Page published 18 May 2024
Sunday 28 January - Lunch!
It's the last week in January, but compared to last week it's warm, by which I mean it's no longer freezing. Mid-week, Sunday was even forecast to be sunny so, we decide that's sufficient excuse to try another night on Singing the Blues.
It's 13:55 before we site down for a lunch of home-made tomato soup and bread rolls.
In the rush to leave home I realise I've left my tablet behind. I use it to run the software that tracks our course. It's not that I need it to record to the course to set, rather I use it to record exactly where we were at a certain point in time.
I know I could set all my cameras to record the geo-location of every image as it is taken and that would do one part of the job. Perhaps my main reason for recording our track is that it will remind me of those incidents when I didn't take a photograph. That's especially useful if, as on this occasion, I don't get round to writing the log for a number of weeks after the event, but also in cases where some incident has kept me busy and I have no photographic record.
Setting Out
By 14:30, after a bit of a struggle to get the engine started, we are ready to cast off.
Half an hour later we've reached "Little Switzerland" where the Broads Authority craft are still in place to receive dredgings from the river.
In another quarter hour we are at the upstream entrance to Belaugh Broad. The fallen tree almost totally hides the view of the gate that must once have been easy to spot. Interestingly, a solar panel is also visible.
As we approach the shallow water just above Castle Staithe we pass a pair of anglers in a dinghy. The way anglers turn out in all weathers to pursue their sport remains a wonder to me.
The signs marking Castle Staithe come into view at 15:16. The weather is doing its best for us at this point.
As we make the reach where Belaugh church is dead head we find the the intriguing live-aboard that we saw last week is moored ahead.
Before this craft's rebuild with a completely new superstructure it looked like any other summer hire craft. Now, with a stove for heating far few windows it looks as well insulated as the typical narrowboat.
It strange how slightly different views of the same scene can look so different. This is the tree I thought was almost blocking the river when we were last out. From this angle and with this degree of zoom, it seems a little more likely.
It's 15:31 and we take the decision to swing left and keep to the main river as we reach the upstream entrance to Bridge Broad.
Arrival at Wroxham
As we make the turn by the upstream end of the Hoveton Viaduct Moorings we see they are almost empty.
On arriving at Wroxham we proceed beyond the viaduct as we were considering mooring downstream where there is shore power available. However, we decided we preferred the quietness of the area above the viaduct.
You can see that the track is not always 100% accurate. We certainly did not cruise over the bank as we arrived the moorings, nor did we crash the southerly pillar supporting the bridge as we returned upstream.
This was the first time I had got a shot from the river of the structure under the viaduct that I call the "bus shelter". I take more photos from the footpath in the morning.
After mooring, I take a photo looking upstream. Our position is below the point where the footpath joins the moorings, so no early morning dog walkers or others will need to pass by our position.
Our Evening in Wroxham
It was fully dark by the time we made our way to The Kings Head to have our meal. Today had been the first day Diana had been without a head covering following her chemotherapy. We were to learn that the pub was to close that night for a major refurbishment and wouldn't be open again till Easter.
Our main courses.
Our Desserts.
On returning to the boat Diana began to read and I spent time on a game I had bought in the 1980s but never explored properly and never played with others. It's called Tantrix. Like dominoes, it involves placing tiles next to each other, but with this game the object is to form the longest line of your colour or, even better, a loop. All this with the proviso that where any edges touch the colours must match.
There are solo versions too and I was playing one of them. Every tile is numbered and numbered in a different colour. Starting with three tiles, I had to make a loop. Simple enough! There's only one solution. You then add another tile and must form a four tile loop. As continue to add tiles the colour of the loop may change. You start with just three colours but, by the time you get to fourteen tiles, a fourth colour is added. As you see I got as far as making an 18 tile loop before I finished for the night.
The First Puzzle.
As far as I got.
Monday 29 January - Walking Into Wroxham
By the time we had woken, got dressed, had breakfast and discussed plans for the day, it wasn't until 10:00 that we left Singing the Blues on her overnight mooring and began the walk into Wroxham.
It's a short walk from the mooring before you turn onto a boardwalk that takes you under the railway viaduct.
You eventually reach the structure I call the "Bus Shelter" under the bridge.
Looking up you see what I assume is a wlkway for engineers above. But why do pedestrians below need protection? My theory used to be to protect people from what comes out of train toilets, but I'm told that modern trains, like, boats, have holding tanks these days.
