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PUBLICATIONS
We are
delighted to offer you the opportunity to
download the following Introductory
Guides which we wrote especially with those
of you who are considering hiring a boat on
one of the UK, France or European waterways
in mind.
The Norfolk Broads Guide
Clive Edwards
Strictly
speaking we should say the Norfolk and
Suffolk Broads, because the southern broads
are mainly in the county of Suffolk.
Why start with the Broads anyway? Several
reasons, but mainly because for the beginner
they offer a variety of attractive rivers
and lakes (The Broads) without locks, and,
apart from Breydon Water and the confluence
of the Rivers Bure, Waveney and Yare near
Yarmouth without any strong tides or
currents. Your most challenging encounter
will be with a few rather low bridges
requiring careful passage.
The Broads are divided into the Northern
Broads (mainly in Norfolk) and the Southern
Broads which are mostly in Suffolk. The
Northern Broads are the most popular, and
the most interesting – but coming from
Norfolk I would say that!
The Broads were formed as a result of
extracting peat to fuel the fires of Norwich
during the 12th – 14th
Centuries, following which the dug out areas
flooded forming the lakes which became known
as The Broads.
They are administered by the Broads
Authority,
who are responsible for all
navigation on the Broads, including policing
the variable speed limits indicated for
motor vessels, apart from the area around
Great Yarmouth which is administered by
Great Yarmouth Port Authority. They are an
area of Special Scientific Interest and are
home to an abundance of wildlife, especially
birds, several species of which are seldom
found anywhere else in the UK.
The Broadland Conservation Centre at
Ranworth has an exhibition about the natural
history of the Broads, and is well worth a
visit.The Broads Society is a club for all
those interested in the Broads and publishes
an interesting quarterly magazine, The
Harnser (Harnser is the Norfolk name for the
Heron!)
The
Northern Broads
The
Northern Broads comprise the Rivers Bure,
Ant and Thurne and several Broads, the
largest of which is Hickling.
The
River Bure is the most northerly of the
rivers, and is the best known river in
Norfolk.
It’s navigable for over 30 miles
from Coltishall in the north to Great
Yarmouth in the south
and has
tributaries and cuttings to several
Broads. Some little way south of Coltishall
lies the town of Wroxham which, despite its
rather low bridge,
is the hire-cruiser capital of the
Broads, with shops, chandlers, pubs and
restaurants catering for most needs and
tastes. You can take a steam train ride from
here on the narrow gauge Bure Valley Railway
for nine miles to Aylsham.
The
river from Wroxham eastwards to Wroxham
Broad and Horning is picturesque and
normally very busy, and the lovely riverside
village of Horning is one of
the prettiest villages on the Broads.
It’s home to the annual Three Rivers
Sailing Race and Horning Regatta during
August.
Continuing
eastward along the River Bure from Horning
past the entrance to Ranworth Broad and
Ranworth Village you come to one of the
Bure’s
tributaries, the River Ant, a quiet
river running northward for eight miles via
Barton Broad to the head of navigation at
Wayford Bridge. Barton Broad is a nature
reserve, owned by the Norfolk Wildlife
Trust, and whereas most Broads are
approached by a cut (often known as a dyke)
turning off from the river Barton Broad sits
astride the river which runs through its
centre via a marked channel. At the northern
end of Barton Broad there is a dyke leading
to Barton Turf.
Continuing
our journey on the River Bure just east of
the entrance to the River Ant there is the
entrance from the Bure to South Walsham
Broad – East of this entrance you pass the
ruins of St Benet’s Abbey before arriving
at a fork in the river at what amounts
almost to a T junction – The River Bure is
to the right, and it’s largest tributary,
the River Thurne goes to the left.
The
Thurne is a popular river, navigable for
about 13 miles to West Somerton where you
are only a couple of miles from the coast,
and passing the beautifully restored Thurne
Dyke Windpump and Womack Water leading to
the village of Ludham, and then through the
busy little town of Potter Heigham with its
700 year-old but notoriously low road bridge
and several boat-hire bases via Heigham
Sound to Hickling Broad and Horsey Mere.
Hickling is the largest of the Broads,
occupying some 500 acres, and is used for a
variety of watersports, especially sailing
and windsurfing, but it’s shallow in many
parts and you should stick to the deep
channel marked by posts. It’s an important
wildlife centre, with nature trails open to
the public all year, and a water-trail
excursion using a replica reed carrying
boat.
