Four Hours on the Water

It was sunny at 6am this morning! A very hot day and we were going to spend most of it on the water. We set off in plenty of time as the boat was booked for 11am at Wroxham and parked up to give Hamish a short walk before checking in at Fineway. We were given life jackets then climbed aboard and were instructed on the workings of the boat. It was now time to leave the yard and make our way to the River Bure.

We headed for the bridge as we planned to go to Coltishall and find the head of navigation. What a lovely stretch of water.

It is many years since we have ventured above Wroxham and we’d forgotten how pretty it is.

We went through Belaugh and saw the Death and Glory which was used for the television film of Coot Club …

There was also this really pretty boathouse and weeping willow …

The boatyard had told us that it took 1¼ hours to reach Coltishall and they were spot on! We went on past the Rising Sun until we reached the dividing of the ways and headed for Coltishall Lock …

It was then time to turn around and return to the free moorings at Coltishall where we stopped for lunch.

We were visited by a swan who fancied our food but wasn’t too keen on Hamish
After lunch we cast off and made our way back down river where I had a chance to try out the steering wheel …

Once back to Wroxham we went under the bridge ...

and as we had a few extra minutes went on down river a short distance to see the Wherry Ardea. Our four hours were up though, so it was back to the boatyard and time to hand her back to the owners. A fabulous time and well worth the £40 it cost.

Once back in the RV we decided to try again at Horning and this time we were lucky. We parked in the car park near The Swan and made a cuppa.

It was still very hot but we sat under the shade of a large tree and watched the river traffic and the families of geese and ducks. We then went for a stroll through the village and called in at Norfolk Broads Yachting Company whose webcam we look at every day when at home. Jenny was brilliant and showed us where all the cameras were which means we can now visualize everything when we look at their site. Walking back along the Staithe …

and it was ice-cream time on our way to the RV. We finished the day with a visit to Tesco and then back on site Hamish sat on guard duty while we cooled down in the shade.