The last post?

This could be the end - no more photos at the moment, although I may be able to add more later.

We enjoyed our day very much in spite of the rain.  We had an excellent second breakfast at St. Olaves and it started to rain just as we left and were on the move.

The tide was going out and the tidal current and headwind combined meant we needed a lot of power to make headway towards Norwich.

We finally made it to Rockland St. Mary for our second visit as the rain finally eased off and we have had only showers since. Andrew managed to walk Harris for what was the last bit of our journey as we dropped him off along the nearby dyke while we continued along to moor.

After our meal shortly we'll be moving towards the boatyard via the Ferry inn at Surlingham to see what that might be like for another day and then back via Surlingham Broad (where we once dropped anchor on a sunny day and enjoyed lunch on board) before mooring up for the night.  While there this evening we'll move some of our things back into the cars and start to clean up the boat ready for the handover tomorrow at 8.30am.

Then it'll be a case of back on the road for home ....

Friday

We were in a quandary this morning as the weather forecast wasn’t good for the middle of the day with persistent rain due.

In the end we decided to set off for St. Olaves where the Bell Inn has a good write up on TripAdvisor and is reputed to be the oldest inn on the Broads.

We arrived just before 11am and were able to order breakfast which finished at 11.  We also had some wifi there but only for 30 minutes at a time unless you can offer a second email address and postcode so that yu can get in again!

‘Breakfast’ – our second one of the day – was great and very reasonably priced and we decided we would cruise back through the rain to stop by at Rockland St Mary for a second and last time.  The second test against New Zealand hadn’t started at Headingley due to rain so we weren’t missing anything!

Thursday (cont)

We had a great time at the White Horse Inn just a couple of hundred yards up the road in Chedgrave.  Soon after we docked in Loddon, the landlady came by the boats with flyers advertising the pub – but we had already decided to go in any case.   The food was lovely and there was a range of Cornish real ales which they were still selling after the end of their beer festival over the Bank Holiday weekend.  The service was excellent and they even gave us a mini questionnaire at the end to see how we felt about the place.

Loddon/Chedgrave

White Horse Inn at Chedgrave

Thursday

We were off at 8am moving towards Great Yarmouth and on our way back to the Southern Broads.  We were ahead of time to be right with the tide, so we stopped off at Acle Bridge for a pit stop for Harris and a fill up with water.  Then we were off again and, still ahead of time, decided to stop off again at the Ferry Inn at Stokesby where there was a small village shop and a play area for Harris.

Finally we set off for the big one and passed through Great Yarmouth and on to Breydon Water without incident – but it was very windy!  Now on the southern side we headed past Reedham once again and on towards our overnight stop at Loddon at the head of the River Chet.  We were anxious to get in and, as soon as we turned off the main river we found ourselves being followed by another boat.  The channel is so narrow that it was unlikely he would be able to overtake us and pinch the last mooring.  In the event there were at least two spaces left so nobody was unhappy!

Loddon is just about the most heavenly mooring spot on the Broads.  It is very pretty and has been developed quite a bit more since we were lat here all those years ago.  There’s now a car park next to the staithe but, much better than that, there’s a water supply and electricity to hook up to.  Payment is required but prepayment cards are available at the Premier shop opposite (open 6am to 9pm).  There are also public conveniences adjoining the staithe and the shop keeper at the Premier food store said that a shower block is due to be added!  And to top it all, there’s an excellent pub up the road according to TripAdvisor and the menu is varied and very well priced plus Rosy Lee’s cafe opposite does full English breakfasts from 7.30am.  The forecast for tomorrow morning is for rain for much of the day so we may stay put and enjoy the locality!!

Great Yarmouth

The famous Berney Arms - but no tenant yet again

The Mill by the Berney Arms

Reedham Railway Swing Bridge - some strong tidal currents here

Reedham

Ferry Inn at Reedham Ferry

Life jackets on as we crossed Breydon Water

Wednesday

We were away by 7am with Harris already walked and moved back down the River Ant and back on to the Bure.  We filled up with water and had our midweek pump out at Ludham Bridge before moving on to Horning and Wroxham.  We managed to get a mooring in Wroxham by calling on the reciprocal agreement whereby any Blakes or Hoseasons boat can moor up at another Blakes or Hoseasons  boatyard free of charge.  Most of us enjoyed an hour in the town including a visit to the renowned Roy’s of Wroxham, reputedly the ‘largest village shop in the world’ and including its own McDonalds outlet.

We were reminded that Horning and Wroxham are definitely the ‘Riviera of the Broads’ places with some truly beautiful riverside residences (only a very small selection of them are on the blog – far too many to edit and post!).  There was also a number of large Mississippi riverboats running up and down the river with day trippers aboard as well as an endless number of day boats and even one beautifully restored traditional Norfolk wherry on the move.

 We had lunch on the move and then attempted to moor at Ranworth on Malthouse Broad, an attractive spot with an on site pub.  After hovering around for about 30 minutes looking for somewhere to moor, we gave up and decided we had to look at Plan B – to stop at neighbouring South Walsham Broad.  There are two free staithes there.  The first one was full and we sensed a lot of boats coming the other way, making us wonder if the second one was full as well.

We moved on to find it had a single space left and we were in.  The village is 25 minutes walk away, so Andrew, Chris and I set off with Harris to see if it was worth going there later.  We found the first pub which was closed between 3pm and 5pm, so our plan for a swift half there at that time was thwarted!

We returned to the boat to see how well Elizabeth, Catherine and Sarah were getting on with their jigsaw, only for them to tell us that our boat had been hit 3 times by the same boat as it attempted to move out from the berth next to us.  After the third collision, they raced off shouting a brief “Sorry” as they went.  Sarah was able to get a photo of the offending boat so that we can report it to our boatyard later, although we couldn’t see any significant damage.

Our meal was a split event with the young ‘uns going to a former pub and now a Chinese/Thai restaurant while the more mature members of our party went to the only surviving pub in the village.  Both parties very much enjoyed what they had at their respective eateries.

River Ant

Approaching Horning/Wroxham

An old joke!

Ice cream man

Swan Inn at Horning

Iconic Broads Inn, but reviews not good!

South Walsham

One man and his dog at South Walsham