Push the boat out for a holiday like this
SARAH PROBERT takes a family break cruising along the Norfolk Broads
IKNOW nothing about boating. I can’t tie fancy knots and I am not that comfortable in water.
But the idea of living on a boat, albeit just for a long weekend, felt like an exciting family adventure.
The Norfolk Broads seemed like a safe place to test out our total lack of boating skills.
There would be no locks; the river would be so wide it would be impossible to crash into anything; the idea of mooring up at a few pubs for the evening and watching the sun go down sounded pretty good.
Our lack of knowledge didn’t seem to throw the staff at Norfolk Yacht Agency either, who helped us every step of the way to ensure we would have a great weekend.
Our vessel was Cover Girl, a rather grand looking cruiser which is part of Hoseasons’ Starboard collection – the luxury end of boat rentals. It was certainly plush with two double rooms, both with televisions, and each with their own en suite with shower, flush toilet and sink.
The kitchen was wide enough to have a separate dining table and was equipped with dishwasher, microwave, full-sized oven and four-ring hob, fridge and freezer.
It even had a Yorkshire pudding tray helpfully listed in the inventory – just in case you suddenly had the urge to rustle up a roast dinner.
There’s running water, which they advise you top up daily from blue hoses at certain mooring sites – the yard supplies a map with them marked on it.
On top deck there was plenty of seating for an evening meal complete with a beer fridge and space for a disposable BBQ. To be honest, it felt more like a floating hotel, very roomy for a family of four.
The welcome pack of milk, champagne, cake, biscuits and crisps, along with the toiletries in the bathroom, was a nice touch. What better way to start the holiday than watching fishermen from the top deck of a boat with a glass of fizz in your hand.
The NYA staff took us out of their marina at Brundall onto the River Yare on the Southern Broads for a short lesson in how to manoeuvre the boat.
They even offered to book us a table at numerous pubs along with mooring spots – it’s definitely worth taking up as there’s nothing worse than turning up to the pub only to find all the mooring spots are taken.
After a thorough safety briefing and a pretty substantial information manual we were entrusted with the keys and allowed to set off along this tranquil waterway – the biggest of the Broads rivers – towards Norwich.
What was immediately apparent is how beautiful this place is. There were vistas of big open skies, fields as far as the eye could see and reedbeds teaming with wildlife either side of the river.
Ten minutes into our journey, we were already spotting kingfishers, great crested grebes, a bittern, herons, geese and ducks.
We moored up for the night at Water’s Edge pub at Woods End, an ideal first night spot serving decent food and beer.
We sat outside watching an early evening water skier zooming up and down the river as cows munched on lush grass in the fields and fish bobbed up to the surface to feed.
It was a perfect setting to watch the sun go down before retiring to the boat for a few games of cards.
The following morning we ate breakfast on our top deck while watching the local rowing club zoom past, practising their strokes. We couldn’t have felt more relaxed.
We then headed back down the River Yare towards the pretty market town of Beccles. At the leisurely pace of four miles an hour you can’t travel too quickly, so the journey took much of the day.
But that’s the beauty of cruising along the Broads. The pace of everyday life is drastically slowed down, along with the blood pressure, giving you an overwhelming sense of calm.
It’s very rural here – there are a few pubs dotted along the river, where they allow you to moor up if you are buying a meal. Other than that there are free mooring spots with nothing else around other than acres and acres of fields.
It’s worth taking provisions to make your own meals.
We shared the river with cormorants, black headed gulls, buzzards and kestrels. There are also otters here – known to come out in the evening and play with the boat’s fenders – but we didn’t get to see any during our short time here.
To get to Beccles we had to negotiate two major rail bridges – a little nerve-wracking given you have to read the depth gauge on the side of the river to work out whether your boat will fit underneath.
At 10ft tall, we were a little large so we had to ring the bridge operator and request the bridge be opened. It was daunting the first time and a strong current pushed the boat around at times, but once past the bridges the river becomes calm again.
What’s so remarkable about the Broads is how very different it is to any other part of the UK. If you’re looking for one of the most tranquil places in this country, in which to feel totally relaxed, you couldn’t find a better place.