Navigating
Potter Heigham is not difficult if you stick
to the rules – Firstly keep to the
starboard
(right-hand) side of the river, and
keep your speed down. Keep clear of sailing
vessels, and maintain a good look-out. Hire
craft must use the services of a Bridge
Pilot to pass under the old bridge.
Horsey
Mere, approached via the Meadow Dyke, is
particularly attractive to migrant birds and
it’s owned by the National Trust who also
own the Horsey Windpump, a tall drainage
pump restored since it was struck by
lightning during the second world war.
It’s open to the public daily from April
– September.
At
Thurne Mouth, if we continue on the River
Bure by turning south towards Acle and Great
Yarmouth rather than north onto the River
Thurne we pass the very narrow Upton Dyke
before passing under Acle Bridge and on to
Acle Marina. There’s a narrow channel here
(Acle Dyke) leading to the town, but there
are no public moorings along it, so if you
want to visit the town it’s best to moor
at the marina.
Continuing
eastward towards Great Yarmouth past
Stokesby, with its candlemakers shop, you go
past the restored Stracey Arms Windpump,
which houses a photographic exhibition of
local windpumps and which is open to the
public daily from April – September.
Eastwards
on the lower River Bure from Stracey Arms to
Great Yarmouth the river is shallow with the
main channel marked by posts, and there are
few safe places to moor up until you reach
the Port of Yarmouth Marina.
If
you decide to venture onto the southern
Broads you must first cross Breydon Water
– readers of Arthur Ransome’s Coot Club
will know that this can be tricky, as there
are strong tides and the water outside the
main marked channel is very shallow so
it’s easy to run aground!
The
technique is to stay within the channel, and
if you happen to be in a sailing boat, check
the tides to ensure that it will be running
in the right direction when you cross
Breydon. The channel is marked by red and
green posts – Going up-river from Yarmouth
you leave the red posts to port and the
green posts to starboard.
The
tidal effect on the Broads is really only
significant around Great Yarmouth from
Stracey Arms southward on the River Bure,
and on the Yare and Waveney right up to
Norwich and Beccles respectively.
Once
safely across Breydon Water you have a
choice of taking the right fork onto the
River Yare towards Norwich via Reedham and
Brundall, or left onto the River Waveney
towards Lowestoft and Oulton Broad, or to
Beccles. Either way you will encounter one
of the
swing bridges, either at Reedham on
the Yare or at Somerleyton on the Waveney
– Even most motor cruisers need to lower
their
canopies to negotiate these bridges,
and then signal 3 long blasts on their horn
to alert the keeper to open the bridge for
you – One red flag indicates when the
bridge is closed but will shortly re-open
whereas two red flags indicates that it is
out of service.
The
River Yare from Yarmouth to Norwich is still
sometimes used by large commercial vessels,
and you are required to give way to these
commercial craft at all times, even if
you’re in a sailing boat.
At
Reedham there is a passage off to your left
known as The New Cut – this 2.5 mile
man-made tidal channel connects the River
Yare to the River Waveney and by-passes
Great Yarmouth – Constructed in 1833,
originally for commercial traffic, despite
its name it’s hardly new and is nowadays
used only by pleasure boats.!
Shortly
after leaving Reedham you reach the Reedham
Chain Ferry which carries vehicles across
the river – The Reedham chain ferry is
famous as the last surviving chain ferry
carrying vehicles in Broadland,
and is the only means of vehicles
crossing the River Yare between Norwich and
Great Yarmouth.
Boat skippers should take care to
pass astern of the ferry and to avoid the
chains!
After the chain ferry you will come
to a fork , with the main river (The Yare)
off to the right and the little River Chet,
which is both narrow and shallow, as well as
being tidal, running down to Loddon to your
left.
Assuming
you stay on the Yare you will cross Hardley
Marshes and pass by Hardley Dyke before
reaching Cantley where you may encounter
large vessels manouvering especially near
the sugar refinery.Continuing towards
Norwich you’ll pass the Buckenham Arms
public house, the entrances to Rockland
Broad and Strumshaw Fen Nature Reserve
before reaching Brundall and Brundall
Marina. There are moorings here opposite the
railway station where there are train
services into the City of Norwich and to
Great Yarmouth.
From Brundall the River Yare wends
its way past another nature reserve, and
past several boatyards to its junction with
the River Wensum near Trowse Newton, after
which the Yare is not really navigable.
