Day 131 - May 11th

After spending yesterday by the sea, today we headed inland to the Broads.

Our first port of call was Wroxham Barns where we had a mooch around the shopping village and a cake/scone and drink in the café.

We then drove into Wroxham where we had booked a two hour river cruise.

We arrived a little early, so enjoyed an ice-cream sitting by the water side. As well as ducks and swans to watch, we were surrounded by a lot of very hungry pigeons.

At 2 o'clock we boarded the Queen of the Broads.

We have been on river trips with Broads Tours before but today was the first time for Mum & Dad.

The Queen of the Broads was originally launched in 1977 as a single decker boat but she was extended in 2002 and a top deck added. We had hoped to sit on the top deck which was open sided but as we were some of the last to board we had to sit on the lower deck. In hindsight though, we all agreed the lower deck was the better option as we all sat together and the seating was more comfortable with a table between us and a bar on the lower deck from which we were able to buy drinks.

We travelled along the River Bure to Wroxham Broad, Salhouse Broad and Horning Reach. We passed lots of fabulous water side properties including the former home of George Formby.

The captain of the boat, Ollie gave a running commentary during the trip and as well as pointing out interesting properties he told us about the history of the Broads, pointed out wildlife and told us about various boats we passed.

The 'Norfolk wherry' is an historic sailing boat, unique to Norfolk. These boats served as both working boats and pleasure craft. While eventually becoming uneconomical, a small number were saved by private individuals and charities. Today, only eight wherrys, dating from the late 1800s to early 1900s, still exist. We were fortunate to see three of them sailing on the Broads today.

We also saw other boats including several boats from the local sailing club, mid race.

We also spotted a huge number of herons.

Didler's Mill, also known as Dydall's Mill was a former drainage windmill designed to pump water from the marshy land into the river, helping to control water levels. In the late 1920s it was converted to residential use.

All too soon our boat trip ended and we headed back to the house and later paid a visit to the village pub for dinner.