As mentioned in other articles there is a world of difference between the Northern and Southern Broads. The Northern Broads run from Great Yarmouth to Wroxham with off-shoots going to to Hickling Broad and another going to Stalham via Barton Broad. They are vastly more popular than the Southern Broads, and have considerably more facilities for boaters and tourists. The majority of the boats for hire are to be found on the Northern Broads, and recently 2 more boat yards have opened at Horning.
I will start my recollections of the Broads at Great Yarmouth as it is at the quiet end of the Northern Broads, that is if you can call Great Yarmouth quiet? Broads wise Great Yarmouth is quiet, there is mooring there for about 100 boats plus a few little boat yards , none of which hire out boats of any sort. If you moor up there overnight it will cost you £10, and from where you moor up it is a good mile walk to any decent shops etc. Yes there is water and pump out facilities available at the moorings but not a lot else. So of course this puts most off from staying there any length of time. Great Yarmouth I found is usually used as a stopping off point between Northern and Southern Waters, as in which ever direction you go it will take you at least an 1 1/2 hours at 6 MPH to get to the next stopping point, depending on the tide and time of day.
As you go along the river North the first place where you can stop is an old refurbished windmill approximately half way to Acle Bridge. Here you will find water facilities cheap mooring £3.50p a shop well stocked, a cafe with excellent food and small area full of animals to amuse the kids. I usually spend a night here on my way south and upon my return. The food in the cafe is to die for, best bangers I have ever had, and a nice bit of fishing by the overflow, I thoroughly recommend this place to all.
Just a stone's throw further on about 1/2 hour in your boat is the best pub on the broads in my opinion. There were 2 that I would recommend this is one and the other at Horning has been shut down recently, I will tell you about that later on. Coming back to this pub, the reasons that I would suggest its a good stopping place is ;
The best food on the Broads, set or a la carte. The beer is always in good condition They have draft Bitburger They have a Pool table Good mooring right outside It is set in a beautiful village with village store and candle factory
If you cant get moored outside the local farmer has provided about another 12 mooring spaces and you can double moor there and it is only £3.50p. The atmosphere is always good, the locals are very welcoming and pleasent, and again there is reasonable fishing.
After leaving what I consider to be the best pub on the Broads the next stop Acle Bridge has to be the worst pub in my opinion, this of course is a shame as the other facilities here are very good. The pub has slowly got worse over the years that I have been coming here, it actually was the best, then they started cutting corners with the food. The so called hot meals weren't, the meat was from packets very thin slices nearly see through, just thrown on the plate and the other contents just frozen then micro waved YUK! The prices are the highest on the Broads. On the other side of the bridge opposite side there is a general store, which carries enough for most boaters to top up with, and fishing supplies. Again directly opposite there are 2 boat yards with all facilities that you might require, and there is mooring on both sides for about 50 boats, fees are £3.50p but rarely collected.
Moving along it is quite a reasonable way before the next official stop and before you get there you have a choice to make as after 3/4hours cruising weather to carry on to Potter Higham or turn left towards Horning. I will refer to Potter Higham later, and we will turn left and carry on towards Horning.
The next major stop is at an old Abbey monument, well actually just past it there is room for about 20 boats, and is one of the best fishing spots on the Northern Broads, used by the Local fishing club. There are no facilities here, just peace and quiet. Opposite the moorings is an offshoot of the river leading down to a small broad. (worth a look but no moorings and no facilities it is all residential). 100 yds. past the moorings you have another major split and the beginning of the River Ant going to Stalham, again I will come back to this, and we will continue on to Horning.
About 1/4 mile before Horning there is another off shoot leading to another small broad, this one though has mooring and facilities. A yacht club that you can use a boat yard where you can hire day craft, a wild life sanctuary on it's own private broad, and reasonable amounts of fishing.
As you reach the outskirts of Horning there are 3 mooring spots for any one to use if they would like to go to church. (the only one on the broads with boat mooring.
Horning itself has change considerably over the last few years, in my opinion for the worst. The best pub come entertainment area was situated here until it was bought out by the boat yard and is now being converted into a marina and housing. This of course means that there is now no suitable eatery's to stop at between Horning and Wroxham unless you fancy a long trek into the centre of Horning. There are now two major boat yards opened in this area and to be fair I would say that the best hire boats are available from these yards, but of course they are in the majority new boats. As there is still a lot of building going on here one assumes that the owners have replacement facilities in mind, but at this time facilities are very limited and it does effect the fishing.
