Spring Week On White Heron

[SwanR]

Where are we up to ... ah yes, Wednesday night had been Bramerton ... and for Thursday we had decided to head back to Reedham. Something about the place had really grabbed us and we fancied a second night there. Setting off about 8.15am we were nicely timed for getting a pumpout at Brooms on the way, and filled the water while we were there too. 

Had to turn to moor against the outgoing tide at Reedham. I took two attempts at mooring as the ranger was helping someone else who arrived just before us, and I needed to get the stern in for hubby to get off. That's the one thing that was very different. On a forward steer boat he usually takes both ropes and can step off at the bow. With this style of boat that's not possible. But I have to say, there are good rails to hold onto all round and a wide freeboard plus a centre cleat which was useful on occasion for a spring line.

Once moored I realised that we were in exactly the same spot on the quay as we had been the previous Saturday. With the sun out we spent some time sat on the back before venturing off to find lunch. We went into the Lord Nelson but ... it was very dark inside, there were no other customers there at all ... and we actually turned round and walked back out. Chose to sit outside the post office tea room instead, where we had lovely sandwiches with crips and salad. Very fresh, and very well presented. That's a definite one to go back to on our list.

After tea we decided on a walk around the village, found the railway station out of curiosity, and just generally mooched about a bit. A quiet evening, a quiet night ... our last on the boat as it turned out.

[SwanR]

And the obligatory photos from the day :)

 

[kpnut]

It must be nice finding places you like while on holiday and knowing it’s only a few minutes in the car if you just want to go again from home on a free day. 

[SwanR]

That’s very true Kate. 👍

[Gracie]

Sad sight seeing Sanderson's so run down. It was never the poshest of places but when we've hired from them years ago, they were always friendly and helpful. Their boats not the poshest either although never disappointed and you felt you were on a proper Broads boat

Thank you for the pics and write up Jean

Grace x

[SwanR]

It was a bit sad Grace. But there was someone making and selling pizzas from an area of the yard. Didn’t get any details. 

[SwanR]

So here we are on the final day of this tale. Friday dawned grey and wet as had been forecast. The river was choppy and so different to the calm waters of the day before. 

We had been debating what to do, with the plan being to go back to Rockland Short Dyke, moor up there for a while and then decide whether to spend the last night there or go back to the yard. I quite like being in the yard on the last night if we're out for a week. As the person at the helm who's got to find a mooring it just makes it a relaxing Friday evening for me. And we can get sorted and load the car. Each to their own but it works for us.

However ... the rain was pretty well set for the day. We saw quite a few boats head off when there was a break in the weather about 10ish ... looked as if they were northern hire craft so probably heading for Breydon with the way the tide times were set. We opted for cake and coffee back in the post office tea room, a little treat before we departed about 11.30. We had by now decided that we would simply head back to Brooms. We didn't want to get there too soon on a changeover day but thought by 2.30ish we would be fine. As we live not too far away there just seemed no point sitting in the rain on a boat when we could be getting home and getting sorted out. 

I took a slower cruise along the Yare. It didn't stop raining all the way. But it was pleasant enough with the river mostly to ourselves. My last mooring was my best one of the week. :) Successfully moored on Broom's facilities point the young man who had done our handover appeared straight away to reverse the boat down their dyke. White Heron has a stern on mooring at the end with your own car park space right behind it. We packed up, loaded up, tidied the boat a little, and then had a lovely chat with the staff before we headed for home.

Two photos for you this time - Thursday night to Friday morning ... you can see how different the weather was.

 

[SwanR]

White Heron Boat Review

To round things up here's my thoughts on the boat ...

A really comfortable all seasons boat for two people. 

We used the bed under the bow which gave us a few laughs getting in and out with hubby being tall, but the mattress was comfortable, it was quiet, and we slept really well. We liked the bedding they used which I think was these duvets you can get now where you wash the whole thing. So you didn't feel as if you were sleeping with a duvet that hundreds of people before you had used.

Far less draughty than a forward steer cruiser. There is a door at the side by the helm but that's the only place where you can feel a chill if it's really windy and you're sat next to it. The heating was very good, very responsive and effective. Kept us plenty warm enough when we needed it at the start and end of the week.

Given the tidal range of the southern rivers we found that the height difference between the bathing platform at the back and the freeboard, which we could easily climb on and off, gave us good options for getting on and off the boat at all the moorings. Nice long ropes also gave us plenty of options to use spring lines at the bow and the stern which worked well. There is also a centre cleat should you want it. The freeboard is quite wide, and there are good rails all round for when you need to walk about. The only drawback as already mentioned was the heavy mudweight. 

The covers on the back make that a really useful extra seating space, even if the weather is a little cool or breezy. You can even have the heating on out there. Hubby soon got the knack of getting the covers rolled up or zipped on and off depending how we wanted them day to day. There is also an electric sunroof which is another great option in fine weather especially while cruising. Plus one of the interior seats turns round so you can both be sitting comfortably with a great view forward while going along.

The boat was sooooooooo easy to helm. There's bow and stern thrusters on White Heron 1. And an indicator for the position of the rudder which was very useful. But minimal steering was needed. It started first time every time, no issues with the batteries at all, no need to take the throttle out of gear and apply revs to get it going. Just a dream to handle.

