Leaving Norfolk

We woke to another lovely morning and by 8am we had emptied the boat of all our stuff.

We just had to return the lifejackets and wait for the chap to come and check how much fuel we'd used - we got a refund of £62 from the £100 deposit everyone has to pay! I went off for a wander around the boatyard as Jamie had texted me the names of a few boats he was interested in hiring next year. I could only find one of them and it looked quite nice but the galley was very small. I'm sure we'll find something though and I think we'll be back in May.

After saying our goodbyes to a few friends we'd made from the Norfolk Broads Forum we headed off to Potter Heigham for breakfast. Since holidaying with the boys it has become a regular thing to end the week with breakfast at the cafe by the bridge. I bought a lovely little book about the history of the Thurne bungalows ...

Apparently the first bungalow was built about 1892 and by the early 1900's there were several houseboats and bungalows along the riverside and all used for family holidays on the Broads. After breks we took a last walk up to the 'railway bridge' and could see that America was still moored. We'll never know if they managed to get her through for the hire booking tomorrow.

So it was back to the RV and the start of the trek to Hampshire, passing over Wroxham bridge for the last time ...

Potter Heigham to Stalham

What a beautiful morning!

The bridge looks fantastic and the sun is just coming up from behind the boatsheds ...


This is the hire yacht America and apparently she is stuck above the bridge. The Pilot who took us through on Tuesday told us it was most embarrassing as they'd got her upstream but couldn't get her back! She's due out on hire on Saturday so they'll be calling in lots of people to sit on her and weigh her down in the hopes that she'll pass under on the next low tide.

The first boat came through and it was oh so close!

The yacht that came through with us is also returning today ...

Hamish is patiently waiting for our turn ...

and then we're through and moored waiting to fill up with water ...

Once filled we said goodbye to Potter Heigham ...

and made our way back down the River Thurne passing chalets of all shapes and sizes ...


We passed a cute little narrow boat called James ...

and then caught up with the yacht we've been seeing quite regularly ...

At least the river wasn't filled with racing yachts today as we passed Thurne Dyke ...

A lovely little dyke with a windmill ...

and a swan flying ahead of us ...

The cows were by the river as we approached St Benet's Abbey ...

We moored here for coffee ...

and who should come along but a chap who'd been on holiday in Portreath during the summer and had stayed in the holiday let right behind us! He's a volunteer for the Broads Authority and we had a good old chinwag about Cornwall and Norfolk. It was such a lovely day that there were several yachts on the water ...



We left the mooring with everything lowered on the boat ready for Ludham Bridge and in no time at all were motoring up the River Ant past all the work that's going on ...


Then the bridge was ahead of us ...

and we were under it and away ...

As it was lovely weather there was no rush to get the windscreen back up so we kept moving until we reached How Hill where we moored for lunch. Hamish was settled ...

and the windmill was looking as good as ever ...

After a sandwich we took Hamish for a walk up to How Hill house and gardens which were looking particularly good today ...


We're just over there on the river ...

Unfortunately Toad Hole Cottage was closed today so we just walked out onto the riverside ...

and made our way back to the boat ...

We moved on upriver ...

into Irstead ...

and then onto Barton Broad ...

We took the route to Barton Turf where Crocus came from ...

and then headed back out to the main river ...

I was watching the undergrowth at the side of the river because on our trip down I'd seen two kingfishers. Suddenly one appeared and I took this photo. He's in the square. Can you see him?

Sadly we were now back at Richardsons yard ...

and found a mooring on Kingfisher Quay ...

Mike got the RV out of store and we began to sort out and pack our stuff. We treated ourselves to a meal at The Swan in Stalham as it was dog-friendly and so now we have one more night onboard and then we're off to Hampshire tomorrow.

Horsey to Potter Heigham

We were awake early again after a night when we'd had some rain and I found my book floating in a pool of water on the shelf beside me! Luckily it wasn't a library book and my phone and watch were elsewhere. We set off at 8.45am heading back down Meadow Dyke and turning right at the end of it.


This took us to Hickling Broad ...


and after passing an anchored yacht which reminded us of home ...

we moored up on the end of the dyke by the Pleasure Boat Inn ...

Behind us we had some houseboats on one side ...

and the Sailing Club on the other ...

with a little sandy beach between us and the Club which was full of geese ...

Naturally the bread came out and I had to feed them ...

As the morning progressed the weather improved and what better setting to have a snooze ...


It was then time to take Hamish for a walk and we passed these lovely cottages in very traditional Norfolk flint ...

returning to the boat for bacon and eggs - yummy!

After lunch we motored off and at one stage we had the company of two black swans ...

It had been very quiet above Potter Heigham as so few boats can get under the bridge but we did see the occasional yacht ...

We were heading for a mooring at Potter again so that we'd be ready for the low tide in the morning and on the way down we saw various boats ...



a lovely wherry weather vane ...

and when we reached our mooring a little steam launch went past ...

There wasn't a lot of room under the bridge this evening but hopefully the tide would be low enough in the morning for us to get back to the other side ...

Potter Heigham to Horsey

We had an alarm set this morning just in case we overslept and missed the low tide but I needn't have worried because I was awake and up by 7.15am which was in plenty of time. Mike went to see the Pilot at 8am and he said everything was fine, we should prepare the boat and he'd take us through the bridge. So the canopy, the flag pole and the windscreen were all lowered, the Pilot came aboard and we held our breath as he took command. Pilots don't hang about! Full throttle and straight through!




