Weekend Trip suggestions

[smartymarty]

Hi there.

Myself and a few friends are hiring a boat in early Nov for a weekend (Fri to Sun). We're collecting the boat from Potter Heigham, and were planning on travelling down to Great Yarm to moore overnight. I have a few newbie questions id any has a spare moment...?!

Firstly, how quiet will the broads be in Nov? Will local pubs be open for mooring and food etc? Secondly, is a trip to Great Yarm in one weekend a bit optimistic? The only reason for heading to Great Yarm was because we anticipated the broads being deserted (which kinda suits us), but it'd be nice to have some sort of nightlife for one night - hence heading to Great Yarm.

Which other destinations would suit us? All we're looking for really is somewhere with a few pubs and some food. Nothing major. It'd be nice to see Great Yarm (none of us have been before), but if it's going to be too much of rush, I'm happy to knock it on the head.?

Any thoughts? And thanks in advance!

Marty.

[mbird]

Hi Marty, welcome to the forum!

Personally I'd avoid Yarmouth. It's a long trip down quite a featureless stretch of river from Acle to Yarmouth, and not that pretty when you get there! The moorings at the yacht station are not for the faint hearted (and I believe unattended out of season). There have been cases of boats being untied in the middle of the night by the local yoof too, resulting in damage to boats as they are swept along by the strong tide.

Yarmouth itself doesn't really have much nightlife out of season other than a few pubs, most of which are a fair walk from the moorings. Sorry if I'm painting a bit of a bleak picture!

If it's a night out you are after, I would have thought a better bet would have been to catch a train from Wroxham into Norwich, where there are loads of clubs and bars on offer just a short walk from the station.

Most if not all of the riverside pubs are open all year.

[Hockham Admiral]

Absolutely agree with Mark...

Grot Y will be dead in Nov, whereas Norwich is teeming with life and nightclubs all over the weekend!

[goodall_m1]

Welcome aboard Marty.

I would definitely agree with Mark's comments and not bother going all the way down to Yarmouth and back

especially on such a short trip.

Also remember that cruising time will be more limited in November, hire boats aren't allowed to move after dark,

and by November the nights will be drawing in, and sunrise will be later too.

I can't really comment about how quiet things will be in November, as I haven't tried going out that late in the year.

"Night-life" as in clubs etc is in short supply, unless you go to Norwich by road,

but if all you really want is a village with a pub in it and pub-grub then there are plenty of options in the Northern Broads.

You might find one of my holiday tales http://www.thenorfolkbroads.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=9221 would give you some ideas. Ok I had a load of kids aboard but we did cover a lot of the Northern riverside pubs in a week and manage to feed them every night...

There were still quite a few pubs that we missed on that trip, e.g. The Swan at Horning, The Ferry at Horning, The Dog at Ludham Bridge, The Fur & Feathers at Woodbastick and The Sutton Staithe Hotel are some that come to mind... Plus of course The Pleasure Boat at Hickling, but you don't have much chance of getting through Potter Bridge to get up to that anyway.

I would say work out which bits of the Broads that you want to cruise through, and then amend the plan to moor near to the local hostelries each night.

Basically you will probably want to be fairly near to Potter on the fist night

(not much time between pickup time and sunset)

Cruise somewhere for the Saturday night.

Get back to near Potter on the Sunday, so that you can get the boat back on time on Monday morning

(not much time between sunrise and handback time)

Have a good trip!

Martin

[ranworthbreeze]

Hello Marty,

Welcome to the forum.

I totally agree with all of the other posters and most people who do go into Yarmouth would moor at Acle or at the Stracey Mill and go into Yarmouth by taxi or public transport.

Your best bet for nightlife is Norwich City Centre near to the Norwich Yacht Station. Personally I would have thought a pub crawl at Horning may be better.

Regards

Alan

[smartymarty]

Thanks everybody for the ideas. I think we'll give Yarmouth a miss then, and head up north. As I said, we don't really want anything too lively, just a place to moor where there's a few decent pubs in walking distance!

Thanks again all. It's nice to come ot forum that's genuinely friendly and helpful!

[smartymarty]

Hello all.

It would appear that the group I'm travelling with want to go to Great Yarmouth as they want somewhere to walk around and visit pubs (as opposed to mooring up at a location with two pubs for example). However, I've just discovered that the Yacht Station at GY will be closed when we go (Nov 3rd). So - I need a suggestion for somewhere sailable from Potter Heigham, which allows us to get out and have a walk about. I did consider Norwich but it's a good 10 hours sail time isn't it - which is too long. We collect the boat on Fri around 2pm, and it needs to be dropped off at Potter around 4pm on the Sunday.

Does anyone have any other ideas?

thanks

Martin.

[mbird]

I'd head up to Wroxham and get the train into Norwich from there if it's a mooch about and a pub-crawl you are looking for . Get the pilot to take you through the bridge and there are ample moorings the other side, and only a couple of minutes from the station. You are spoiled for choice for pubs in Norwich as well as lots of sight-seeing and shopping!

