Winter Boat Hire on the Norfolk Broads

Why would anybody want to have a Norfolk boating holiday in winter? 

It’s a curious question and not unlike others, such as, why do some people like Marmite or why is it always only the Toffee Coins left in a box of Quality Street.

Not everybody is the same. As I write this, Storm Ciara is battering my home on one of the few hills on the Norfolk Broads and being three storeys up also makes me very happy for our central heating. I toyed with the idea of doing a video blog earlier. I thought about going down by the river with the camera but I just couldn’t muster the enthusiasm to get dressed up in warm clothes, lace up the walking boots and drag my sorry backside out of the door; it’s just too uninviting outside today.

However, I have heard plenty of people passing the house and have even seen videos from Robin Shepard on Facebook down at Gorleston Pier at 8am showing me moving pictures of why I prefer to be indoors today.

Whilst Robin and many others are quite happy to get out there, I am not and this simply serves to highlight how different we all are.

Our winters have certainly become milder over the last few years and, apart from a blip two years ago when the Beast from the East left snowdrifts for three or more weeks, we have seen very little very cold weather recently (though it doesn’t stop my teenage children from moaning how cold it is outside despite the mercury reading eight or more degrees). 

A question of demand

Thurne Mill at Sunset - Feb 7th 2020

The actual dates of winter (and other seasons, I guess) often confuse people. Around these parts, Winter begins on the 22^nd December and ends on the 20^th March, or there abouts depending on the year. So, February is technically mid-winter (in astronomical terms) but it is generally this month that sees the demand for winter holidays pick up. By way of illustration, I was at Thurne Mill just a couple of sunsets ago and there were three hire boats moored up when I arrived and a further two cruised in before I left. If you think about it, that’s quite busy for an out-of-season mid-week.

Freedom’s cruiser bookings start this year at the end of next week with four boats booked and we have already sent our first day hire boats of 2020 out yesterday. I believe I am right in saying that we are the only yard on the Southern Broads to offer Winter Boating Holidays. I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong, but with so few of us left down south, it’s quite easy to keep up. 

But what’s the attraction of Winter?

Leaving today aside (which has turned into a monsoon, let me tell you),  there are a few key features to an out-of-season Broads Boating Holiday:

In no particular order:

• Cost. February and March are typically the cheapest time you can have a boating break on the Broads
• Wildlife. The Broads is the UK’s largest wetland area and attracts many migrants that you simply can’t see during the Summer as they simply aren’t here. Other species also appear that are more hidden during times of more human activity.
• Weather. As already explored, not everybody is put off by the fact that the temperature isn’t in double figures. And, it’s not always cold either.
• Solitude: you just can’t beat. Whilst there might have been five hire boats in Thurne dyke one evening this week, that’s a fraction of the actual capacity of that inlet which is usually heaving in summer, so much so that spaces are rarely available after 3pm.

Waking up at a mooring with absolutely nobody else about is wonderful. It is truly magical if there’s fresh snowfall too; the only footprints being those of animals. The header image of this blog really conveys this, I think. This was a February morning in 2019 with a stunning sunrise. The absolute peace and quiet of a winter on the river with nobody else around is unbeatable and virtually unattainable during Spring, Summer and Autumn when there’s always someone around.

Winter considerations

Winter holidays do pose more problems to a hire boatyard. The key one is power; as the days are shorter and colder, there is a bigger demand for power for lighting and heating and so the risks of customers running batteries down increases. There’s also the possibility that people will want to cruise after sunset as the days are short; this, if you didn’t know, is illegal.   

Our main restriction is that during Greenwich Mean Time, we don’t allow boats to turn north at Reedham or St Olaves to gain access to Burgh Castle, Berney Arms, Yarmouth and so on. We are often asked why this is and the answer is quite simple; Safety and Access. If you run into any kind of problem around in these hard-to-get-at places, our ability to get to you is significantly decreased as there are just so few boats out there to help.  Also, we are typically subjected to stronger tides with bigger highs and lower lows.

What about a Christmas holiday?

Each year, we have to fend off a number of enquiries for Christmas and New Year boat hire. I guess we could probably have half the fleet out if we were prepared to open; which we are not. For a small boat hire business, the main boating season is a full-on work-fest of cleaning, repairs, maintenance and other related tasks. We simply have to stop some time so that we can carry out big repairs, paint boats and so on. And, crucially, we also need get a decent holiday of our own. Sorry folks, but we will not hire holiday cruisers in December or January though we may offer day boats depending on the situation at the boatyard.

Oh, and the Quality Street Toffee Coins? Traditionally, we left them for my Grandad who loved them and made us all laugh when they stuck to his false teeth.


You can reserve a holiday directly off our web site: www.FreedomBoatingHolidays.co.uk