He moored us up on the far side as we still hadn't breakfasted and then he took another boat through downriver ...

This was a very similar boat to ours so it was good to watch and see just how much spare room there was - not a lot!

While we sat and ate a yacht was brought through and there wasn't a lot of room for that either ...

It's always entertaining at Potter bridge! After breks we lowered the flags and windscreen again as we still had another bridge to negotiate but this was the road bridge - still called the railway bridge by locals. Many years ago there was a station at Potter Heigham but when the line was shut the railway bridge became a road bridge and this eased the pressure of traffic on the lovely old bridge.

After a brief stop to sort out the boat again we motored on up the River Thurne towards Martham Ferry passing more chalets ...

and finally reaching the ferry where there was evidence of fresh building work ...



We then approached Martham Broad which we hadn't seen since the early 1970's ...



It was quite damp by this time and so we turned around after passing a couple of yachts ...

and moored up for coffee with some sheep for company ...

Retracing our route back downriver we reached Candle Dyke and after passing the Eel Sett ...

we passed a flock of geese on Duck Broad ...

We then turned up Meadow Dyke and made for Horsey Mere where we motored over to see the moorings by the mill ...

and then moored up just outside the Mere ...

We love this spot as the sky turns fantastic colours in the evening ...




and flocks of geese pass over on their way to settle on the water for the night ...

Salhouse to Potter Heigham

We were up early again today and there was no wind which was a great shame for the Hunter yacht moored up with us. When it was time for them to leave the quant pole and manpower were required ...



Salhouse is a lovely Broad and I took Hamish for a stroll along the boardwalk which ended where there was an example of Fedging ...

I'd never heard of it before and thankfully there was an explanation of it ...

There were lots of little gaps where we could see through to the water ...



Some lovely bulrushes ...

and then we were back near the boat ...

We left quite early as we had a long day of motoring ahead of us. Wroxham was our first port of call as we needed a top-up of food from Roys. We moored in the basin in almost the same spot as last year ...

with the Broads Tours passenger trip boats moored opposite us ...

Before shopping we went round to the Hotel Wroxham which has the webcam, rang Pam and then waved to her as we chatted and she watched us enjoy our coffee. A quick shop in Roys then back to the boat and away from Wroxham ...


There is some lovely property along this stretch of the river ...


and this sign always makes us smile - click on the photo to read it ...

We had the river almost to ourselves at times with just the wildlife for company ...



Approaching Horning again ...


The wherry White Moth ...

and a lot of work going on here ...

I expect a new building will be here next time we visit. Another fabulous house ...

After passing St Benet's Abbey we saw just how much work is being done for flood defences ...


We then turned up the River Thurne only to find that the Lady Yacht Club were just about to start a race and there was mayhem!







Last year when we came there was a chalet being rebuilt ...

and this is it now ...

After a short stop in Herbert Woods for a pump-out we moved out onto the river and moored for the night. We were hoping to get under Potter Heigham bridge on the low tide in the morning so Mike rang the Pilot and he seemed quite hopeful as we only had a small boat. Fingers crossed!

South Walsham to Salhouse

What a difference a day makes! After the dark skies and wind of yesterday we woke to a lovely sunrise ...

and blue skies ...

The swans were flying ...

and the wind was much more manageable today ...

We set off from the mooring at 10am and Hamish settled down on his favourite spot ...

We looked in at Ranworth but didn't stop ...



Once back on the River Bure we were heading towards Horning being passed by the Southern Comfort ...

and seeing familiar landmarks on our way ...

As we approached Cockshoot Dyke there was plenty of space so we moored up for coffee but as it was so nice we stayed until after lunch.

The weather was fantastic! It was so hot I had to go inside to cool down! Mike was very busy boat and people watching ...



After lunch we set off again passing through Horning ...


where there was racing at the Sailing Club ...


and I spotted something for sale! Very nice but way out of our league no doubt ...

This chap was concentrating hard on a fish ...

We arrived at Wroxham Broad and dropped the mudweight just in time to watch the start of a race. The first mark was ideally situated for photos ...




After a very welcome cuppa we left the Broad and made our way back downriver to Salhouse Broad passing the ice-cream boat on the way ...

and moored up stern on ready for the night ...

We had a visit from a black swan ...

and there was a lovely full moon ...

Stalham to South Walsham

After an early night we were awake by 7.10am and following breakfast and a top-up of water, we left the Staithe and motored across Barton Broad on our way back to Stalham ...

We moored at the Staithe and walked around to the yard to hand over our keys and pick up a few extra bits from the RV for the boat. We were on the move again by 10.15am ...

heading for Ludham Bridge as we were expecting visitors! We'd received a phone call the previous evening from Jamie and Phill to say they were coming to see us and would meet us at the bridge. It was a pretty gusty day and this Hunter yacht passed us well reefed down ...

We met the boys, had a coffee and then as they wanted to shop at Lathams in Potter Heigham, we set off for St Benet's Abbey where we'd arranged to meet again for lunch. We moored up ...

and after lunch we took a trip to South Walsham with Jamie at the helm ...

When we got back to the Abbey moorings we took the dogs for a walk across the field ...

before having to say goodbye to the lads. It was very sad to see them walk off and I think they really wished they could have been on the holiday with us.

The original plan was to spend the night here but as it was blowing a gale we thought it best to tuck ourselves up at South Walsham where we'd get a bit of protection from the wind.