[w44nty]

A trip into Norwich is the best option,I would not go near GY with a barge pole,its honestly a dump,plenty to do and see within a couple of mins walk from Norwich station.

Pubs galore and eating houses galore,however Prince of wales rd can be a bit busy on a fri/sat night but plenty of good fun for all.

have a great weekend if you want any places to go in Norwich PM me and I will give you my number you can then ring me for a chat about where to go etc

I am local and have lived in Norwich all my life so I could be called an expert,altough others would call me different

[smartymarty]

Ah - I didn't consider the Train option..! Thanks for that - I think that's what we'll do. I#m just looking at train times to and from Wroxham. Is it Wrohman & Hoveton station I'm looking at? The last train from Norwich to Wroxham is 11pm which suits us. However, should we miss the train - can anyone give an approx cost for a cab? Also - we have 2 members of the party who can't walk too far......although a 10 minute walk is fine, just not a few miles..!

[smartymarty]

A trip into Norwich is the best option,I would not go near GY with a barge pole,its honestly a dump,plenty to do and see within a couple of mins walk from Norwich station.

Pubs galore and eating houses galore,however Prince of wales rd can be a bit busy on a fri/sat night but plenty of good fun for all.

have a great weekend if you want any places to go in Norwich PM me and I will give you my number you can then ring me for a chat about where to go etc

I am local and have lived in Norwich all my life so I could be called an expert,altough others would call me different

Thank you very much for that! I'll take you up on the offer when I've had the idea "passed" by the others travelling with me!

Thanks again!

[mbird]

Yes, it's Wroxham & Hoveton station you are after. The only one after that is Salhouse, but it is nowhere near the broad.

From Norwich station it's only a few minutes walk to Riverside where there are a collection of chain type eateries and a couple of bars (including a Wetherspoons), as well as a bowling alley and cinema. The station is right neat the Yacht station where you would have moored if coming by boat anyway.

The walk into the city is 10 minutes up Prince of Wales Road, or you can hop on a bus right outside the station, which run every 10 mins I believe.

Not too sure about the cost of a cab. I would reckon arounds £15-20. Personally I use Canary cars who I have always found reasonable (01603 414243).

[smartymarty]

Thanks for all the help. It's much appreciated. I've just noticed that according to Herbert Woods, the boat I've booked will not pass under Wroxham. Now, does this mean it won't pass under Wroxham without the aid of a pilot, or it WON'T pass under Wroxham!?

Here's the boat...

http://www.herbertwoods.co.uk/hirecruis ... php?vid=44

Thanks in advance.

[Matt]

I imagine That will not pass under Potter Heigham bridge. However, there are plenty of boat yards before the bridge that you will be able to moor in. You could even book a mooring spot slap bang outside the hotel should you prefer.

[mbird]

Ah right, yes that would be a tight fit! As Matt has said, there are several hire yards before the bridge that you can moor in (Barnes Brinkcraft on the right and Faircraft on the left are the biggest), or the Hotel so I'm sure you'll be able to find somewhere. The station is just a 5 minute walk from the centre of Wroxham (really it's Hoveton on that side of the river!)

[smartymarty]

Ah right. The Hotel looks like a decent place to moor up overnight though, and only a short walk to the train station too!. So - (and please, bear with me here, I'm a complete newbie), I'll have no problem getting from the Herbert Woods boatyard to The Hotel?

[mbird]

Potter to Wroxham is a leisurely 3.5 - 4 hour cruise. It depends on what time yo ucan take the boat over as to whether you would be able to do it on the Friday, as it will be getting dark quite early I expect.

As there are only 1 or 2 moorings outside the hotel, it would probably be worth you giving them a ring to reserve one on 01603 782061. I'm not sure what they charge, or if you are expected to dine with them, so best check.

The boat yards previously mentioned will allow you to moor for nothing (generally speaking any hire boat can moor in any hire yard) as long as they have space, so again, try giving them a call to check.

[goodall_m1]

Ah right. The Hotel looks like a decent place to moor up overnight though, and only a short walk to the train station too!. So - (and please, bear with me here, I'm a complete newbie), I'll have no problem getting from the Herbert Woods boatyard to The Hotel?

As Mark has already said you should have no problem providing you can get the boat early enough.

Out of Herbert Woods onto the Thurne, turn right (you cant go left because of Potter Bridge any way!).

Down the Thurne to where it meets the Bure, turn right again (watch out for boats coming up the Bure!)

Go up the Bure past the mouth of the Ant, through Horning, past Wroxham Broad and you will come into Hoveton / Wroxham.

Barnes Brinkcraft yard on the right, Wroxham Bridge dead ahead and the Hotel is is on the right, between the two of them.

No bridges to worry about, only the fact hire-craft are not allowed to navigate after dark, so you need to get there before sunset.

Also remember that the Broads speed limits are very low, 3, 4 or 5 mph which is why you will need 3.5 to 4 hours to get there.