Our summer week on Broadlander

[galleyali]

Diary of our summer week on Broadlander by GalleyAli's daughter.

 

 

Day one:

 

Had an early start and stopped off at our usual half way point - A17 McDonalds. This is when we know we are on our way to our favourite place... The Norfolk Broads. Arrived at Stalham with plenty of time to stock up at the butchers and Tesco. When we first saw Broadlander it was mixed reactions but mostly positive. She had just been out on a photo shoot with James Bond and Angelina Jolie although I thought my mum and dad looked more like them than they did!   Had a slight delay due to the roof not sliding back but the staff were excellent and fixed it and we were off by 2:30pm. We soon figured out that the best place to be for the sun was in the front well. we headed to Thurne for the evening and had steak on the boat. The reactions from walkers passing were great and we were even compared to a limousine. We got cabined in for the night and had a great first night sleep.

 

[loribear]

hi galley ali, lovely tale so far, looking forwadds to hearing about the rest of your hols, lori

[trambo]

Hi. Keep it coming. Stunning boat and a great fit out.

 

Fred.

[galleyali]

Day two:

 

Woke up to glorious sunshine again especially in the well. we were planning on crossing Breydon today but the crossing wasn't until 2 or 3 so there wasn't a rush to get off that early. We left Thurne at about 10.30 and dad did a perfect reverse down the narrow dyke although we did get called a cheat for using the hair dryers (also known as bow thrusters.  ) we headed down the Stracey Arms ready for a break and a visit to the donkeys. Breydon wasn't too choppy when we crossed even though we were 2 hours early. My sister took us across and did it well even though we were shook badly by a speed boat who decided to speed up just to see the effect on us as he passed. But thankfully we were ok and were on our way to the River Waveney Centre. When we got to the destination after 4 hours of cruising from Yarmouth and moored on the bank with the campers on, we figured out the bank had a lip which didn't end well on the Carousel last April when we woke in the night to find the boat platform stuck due to the tide rising. So the marina man spotted a place between two private boats on the other side where we slipped in. (one similar to Broads Ambition from the same yard which we were told is 50 year old and another lovely steel boat.) We were disappointed to find the shop shut therefore we had to get chips to take out from the pub to go with Stalhams butchers burgers which mum cooked on the boat.

 

[trambo]

I like the coiled ropes, nice and neat.

 

Fred

[Hockham Admiral]

That's a super pic of the galley onboard! Really spacious and lots of light coming in!

Please keep it coming!     :clap  

[galleyali]

Day three

 

We are finding that the nights are just right temperatures especially compared to April when we usually go. We were expecting rain today but it seemed to arrive in the night instead. This morning was quite layed back with Lucy and Ethan gone for a swim at 9 and mum cooking tomorrow nights curry ready to rest for a day followed by a cooked breakfast which went down well. Feedback from the pool was that it was dirty and very expensive and the changing room showers weren't very nice either. However my mum, dad and I showered in the campsite facilities and found them modern and clean after the cleaners had been that morning. After a look around the shop and a chill out we left Waveney at 12.30 and slowly made our way to somewhere near Bramerton - where, we didn't know yet. After the long trip up to Brundell, where we spotted a lot of nice private boats in Brooms especially Arabella (shown in picture below), we moored up at Bramerton Woodsend and had an amazing meal at The Waters edge. The haddock and chips were very good but filling! Mum and Lucy had the sea bass and dad had the pork belly. Its amazing the change from the pub before! Weather wasn't good that night with thunder and lightening above the boat. Off to sleep ready for day four.

 

[Hockham Admiral]

What a lovely blog, Ali. You make it all sound so interesting.

Was the food very expensive? We've not had a meal there yet.

[ranworthbreeze]

Hello Ali,

That is a good photo of Arabella no doubt being filling up with fuel at Brooms fuel station.

I am glad I am not paying for that, those twin engines will just eat fuel.

The Waters Edge is a great improvement on what it was, the pub was quite busy when we went there earlier in the year.

John I think it was about £75 for four of us and that included drinks.

Enjoy the rest of your holiday.

Regards

Alan

[galleyali]

The blog is down to my 14 year old daughter who wrote it daily on her kindle. It was a fantastic week and its nice to remember it through her words on this blog. The Waters Edge was in my opinion an excellent choice for our evening meal that night. Obviously it has undergone a recent refit, In particular we loved the new decking and outside furniture (see picture). We had a super meal cost for 5 was about £80. Well worth a visit!

 

[Hockham Admiral]

Thanks, Ali and Alan. We'll give it a try when we return.

[galleyali]

Fourth day:

 

Our fourth day arrived with the plan of heading back across Breydon. Again the crossing wasn't until later on around 5pm and we planned to go across around 2:30. We left Bramerton around 10.00 and headed for Breydon with a stop at Reedham. When we got there the man on the bank helped us with the ropes and told me how to tie round posts correctly. When dinner arrived my dad and I headed up to Reedham chip shop only to find it shut and a sign on the door saying only open Thursday, Friday and Saturday, resulting in us leaving Reedham earlier than expected. Despite crossing quite early, we were soon over to the northern broads. Just after Great Yarmouth we passed an orange Richardson's gem boat that had beached, however from looking at it we saw that it wasn't even that close to the bank. We later wondered what had happened to that boat. We knew we would struggle to get moored somewhere with it being quite late and as we thought Stokesby and Acle were full up - even the 24 hour moorings along the river were full! Despite the time getting even later, we carried on with our evening cruise and ended up dropping anchor in Ranworth. So that day we went from Bramerton to Ranworth with a 30 minute stop! That night we ate the curry mum had made previously and had a game of monopoly.

