Hickling, Stalham & Womack

It was another beautiful morning when I took Hamish for his walk by the river …

After breakfast and studying the map I decided to visit Hickling as a starting place today.  I parked in the Pleasure Boat Inn car park, bought myself a coffee and sat out in the sunshine to watch the activities on the water.  It’s pretty quiet in this neck of the woods as large cruisers can’t get above Potter Heigham but a rowing boat arrived and a couple of yachts were preparing to go for a sail. 

After coffee we walked to the Broad which looked amazing in the sunshine …

Back to the car, map checked and we were off to find the church at Hickling.  It was beautifully kept and was lovely to walk around.

I needed to go to Stalham for a quick top-up in Tesco and then I moved on to the Staithe for lunch.  The clouds were building and looked quite threatening but it was very pleasant …

On our way back to the site we pass the entrance to Womack Water.  I thought I’d have a look and was surprised at how many cars were parked - thankfully there was a space for me.  We sat and did some people-watching before going for a walk along the lane …

South Walsham to Stalham

We set off this morning in fine weather passing a mum and babes and a heron …

but it wasn’t long before the black clouds appeared …

We turned up the River Ant and after lowering the roof on the move, we shot Ludham bridge …

After a short coffee stop we continued up-river passing How Hill and while I was at the helm Phill kept the windscreen clear for me until we reached Irstead Staithe …

We had some company at the mooring …

and a beautiful traditional cruiser, which had been converted to electric, motored past …

Phill wanted to buy another painted stone so we went to the stall for him to choose one …

Smile - you’re on a camera …

After a lovely fry-up lunch we set off again in dry weather but it wasn’t long before the heavens opened and this time it was Jamie who got dressed in full wet weather gear to keep the windscreen clear …

The river splits and we took the route that would take us back to the yard at Stalham …

Taking Hamish for a walk around the yard I spotted our old boats Crown Gem 4 and Capri moored up …

As it was our final evening on board we had a last game of Rummikub, popped over to Tesco to shop and to fill the motorhome with fuel ready for the return journey.

By the River at Reedham

We wanted to go somewhere but not too far away so chose a favourite stop of ours by the river at Reedham.  Being Saturday I was a bit worried that the parking spaces would be full but we were lucky and managed to park at the swing-bridge end.  While we enjoyed a coffee the activities began on the water with a yacht mooring up …

We had a yacht – Ariel – moored in front of us and the occupants appeared, took her cover off, had lunch and then made ready to leave their mooring.  They motored away from the Staithe and then set sail and disappeared in the direction of Norwich …

In the space left vacant by Ariel we had a little family of ducks appear – so cute!

A yacht came downriver with its mast already lowered for the bridge …

A train went over the bridge …

and then the bridge was opened for some large private cruisers to go through …

Time was getting on now so after a cuppa and cake we said goodbye to the wildlife and made tracks for the campsite …

When we got back to our pitch we found that the site had filled quite dramatically and we had a lovely old-fashioned bell tent in front of us …