From Horning to Wroxham the scenery is lovely but there is only 1 mooring area a small lagoon half way, it does have mooring for about 50 boats £5 a night and a nice park area for nice country walks but that is all, except that each afternoon an ice-cream boat comes along.
Wroxham is I would say the most if not the best town on the broads. there is 6 or so boat yards with all types of boat for hire from cruisers to Yachts to day craft. The only problem is finding some where to moor up as there is a jungle of small off shoots with a different boat yard up each. Though when you have overcome that problem, it is well worth the walk round the town especially Roy's for bargain's, getting supplies, or just sight seeing. To go past Wroxham requires the aid of a pilot to get under the low bridge there, and to be honest there is nothing worth going to further along. The river gets very narrow with no turning spots for quite a distance.
Going back to the 2 other major rivers first to Potter Higham. As you motor along this stretch at no more than 3MPH (bad risk of flooding houses if you go faster), you come to the lowest bridge on the broad.It can only be accessed at low tide and then with the aid of a Pilot, once through you can slowly carry on to Hickling Broad. All facilities can be found here including a boat yard for the hire of cruisers. Be warned though the broad has lots of weed banks that will quickly foul your propeller, but is very good for fishing with most species present. The other serious warning for this area is that if the rainfall is heavy you will not be able to get any cruisers under the bridge.
The other major area is the River Ant, as you enter it it looks a very narrow river, but appearances can be deceptive, it is actually quite a major river with good areas, and the first that you come to is Loddon Bridge. Good mooring for about 30 boats a repair yard with all facilities and a general store. One hundred yards up the road good toilet and wash facilities, and another one hundred yards an excellent pub with a high quality restaurant. All in all a good break point on the journey along the Ant.
Further along app. 1/2hour there is a free parking area, where there is a wild life sanctuary, and room for about 12 boats this the only official stopping area before Irksted. I mention this because on this next stretch in my opinion, is the most prolific fishing on the broads( if you are a noddy basher) and sometimes the best. At Irksted there is only 2 mooring places so those that know about the fishing create and moor where they can, usually tied to a tree or with there mud anchor down. It is rare to be able to moor at Irksted for a couple of reasons and that being, Directly behind the mooring is a lovely old church that is worth a look round and a small gift shop. The main reason being for those in the know that it is the best spot on the Broads for Tench 10lbs + as well as all the small fry.
about a 1/4mile on you arrive at Barton Broad a beautiful place but quite shallow, stay within the markers or else you easily ground your craft. Be careful in the summer as school trips are very common on this broad and it is a main centre for sailing clubs. There is 3 exits of this broad one to Barton Turf a nice little village, I can't say I have ever been down there so I can't say much about it. The second leads to the Barton boat yard and this is private. That leaves the third exit which is the one to use which takes you on to Stalham. It is a very picturesque route with woods and lily-pads on both sides, and as I said earlier good Tench fishing. As you proceed there is a turning to the Left 100 yards up this turning is a very beautiful Windmill with a lovely garden surrounding it well worth a look, but there is no point going on up this river as it gets quite narrow and 1/2 mile on the bridge is to low for boats to go under, so back to the main route.
As you approach Stalham the river splits into 3, the first split to the right takes you to Stalham Green, again some mooring, good fishing most types but not much else. At the next division the river splits into the 2 boat yards, on the left Moonfleet, mainly private mooring, but they do have 4 cruisers for hire and day craft, and all the facilities of a big yard. To the right takes you to Richardson's the biggest Boat yard on the broads they have upwards of 200 craft for hire, of all shapes and sizes as well as varying quality, prices vary from £300 to £2000 per week app. The yard also boasts of the most mooring anywhere on the broads, which is easily assessable during Tues to Fri. As the largest yard their facilities are excellent they even have a burger van on site. As a last note on this area just down the road from either of the yards mentioned there is a Tesco supermarket, which is very useful when starting a cruise as you can collect your food and bits and not have to transport them a long distance with you.
As stated earlier this is recollection's from my mind, so there may be some minor errors in the way I remember things, but i do mean minor.
Paul S Record
Cheaper Toothbrush Ultrasound Steinway Upright Piano Prices Right Now
