Page published 24 September 2025
Monday 25 August 2025 - Exodus from Barton Broad
Here we continue the story of our August Bank Holiday cruise. Read the Earlier Report that shows the mass of craft of all kinds that were on Barton Broad for the annual regatta.
After the hire boat's departure from its mooring we settled down to a quiet afternoon, having a doze, catching up on reading, responding to emails and posting messages on our family WhatsApp Groups. I'm not sure at what point we realised it, but we became aware that the nature of the traffic on the river was changing. Clusters of small craft were appearing.
This was the first of the photos I took, at 16:08, of a group of small boats making their way down river. One dinghy has an outboard with a "White Boat", a classic Norfolk Broads design, breasted up and towing a further pair of boats, one of which appears to be a Norfolk Punt while the other has its own launching trolley perched on top.
Next are a pair of shots taken within a minute of each other at 16:52. While a yacht from Hunter's fleet makes its way up river a traditional Broads yacht approaches us with a Yeoman dinghy, or is it a Kinsman, the variant with a lifting keel, breasted up.
It's a few seconds later and now you can see there's another yacht coming down river, followed by a cruiser, while half hidden by the yacht in the foreground is another cruiser going upstream.
Now we see the first of set of three pictures taken over a four minute period at around 17:05.
There are two yachts about to raise their sails. The outer one is soon to be hit.
The two yachts, full of teenagers have now managed to hoist their sails and are about to depart up river.
Our meal was rushed so I only photographed our drinks.
Perhaps I should say a little more about this sequence of three pictures. The first is one of a pair taken no more than a minute apart, just before 17:05. You see another of what I recall being a "Cresta" class yacht coming up river and about to pass under Ludham Bridge.
In the second the "Cresta" is through the bridge. A half decker, towed by a cruiser, almost certainly returning from the regatta, times its passage of the bridge carefully. The plainly inexperienced skipper of the following hire cruiser, is far too close behind for good control should the boat in front slow. I see it pass within a foot of the yachts just ahead. Inevitably, as a left turn is made to line up with the bridge, the stern of the cruiser swings to the right thumping hard against the yacht with the youth group aboard. No one on board passes so much as a glance over their shoulder. It seems none are even aware of the collision.
The third picture was taken a couple of minutes later. The crews aboard the two yachts have now managed to hoist their sails, and are about to depart up river. Those who don't understand sailing may wonder why, if they have just passed under the bridge, they are facing towards it down river. That's because the need to be head to wind as they raise their sails. They then flap uselessly as they are hoisted and the yachts remain under full control on their moorings.
What the final picture of the three also illustrates is that it was not the wind that was Stopping The Cruiser leave its mooring that was discussed at the end of the first part of this report. Clearly, it was not powerful enough to overcome the effect of the downstream current.
The plan had always been to be back at Wayford early on Tuesday morning. Unlike previous cruises, we were not expecting to stay at Ludham Bridge overnight. Instead we were to have a meal early at the pub and then make our way back to Barton and stop overnight on the Broad on our mud weight. As a result we were in the pub before 17:45.
Our Return to Barton Broad
We had cast off and had been under way for only a couple of minutes when I took this photo at 19:14.
By 19:40 we were approaching Turf Fen Mill and the How Hill Moorings.
I managed to capture How Hill in the last of the evening sunlight.
At the northern end of the How Hill moorings we encountered more of the yachts of the Hunter's fleet. The pair we saw hoisting sails at Ludham Bridge would have been amongst them.
It's impossible to make out any detail in the surroundings but at the time this was taken, at 19:57, we ere just short of Irstead.
Overnight on Barton Broad
By 20:15 we have just got onto Barton Broad. The forecast suggested that any breeze overnight would be coming from the south, so we made a right turn immediately after the green navigation post by the entrance to the Broad and dropped our mudweight there.
We spent the next couple of hours playing Qwirkle. Diana won both games so, naturally, I blamed it all on the luck of the draw!
Tuesday 26 August 2025 - Our Return to Wayford
07:15 represents an early rise for us. that's when I took my first picture of the day, the same scene as last night's. It's an incredible difference to crowds we had seen yesterday.
Twelve minutes later we were motoring past the pontoons of the Norfolk Punt Club. There were still a couple of boats there.
Having crossed the Broad we proceeded up river and reached the junction of the main channel to Stalham and the lesser one to Wayford.
We, of course, were heading for Wayford, but it was not entirely surprising to see the Stalham channel completely empty of boats.
It was just after 08:03 when we reached Long Dyke and I take an almost identical view to that Taken in June.
For some reason it was only on this trip I noticed that we have an old wherry moored in Long Dyke. I really must spend a little time identifying it next time we're on our boat.
It's the first time I've taken it from the water, but our mooring is on the left, just beyond the day boat.
Coming Soon — We're up to date with Singing the Blues.