that Neil mentions two or three times. It used to be distinguishable by the ‘Easter Island’ carved wood head on the bank. There were originally two, but both had disappeared by the time we last passed the location. 

Further up the Waveney there are two wild moorings that seem fairly popular in the summer which are between Somerlayton and Oulton Dyke…they are nearer to Oulton Dyke and I’ve heard they can be a bit shallow at times. Both are on the port bank if you are travelling upriver. 

There are also a couple of wild mooring spots on the upper Waveney, if you can get under Beccles Old Bridge. There’s a spot before Geldeston where there’s a proper quay heading and a load of substantial tree stumps that looks like a great wild mooring, though we haven’t tried it yet, and there’s Geldeston Dyke, where we have moored several times.

Options on the Yare are more limited, though I have seen boats on a couple of occasions moored on a stretch with quay heading upstream of Langley Dyke. The stretch immediately past Langley Dyke, backed by woodland, is marked as private, but there’s a section further on which doesn’t have no mooring signs.

[Smoggy]

Best bet on yare is a mudweight on bargate, I wouldn't try and wild moor much below that myself.

There's good proper ba moorings to be had at burgh castle or hardly cross if you want quiet, or herringfleet, dutch tea garden.

[Mouldy]

I wouldn’t wild moor on The Yare.  As for The Chet, it’s too bloody narrow for most of its length and getting narrower as time passes.  I’ve certainly noticed a difference over the past six years.  In some places now, I doubt two craft could safely pass, the channel has become so narrow.  We usually moor at Pyes Mill.  We tried Chedgrave Common once, but a group of teenagers arrived with a picnic (largely alcoholic) and started having a party, accompanied by some loud music, so being grumpy old farts, we moved on!

Personally, the traffic is so light on the southern rivers now that none of the BA moorings get really busy for the majority of the time, with one or two notable exceptions, those being Reedham and Bramerton when the Brundall Navy set sail.

[vanessan]

37 minutes ago, Mouldy said:

We tried Chedgrave Common once, but a group of teenagers arrived with a picnic (largely alcoholic) and started having a party,

A common occurrence at Chedgrave during the summer unfortunately. The same thing happens at the Dutch Tea Gardens in Oulton Dyke, particularly at weekends. The BA hasn’t helped by installing a nice bench for them to sit on. 

The difficulty with wild mooring comes if you have a dog or dogs. Many of the nicest wild spots have very little access to land. 
 

 

42 minutes ago, Mouldy said:

Personally, the traffic is so light on the southern rivers now that none of the BA moorings get really busy for the majority of the time,

I think that sums it up nicely. 

[grendel]

there used to be a nice wild mooring just water rail sized on the chet, right on a wide bend, sadly it hasnt been kept clear, theres some nice quay heading at the entrance to rockland dyke (furthest from brundall), but it needs some of the vegetation clearing. I am sure there are more spots you could wild moor, but I have yet to try them. plenty of spots above beccles on the waveney, some dont really have good access to land.

[Broads01]

I agree that BA moorings south tend to be quiet so wild mooring is less attractive from that perspective.

[YnysMon]

To be honest, I’ve been rather concerned about how quiet it’s been down south this year. Granted, we don't cruise down south as much as we did when we were based in Brundall, but during the summer it seemed a lot quieter than previous years. 

[Mouldy]

4 hours ago, YnysMon said:

To be honest, I’ve been rather concerned about how quiet it’s been down south this year. Granted, we don't cruise down south as much as we did when we were based in Brundall, but during the summer it seemed a lot quieter than previous years. 

The Broads in general were much quieter than previous years last year.  But the loss of the Siverline fleet obviously impacted river traffic down south, especially with tales of dire consequences of crossing Breydon that seem to proliferate on social media.

I also believe that our views had been skewed by the inflated visitor numbers following the pandemic, combined with the effects of the ongoing financial situation, which did make last year look particularly bereft.