[ranworthbreeze]

Hello Ali,

The river just above Yarmouth is very shallow on the tapering sides at low water, there are warnings regarding these banks, it is advisable to try and stay in the middle of the river when ever possible until well out of Yarmouth.

Most boats yards will state there is no mooring between The Stracey Mill and the Yarmouth Yacht Station and this is endorsed by the Broads Authority.

Regards

Alan

[Hockham Admiral]

Hi, Ali's daughter! (May we know your name, please?).

 

You're obviously going to be a writer when you finish with education!      

[Matt]

Day three

Feedback from the pool was that it was dirty and very expensive and the changing room showers weren't very nice]

We use the pool a fair bit. I don't find it expensive as our children are not old enough to coat anything yet though! I do agree about the cleanliness and not much thought appeared to go in the design of the changing rooms. We now prefer to go back and shower on the boat. The toilet and shower block however are probably the best on the broads.

[galleyali]

Hi my name is Maisie and I'm 14. I've been coming on the broads ever since I was 2 and love it! I enjoy english and writing and have previously read a few holiday tales on this site with my parents so I thought I would have a go at writing one. Thank you for following my blog and for the nice comments, I will post day 5 tomorrow. Matt, we all agree that the shower block is the best on the broads too!

[galleyali]

Day five

 

The morning began with a fire up of the engine at 8am to slip into a space on Ranworth Staithe. Mum stayed on the boat for a shower and we went for a walk up the church, followed by a trip to the nature walk which was very different to the usual April when we go. We have noticed this a lot on the broads, that there is more greenery and wildlife. Having returned to the boat we then set off for the small journey to Wroxham. Had our usual trip around Roy's and mum bought herself and new shade of nail varnish. We contemplated staying for the night at Faircraft Loynes however due to the noisy road and not nice scenery we decided to cruise off to a wild mooring  at Salhouse where we dropped mud weight. Whilst relaxing in the saloon we were alerted to the sound of loud music coming from the tree. As it got louder we realized it was 2 Wroxham tour boats full of people partying. They came into the broad and it was a great atmosphere from other surrounding boats with everyone waving and singing. By the time they left the broad, it was dark and we got cabined in for the evening.

 

[galleyali]

Day six

We had seen on our way to Salhouse that there was another nature trail opposite the entrance to the broad however there was a sign up stating that no boats can moor there over night therefore we planned to visit this morning. It didn't open until 10am so after an hour or so of waiting we went in to see what was there. It was a lot better than Ranworth nature walk and we were even told someone had spotted an otter here! Unfortunately we didnt.After returning back to the boat we untied ropes and set of for Horning at 12. The rivers were a lot busier up this end especially when we encountered a standstill. A passing boat wished us luck as we turned the bend because 50 plus sail boats were competing in the Horning Regatta. It tool some time and a lot of concentration to navigate through and we eventually did. Before mooring up we stopped for a pump out at the yard next to the New Inn and found it was cheaper than brooms at 10 pound rather than 16. Meanwhile mum dad and I went up to the Swan Inn to book a table for this evening. They were very busy with lunch time people and as we left it was clear a coach had just dropped off 20 plus over 60's for a meal. Enjoy! Once completed we headed up to the Ferry Marina and got moored for Lucy Ethan and I to go for a swim. We spotted a new mould for the boat yard sitting in the water however there had been no change since we last saw it in April. Interesting to know when that will be finished. After a few hours on the boat we headed up for our meal and sat outside for it. What great food! Mum Lucy and Ethan didn't want to walk back so dad and I hopped back onboard and taxied up to the Swan Inn to collect them and off we went back to Ranworth as we began to grow to like evening cruises!

[Hockham Admiral]

Another lovely blog, Maisie, please keep 'em coming!    :clap  

[galleyali]

pictures attached

[Hockham Admiral]

pictures attached

You navigated through that???     

[ranworthbreeze]

Hello Maisie,

Those are very good pictures and well done with the blog.

The yachts are great to look at when you are moored but it can be difficult to work your passage through them.

Tan usually hands over the helm when we encounter any where they do not show any signs of what they wish you to do. It is then my problem.

How many days do you have left of your holiday?

Regards

Alan

[loribear]

oh my god galleyali ive never seen so many yachts lol, if my hubby had been driving on the river then he'd have gone into panic mode , he hates yachts, even a couple of them i think you'd have to be very very patient, if you wanted to get through that lot, which i'm not lol, i think i would ave given up & gone to the pub, great story, lori

[galleyali]

Yes when we caught sight of the regatta we quickly handed over the helm to my Husband, obviously this was a mans job !! It wasnt so bad and we were soon told by a steward in a dinghy to just stay as close to the reeds down the right hand side.  Most of the yachts managed to avoid us.  This gave us time to grab for the phones and camera and take some nice photos. 

 

The holiday ended on Saturday 10th so we are home now  , but I think my daughter still has one more day to complete the tale.  We had a superb time on Broadlander, I really loved sitting in the front well especially when it was time for a glass of vino, just watching the world go by and hearing the slosh of the water.  We are already planning our next trip for Easter 2014  !! 

 

everyone !!

 

 

 

[galleyali]

Here is the "water taxi" arriving to collect us at Horning Staithe - well my excuse was that my shoes were hurting !