The interesting thing is that when we started the week we were thinking this might be our last boating holiday. We've done the northern rivers a lot, but our first holiday back in 2012 was on the south and it felt right to be coming back. However ... we absolutely loved this boat, and we really enjoyed being out on the southern side. The likelihood is that we're done with the north, for now anyway. But we really fancy another week on White Heron, maybe next year.

[SwanR]

As ever there is a holiday video available should you wish to take a look. I was at the helm most of the time so not much footage at all while going along the rivers, it's almost entirely taken when moored up. But as I hadn't done a holiday video on the south, other than a photo compilation some years ago, I hope it will still be of interest.

 

[Broads01]

Thanks for sharing your tale and the boat review, Jean. Glad you still want to come back.

How did you find the canopies around the stern area? Were they easy to use and did they provide good shelter from the wind? Also, how was the fit out in terms of quality of the upholstery and fixtures and fittings?

[SwanR]

2 hours ago, Broads01 said:

How did you find the canopies around the stern area? Were they easy to use and did they provide good shelter from the wind?

Yes, very good. We just needed to decide whether to unzip and remove some of the panels, or roll them up, or remove them completely, or open just some of them. There were a number of different ways you could do things. And we also worked out which way gave us best access for side on mooring, especially when hubby needed to get ashore quickly with the ropes. They did provide good shelter from the wind which meant we could sit out there even if it was breezy. Plus there are bi-fold doors across the back which I guess you could open fully more often by keeping the canopy on. Really so many ways to organise things.

I don't know whether this photo demonstrates it better than I can explain it. And you can see the little gate at the back as well.

 

[SwanR]

3 hours ago, Broads01 said:

how was the fit out in terms of quality of the upholstery and fixtures and fittings?

Very good, very comfortable. The helm seat was adjustable. I think we moved the seat forward a bit but I have short legs and had taken a little foot stall which was great for resting my feet on when sat there. The mattress was firm but really comfortable, for me anyway. There's lots of storage places, they've been well thought out. Only a small fridge with a freezer compartment but adequate for us. The oven is small with a grill inside but that was really slow for making toast in the morning. There is a microwave as well but we didn't use it.

There's a smart tv and wi-fi, although the internet connection was on and off all week as one might expect on the Broads anyway. There's a radio and a bluetooth speaker for playing your own music.

There's a lot of wood interior which the chap said contributes to it being a warm boat when you have the heating on, it retains it better. Curtains, cushions, but we didn't bother to put any of the blinds up around the living area. The table can be moved around and has two drop down ends so you could make it bigger if you wanted to. Only other comment I would make is that the interior perhaps isn't as plush as some of the photos of ex-private boats like Arabella that have appeared, but I've not been on any of those.

Decent shower cubicle in the small bathroom. Oh ... and a very good electric flush toilet. These things are important. :) And there's gauges for fuel, water, and your waste tank. So it's easy to keep track of how things are going.

Towels, tea towels, washing up liquid, some tea and coffee, a bottle of wine, thing to wipe the windows down (although there is a blower and windcreen wipers) and a torch all provided. The website does describe White Heron as being from 2022 onwards so probably a little newer than the Captains. 

Here's some interior photos I took just as we were leaving, but if there's anything I've missed just ask.

 

 

[Bikertov]

Lovely video Jean,  and a gorgeous boat - my dream boat to own, even though I know it is a compromise for the Broads but I love that style of boat

[YnysMon]

That was a lovely video Jean, and it’s very good news that you were so impressed that you are thinking of taking another southern jaunt.

I was slightly surprised that you weren’t keen on Loddon, but it just shows that we all have our own preferences. It’s not my favourite mooring either, but often find that it’s handy to have somewhere to moor that has a good range of shops and pubs/cafes. I must admit it’s not the destination that I love, it’s the journey up and down the Chet. 

One thing that caught my eye…what a good idea to have a black ‘dashboard’. I haven’t seen that on a boat before and it makes so much sense given the amount of reflection that a white dash causes on the windscreen.

Thanks for sharing the tale. It’s whetting my appetite for our next trip.

[SwanR]

1 minute ago, YnysMon said:

what a good idea to have a black ‘dashboard’. I haven’t seen that on a boat before and it makes so much sense given the amount of reflection that a white dash causes on the windscreen.

Yes, that's one thing I forgot to mention. So often on other boats we've had to place dark clothing or towels or something on that space to stop the white reflected glare in the windscreen. 

Loddon is a good place for services, but I didn't enjoy the Chet that much. There are a number of places where the reeds are growing quite far out into the river. I wouldn't be sure that I should navigate over or through them if I happened to meet a boat at those points, so I think it could be tricky. Given that we wouldn't have wanted to overnight there anymore, it just felt like a long cruise each way for very little reward. I was surprised to find that you have to pay to get into the electronic locks on the public toilets. I'm not sure what that says about the way the place has changed. When time is limited there are other places that would be my personal choice next time around.

[Broads01]

Thanks for all the detail and photos, Jean. It does look like a lovely boat.

[kpnut]

1 hour ago, YnysMon said:

One thing that caught my eye…what a good idea to have a black ‘dashboard’. I haven’t seen that on a boat before and it makes so much sense given the amount of reflection that a white dash causes on the windscreen.

You have Helen, but it won’t have registered with you at the time.
My dashboard is black. It does show up the dust!