However it’s possible to navigate the
River Wensum past Thorpe St.Andrew and
Norwich City Football stadium at Carrow Road
and the main railway station right up to the
limit of navigation at Bishop Bridge which
is one of Norwich’s oldest. To visit the
City on foot the only moorings are at
Norwich Yacht Station at Bishop Bridge.
The
Rivers Yare and Wensum, both of which are
tidal throughout their combined 30 mile
length, were once very important commercial
waterways connecting Great Yarmouth to
Norwich, and even today coasters still use
the Yare as far as Cantley.
The
Southern Broads
The
Southern Broads are usually approached via
the River Waveney from the southern end of
Breydon Water, from where the river runs
southward through St.Olaves and Somerleyton
towards Oulton Broad and Lowestoft.
There
is a marina, boatyards, a wind-pump and the
Priory at S.Olaves, and at Somerleyton there
is a swing bridge carrying the railway
across the river. The same procedure applies
to negotiating this bridge as was described
above for the swing bridge at Reedham.
Some
way south of Somerleyton there is a fork,
with the River Waveney leading to Beccles
and Bungay to the right, and Oulton Dyke
leading to Oulton Broad to the left.
Oulton
Broad is the only one of significant size
(130 acres) in the Southern Broads, and is
very popular for a variety of watersports,
including windsurfing and power-boat racing.
There are good moorings at the Oulton
Broad Yacht Station.
Oulton Broad
has access, via Mutford Lock and Lake
Lothing to the North Sea at Loweswtoft.
Mutford Lock is in fact the limit of
navigation for hire craft, but privately
owned vessels are allowed passage but only
by prior arrangement and payment of a fee to
Waveney District Council who operate the
lock and the Carlton Railway Swing Bridge
across Lake Lothing.
If,
rather than taking the fork to Oulton Broad
one continues on the River Waveney
south-westward past the Waveney River
Centre, the river here is actually the
boundary between Norfolk and Suffolk, and
meanders through the Levels and across
Beccles Marshes before Beccles New Bridge,
Beccles Yacht Station abd Beccles Old
Bridge. It is tidal throughout and
distinctly rural.
Continuing
west along the River Waveney it’s not far
to Geldeston Lock (now disused) which now
marks the limit of navigation, although in
years gone by the Waveney was navigable, via
several locks, right up to Bungay.
The
Waterways of Brittany
Preface:
Whilst
many holidaymakers to France may have little
knowledge of French inland waterways, the
canals and rivers of France are such a
significant feature of that country that we
thought they deserve their own introductory
guides – this short guide to the rivers
and canals of Brittany
is therefore designed to wet the
appetites of walkers, cyclists, motorists
etc; and to serve as an introduction for
those considering the possibility of hiring
a boat for their holiday in France.
However
please bear in mind that this is an
introduction to the waterways of Brittany
and it’s not intended to be used as a
definitive guide for boating – For anyone
proposing to hire a boat, or take their own
boat, on the French inland waterways,
the renowned “Guides Fluvial”
pilot guides are what you need – to find
out more about these I suggest you log on to
www.boating-in-france.com
and click on the “publications” button.
Hiring
a boat on the French inland waterways is
quite easy, and there are several companies
to choose from including Nicols Boats for
whom Boating-in-France are the UK agents.
Nicols have 25 bases throughout the best of
the French inland waterways system,
including several different bases in
Brittany and on the world famous Canal du
Midi. For further details log on to www.boating-in-france.com.
Brittany’s
Waterways:
The
canals and rivers in Brittany are unique in
being isolated from the rest of the French
waterways system, but they offer some very
attractive cruising possibilities.
The
two main itineraries are the English Channel
link to the Atlantic, running from Saint
Malo to Nantes via the Canal d’Ille et
Rance, the Vilaine and Erdre rivers, and the
Nantes to Brest Canal running roughly
parallel with the southern Brittany coast
through Redon, Malestroit, Pontivy and
Carhaix.
With
the demise of commercial freight traffic
during the last century the Breton canals
have been extensively re-developed in recent
years to facilitate their use by pleasure
craft as they run through the interior of
one of France’s most popular tourist
regions, often known as the “land of
mystery and legend” and rich in tradition
and gastronomy – specialities such as
salmon from the Aulne, whitebait, shellfish,
roast lamb with beans, crepes and of
course Muscadet wines all make an important
contribution to the enjoyment of cruising on
these waterways.
