Cruising ‘The Broads’

So I have just returned last week from my short break on The Norfolk Broads, it was lovely.  I have done this holiday a few times before and always enjoy it and this time was no different – we had a great time!

We traveled down to Stalham to pick up the boat, traffic was terrible so took us 4 hours instead of 3 but we got there in the end. Luckily the boat was ready for us, so we picked up our life jackets and got on board.

Connor my nephew was really looking forward to it as wanted to drive the boat and he did…

The boat was called ‘The Broadland Breeze’ and sleeps upto 6 people, as there were only 3 of us plus Patch we had plenty of room. Patch slept in with his buddy Connor – these two adore each other which is lovely to see.  We had 4 nights on the boat which went really quick but I was happy as I was on the water – not the luxury cruise I’m used to but was lovely all the same….

We have done 7 nights previously so couldn’t go as far as the South Broads so just stayed up the North Broads.  First stop was Acle – it took about 4 hours to get here – the boat can go upto 7MPH but the limit is 4MPH so quite a leisurely sail and the weather was lovely so also a bonus.  I got unpacked and settled in as Adam & Connor drove the boat.

We had done a shop at Tesco nearby so had all the essentials but decided to go to the pub in Acle called ‘The Bridge Inn’, we have eaten here before and a great little pub so well recommended if you do this type of holiday.  There is a playground & rides for the kids and an arcade to keep them amused.  We played air hockey which was fun & played in the arcade.  Patch was so good also and got lots of attention & strokes from people so he was happy.

The first morning we headed to a windmill that we have been to previously and had breakfast in the cafe (not the best I must admit) which was expensive. It is called Stacey Windpump and has a small farm with animals, a cafe & the windmill which is in working order and you can go up to the top. Great views from up here….

That’s our boat in the background!

We then headed to Wroxham as another popular place on the Broads.  We did a bit of shopping at Roy’s – there are many different shops all owned by Roy.  The boat didn’t have 240 volt sockets so couldn’t plug in the laptop to watch films so we went to charity shop and bought a few DVDs as we had a DVD player on the boat. We made dinner on the boat this night and chilled out as up early on this kind of holiday. We stayed in Wroxham for the night but was quite noisy as a busy area.

The next day we headed to Potter Heigham and stopped at Ranworth broad, this is a lovely place with a shop and pub so we stayed here for a while and had ice cream, even Patch had one….

It was busy at Potter Heigham so no-where to moor up for the night so we found a quiet spot and moored up with only a few boats which was nice & quiet.  Connor and I took Patch for a long walk and let him have a run around while Adam made dinner.

The weather was lovely up to Thursday morning where we woke up to rain unfortunately but it soon passed and by 1pm it was glorious sunshine.  We went into Potter Heigham as found somewhere to moor and went shopping in the morning then headed back to Ranworth as we liked it here.  We had lunch in the pub – Ranworth Maltsters but it wasn’t great so don’t think we’d go back there. We then sailed for hours heading back towards Stalham as had to have the boat back by 9am Friday morning.

I chilled out on the front of the boat and read my book whilst Adam & Connor drove – it was a lovely afternoon and I got quite a nice tan for a few days good weather.

Here is Captain Connor driving the boat…

We tried to moor up just outside Stalham for the last night but there was no room so we headed back to the boat yard to stay there for the night. Our little break had come to an end but we did have a lovely time. Connor really enjoyed it along with Patch.

We had dinner on the boat and chilled out watching a DVD as up early to pack and go home.

I really recommend this kind of holiday, the scenery is beautiful as you sail the Broads and people are very friendly when you pass their boats and wave to each other.

I will do 7 nights next time as 4 was just not enough.