The forecast was for a minor heatwave for this early October weekend and although we’re keeping the boat largely in commission for the winter it certainly did feel like it had to be enjoyed now.

The idea was to take a simple and relaxing trip from Ranworth to Coltishall via an overnight stop at my favourite mooring at Belaugh. To add to the adventure we took our cat along for the trip which we expected to end in various degrees of disaster. In fact, the car trips were the worst parts to and from the boat. Our cat (which is a house cat) was quite happy on board and didn’t show any inclination to make a run for it and she loved the company with the excitement of new smells, sights and sounds. Granted, when the boat engine was running she took off into the bows and snuggled in to the sleeping bags and pillows in the v-berth.

Both my daughter and myself spent most of the weekend fishing from the boat. My daughter’s strategy was to avoid having a hook in the water as much as possible whilst trying to decide which bait to use with which float or ledger. For my part I decided to drop a feeder cage loaded with ground bait mix and sweetcorn with a piece of corn at the end of my hook length.

The plan paid off and I managed to hook the largest fish I’ve caught in the three years I’ve spent casually fishing on the Broads.

To close off the weekend we enjoyed a generous and tasty Sunday Roast at the Rising Sun having moored at the Coltishall village green moorings.

Mid afternoon we set off for home, back under Wroxham Bridge which had a little more clearance than the way up but still required the screen to be dropped. We left the screen on the coachroof rather than placing it on the back seat which is necessary heading under Potter Heigham Bridge.

We arrived at Ranworth in the dark but with a clear sky, beautiful reflections and Malthouse Broad looking more like a mill pond, it was the perfect end to another weekend cruise on the River Bure.

Passing under Wroxham Bridge heading downstream