Before making for the shops we detoured to the Bridge to check the height gauge. There's a bit of a gap before this picture. If you want to follow the route we took, then take a look at the report of a previous Trip to Wroxham. The river is a couple of inches lower this time, but still not at a point I'd feel safe attempting passage under it.
Return to Coltishall
We spend a couple of hours in Hoveton, visiting just about every department of Roy's, not just the main store, but the supermarket, cafeteria, DIY, store and toy shop. Then begin the return to the boat.
There's a slight cheat in the photo shown earlier purporting to be our approach to the viaduct. In fact, it was taken from this point at 12:03, on the return journey. First I took the shot of the viaduct then spun around to take this view of our route forward towards the mooring.
By 12:22 we had stowed the shopping and cast off. We had taken a little time to look at the Weston 670 that had been moored ahead of us overnight. Diana had claimed to have seen strange blue lights coming from it. Sure enough, on inspection, there was a a string of LED lights mounted in the cabin window. You can also see the Weston had moored at the end of the path leading from the boardwalk that takes you into Hoveton.
On leaving our overnight mooring, we swing into Bridge Broad. I wanted to take a photo of the bay we had moored in Last Week to show it without ice!
Four minutes after casting off we are through the broad and on the Bure again, with its increased speed limit.
By 12:37 we are on the reach from which, in the right conditions, you can see both Belaugh and Wroxham churches, but here I was more interested in the way the light colour of the reed stands out. I hope I can remember to take a similar view in the summer, to see the loss of contrast between the reed and the leaves on the trees.
After passing Castle Staithe, at 12:43, we motor past the area of shallow water, permanently marked with red buoys. You might not realise how shallow the area is until you notice that some of the birds are standing! In the background is the substantial house called "Bureside", not be confused with the even larger thatched property of the same name between Horning and Ranworth Dyke.
Moments later we pass the upstream entrance to Belaugh Broad. I reckon this to be the best shot I have of the dyke.
By 12:59 we approach the work boats at Little Switzerland...
... and passing them, I get what may be the best shot yet of the pipe through which all the dredgings are pumped to the bunded area created to hold them until they dry out in a year's time. The dried material will then be used as fertiliser by local farmers.
A Stop at Belaugh
If you are having difficulty reading this notice, zoom in or open the image in a new window.
Instead of a dash for home, as it's only 14:12 when we arrive at the staithe, we decide that we have time to take a stroll around Belaugh. If you've read previous reports you'll know I always seem to be taking photos of the village from the river and we felt it was time to explore the village more closely.
For example, on our Anniversary Cruise I photographed a couple of the notices on the staithe. On 1 October last year, I photographed a house that Diana likes, one of the first you encounter when travelling downstream. I've also mentioned a barn conversion that is on the market that includes a mooring. And on almost every trip there are new boats of interest moored at the village boatyard. We also agree that the church might be worth exploring. After all there aren't too many anywhere in the country, let alone the Broads, that come with free 24 hour moorings. said that we still opt to moor at the village staithe.
These days, Belaugh lacks any kind of shop and most would consider it no more than a hamlet. First we make our way to the barn that's on the market. Diana has always felt it was too small for us, but when we get there we both realise there's considerably more expense than we had imagined needed to put the place in good order. Nevertheless we do walk on to get an idea of how easy it would have been to access the mooring that was included. From there we moved on to the church. By the time we got there we found the interior a little dark for any good photos.
The notice in the church porch suggests it's no longer used for services, certainly, not on a regular basis, but funds are needed to maintain the building.
Those who think Norfolk is flat should visit the church at Belaugh.
Another photo that shows that there are hills in Norfolk!
On our way back to the boat we stop off at the boatyard to seek advice about better sealing our windows.
Finally, at 15:17, we return to the boat to complete our journey home.
Continuing to Coltishall
The work boats seem to be slowly working their way slowly upstream.
By 15:33 Anchor moorings are in sight.
It's 16:06 by the time we've packed up everything on board and are ready to leave. I take a final photo of our boat, astern of Blue Tit, a MkII Hampton Safari and the only one built by Hampton's for a private buyer. He just happened to be the Mayor of Norwich at the time.
In April it's time for our Granddaughter's Second Trip aboard Singing the Blues.