"Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. Simply messing."
Ratty in Wind in the Willows.
Probably the most perfect way to travel the broads is on one of the luxury wherries you can hire for your party. This is a tradition going back to Victorian times, when the broads were beginning to be used for the new leisure pursuit of boating.
The very first wherres used for this purpose were converted from the vessels that used to carry goods all over the broads. Originally, made redundant by the very railway that brought the new breed of tourist, they were quickly adapted to the needs of their new human cargo.
The broads boat builders were quick to see a new market and the building of "pleasure wherries" was started. These were built from the keel up to be luxury yachts for the use of their wealthy owners or only the most well-heeled tourist.
In those days a party could charter a pleasure wherry, complete with skipper and steward, for around £8 a week! Often these luxury adventure cruises would last for several weeks, whilst the party made their leisurely progress through the whole network of rivers and broads.
One such pleasure wherry is the 59 foot (18.15 metre) long White Moth. She is the pride of the fleet of 21 yachts offered by hire by the Norfolk Broads Yacht Company, in Horning. If you are a competent sailor, you can hire one of their 20 bermuda rigged yachts. However, in an echo of an earlier age, the gaff rigged White Moth comes complete with its own skipper, central heating, two shower cabins and an opulently furnished dining room. However hire charges are now a little more than £8 a week!
The same company are currently hard at work restoring another wherry, Ardea, which is the very last of the pleasure wherries ever built. Work started in the autumn of 2005 and despite now being river worthy again, work on restoring the luxurious interior will take at least until the end of 2007.
If you are unable to hire a wherry and lack the skill to sail your own yacht, fear not: you can hire a cabin cruiser for a week - or take advantage of one of the famous "day boats".
As the name implies, these can be hired by the day, half a day - or even an hour and can accommodate up to ten people. Depending on the time of year, the charge varies from around £12 to £14 an hour and from around £67 to £90 for a full eight hour day (exact prices depend on which yard you hire them from). Don't misjudge how much slower progress on the water can be, particularly when the rivers meander rather than taking a direct route. So forget how quickly you can get around the area in your car and allow plenty of time for your voyage. This is particularly so because there are strict speed limits to be observed, to minimise the wash from your boat damaging the soft peat banks.
For a longer holiday afloat you can hire a luxury cabin cruiser by the week. The cruisers suitable for a holiday afloat come in an excellent range of sizes to suit everyone. The larger ones have more than one bathroom, equipped with showers - and some even have baths. For example a cruiser suitable for two people would cost about £400 a week in the low season up to £600 at the height of the summer.
Larger vessels with every luxury and accommodating up to 12 people cost from around £1,000 a week up to £1,800, depending on the time of year.
Whilst these boats are powered by diesel engines, there are now increasing numbers of electrically powered boats which are less polluting. As the Broads National Park is given over the conservation and care for the environment, the numbers of these are bound to grow.
Whatever method you choose to get on the water, you're bound to enjoy "messing about in boats".
Arriving at Horning Staithe
Copyright 2006 Norfolk Broads Explorer
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The Wherry - Workhorse Of The Broads