As the morning went on other boaters had departed and the Staithe began to empty, what is rather odd is how tidal the river Chet is, and now being high water the stern of Belmore was well above the quay making it possible to simple ‘walk off’ an almost level platform. Time for a top up of water and a walk into the village. I popped into the small store and got some bits and had a wander and wondered what a place this may have been in the late 70’s and 80’s when of course there was a lot more boatyard’s here trading - but these days it seems to be smart homes and moorings, but if you wish to begin a holiday from this quiet and beautiful location Maffets and Princess Cruisers are two very nice yards to consider. I had a late breakfast and before long it was time to plan my day – I knew I had to go over Breydon, but where should I be headed? I ‘pencilled in’ Acle and thought it would be nice if I was able to pop into the Bridge Inn – now here is an honest point for you, I am onl
The wait for the next installment is over - and day 4 is brought to a close (finally some will cry). In this episode I decide not to takje the River Yare, and instead gamble on there being enough air draft at St. Olaves for the boat - thus take the quicker route of the River Waveney. I think the journey from Breydon Water and up towards Somerleyton is not exactly what you can call pretty. The Fisherman's Inn pub for example sat at an angle at Burgh Castle would not win any award for a quant riverside pub, and just along the way Goodchild Marine again festooned with 'private' signs and commercial activities might make the average holiday maker wonder if they did the right thing leaving the pretty northern rivers behind and heading for Beccles or Oulton Broad. This section of the Waveney really is rather like the lower Bure towards Acle - wide, reed lined banks but then you approach St. Olaves and it feels a bit strange - as if a Potter Heigham 'chalet vi
Sometimes you get in a muddle with times and distances – well I do anyway. I arrived in Norwich a bit later than I had planned, spent longer looking around and shopping and got into a terrible panic that I would not be able to make it to Loddon before sunset. However it is the journey that counts and it was a truly amazing April day – deep blue skies, not a cloud in sight and lovely and warm it also happened to be one of those days where I talked – a lot. In many ways this, to me is what the Blog really is all about cruising, talking and sharing it all as if a couple of thousand people are along with me in the boat. While some might concentrate on the pretty, and make a story narrated after the event, I really like the ‘as it happens’ aspect of the Captain’s Blog and so I began to talk about boatyards having only the evening before learnt that Royalls would be shutting up in 2017. From my point of view the journey towards Reedham really went very well, to begin I had
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