I fancy a week on a boat....

[WTF99]

....but more gentle cruising with leisurely pub stops than hard sweaty work and knot tying.

Any recommendations or tips please? We live in the middle of England so can travel more or less anywhere

.

....will be just me and DP...

Norfolk broads?

@iamme21

Norfolk broads?

Have you been? It sounds idyllic but is it really just flies, sunburn and hard slog?! I need the inside info!

We've done loads of canal boat holidays. Great fun (especially when the weather is good) - super easy to drive, locks and bridges are interesting. We basically did a canal pub crawl for a long weekend. Was great. I don't remember flies or anything. Take a load of citronella candles and some jungle formula just in case though!

Norfolk broads. Have been several times as a kid and an adult. My dream is to own a home on the broads with a small boat moored up for trips out.

Plenty of pubs you can moor outside (current restrictions permitting). Its very gentle, no locks, scenic. You can be in the middle of norwich city centre or great Yarmouth town centre, and within an hour be in the middle of nowhere.

We have done it with children and just me and DW. When we didnt have kids, some days we spent about 7-8 hours cruising with a quick stop for lunch.

I love it.

Hmm....I'm leaning towards the Norfolk Broads.

@DeltaAlpohaDelta what kind of boat did you have and can you recommend a company that you used? Sorry for my ignorance but presume nooks.on the broads?

....no locks....that's meant to say

We usually book through hoseasons and usually go out of Richardsons at Stalham. You can book with them direct, but hoseasons is usually slightly cheaper.

We tend to go for older boats as they are cheaper, but there are companies that do nicer boats but they are dearer and usually for groups of 4-6 plus. Herbert Woods and Norfolk Broads Direct spring to mind.

We like the look of the boats that have a bedroom in the middle, with sliding patio doors at the end of the bed, but they are dearer than the cheaper ones and appear to sit higher in the water, so might restrict some bridges you can fit under, but I dont that for certain.

A couple of years ago We had a two person boat, for mon-fri in the first week of the summer holidays for about £400 (plus fuel and security deposits).

@WTF99

....no locks....that's meant to say

Correct, no locks.

Brilliant, thanks delta

This is going to be a ridiculous question, I’m a boat novice. Do you have to drive them or do they just float along? If you have to drive is it all the time & what do you do at night?

Moor up at night. Most hire fleets won’t be insured for you to move after dark. Yes you have to steer/ drive them to move, they aren’t chain driven like a log flume.
It quite easy, hire companies will teach/show you what you need to know in around a hour. You tube is good for a bit of prior knowledge.
Surprisingly those who don’t drive are usually the quickest at picking it up.

We hired a narrow boat. Dc loved the holiday.
I found it very scary, particularly the locks.
I thought it would be relaxing, jeez no.