The
English Channel – Atlantic link:
The journey from St Malo to the Vilaine
estuary at Redon is around 150 miles, and
involves some 64 locks. The Rance is tidal
from St Malo to Dinan, running through a
very attractive landscape until it reaches
the ramparts around the beautiful town of
Dinan – well worth a visit, and there’s
a useful harbour, and several restaurants
downstream of the bridge. Take the
opportunity to walk up the 200 or so feet
through narrow cobbled streets into the town
above with its many attractive 15th
century buildings.
The
lock at Le Chatelier near Dinan marks the
start of the Canal d’Ille et Rance,
which runs through some very
attractive countryside as it wends its way
through several villages to the Ille Valley
en-route to the regional capital of Rennes.
From
Rennes the route is via the canalised river
Vilaine through Pont Réan to Redon, running
through magnificent gorges, with castles and
old watermills. Redon itself is the
crossroads for both the Channel-Atlantic
link and the Canal de Nantes à Brest, and
accordingly it has a large harbour and many
facilities.
From
Redon to the Atlantic, via the attractive
town of La Roche Bernard, where there are
good mooring facilities, the river becomes a
tidal estuary running through fairly
unspectacular scenery.
The
Canal de Nantes à Brest:
The
Canal from Nantes to Brest was first opened
in 1838, but was split into two sections
with the construction of the Guerlédan
hydroelectric power station in 1920. The
eastern section, the Erdre river to Quihiex
Lock, and the canal itself, runs for some 60
miles, with 17 locks, from Nantes to Redon
and thence a further 70 miles from Redon to
Pontivy with 90 locks.
Pontivy
itself is a small town at the junction of
the Canal and the River Blavet, and has
useful mooring facilities.
From
Pontivy it’s then possible either to
continue north-westward towards Brest, or to
branch south-west to Lorient via the River
Blavet, a distance of some 45 miles with 28
locks.
The
Erdre river from Nantes to the Quihiex Lock
is wide, with wooded shores, and the canal
from Quihiex to Redon is also attractive,
but the section from Redon to Pontivy is
particularly beautiful, with splendid
scenery and many attractive churches and
castles. There are useful moorings at
Malestroit, with its gothic and renaissance
houses, Josselin, with its castle and
churches, and at Rohan along this section.
From
Pontivy, if you choose to go south-west on
the River Blavet to Lorient this is one of
the quietest sections of the French waterway
network, and runs through the ancient town
of Hennebont where there are moorings, and
from where the river becomes tidal down to
the naval and fishing port of Lorient.
Alternatively,
if cruising north-west from Pontivy towards
Brest, although technically this is still
the canal de Nantes a Brest, its actually
made up of two canalised rivers, the Aulne
and the Hyeres, and very beautiful it is
too.
Running
through Carhaix-Plouger which was the old capital of the region,
the salmon fishing centre of
Chateauneuf-du-Faou, there are good moorings
at the interesting town of Chateaulin –
the principal salmon fishing centre. The
section on the Aulne to Chateaulin is
particularly nice being through unspoiled
countryside which exemplifies this
“land of legends”.
Unless
you’re on a sea-going vessel here your
cruise westward must end because to reach
Brest itself you need to put to sea!.
A
fully detailed Navigation & Tourist
Guide (The Guide Fluvial Bretagne) to these
waters is available from Boating-in-France
– See www.boating-in-france.com
The
following more comprehensive publications
can be purchased direct from Boating in
France. Payment can only be accepted by
CHEQUE payable to Boating in France,
Hornbeam Cottage, School Lane, Litton
Cheney, DORCHESTER DT2 9AU, Dorset. Please
allow 14 days for delivery.
Boating
in France Introductory Guide to the French
Inland Waterways on CD @ £10.00 including
p&p.
Boating
Basics Guide to hiring and handling a boat
on French waterways on CD @ £7.50 including
p&p.
Boating
in Britain Introductory Guide to the
Waterways of the UK only on CD @ £10.00
including p&p.
Boating
in Europe Introductory Guide to the
Waterways of nine European countries
(excluding France & the UK) Available
only on CD @ £10.00 including p&p.
Waterways
Pilot Guides - see separate page
for details and prices of these specialist
navigational guides to the French Inland
Waterways.
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