I know it’s hardly worth blogging about going for Sunday lunch, but when it’s the middle of December with the boat semi in commission then it’s certainly worth sharing the virtues of keeping the boat ready for the occasional beautiful winter day rather than entirely giving up on cruising.

I thought my engine was going to give trouble starting as the technique of pumping the throttle to prime the carb on a cold start without choke simply doesn’t work for me. Instead I reverted to my tried and tested priming of the carb from the fuel pump lever, setting the throttle to about 1/3rd and full choke for a couple of seconds and she started first time. One happy skipper right there !

Although it was quite windy making handling a shade tricky, it was a stunning winter Sunday with a mission to find a nice pub for lunch. We’d have normally headed for last year’s discovery, The Ludham Kings Arms carvery via mooring at Womack Staithe. It’s still a great destination I’m sure but it was time for trying another venue. The Lion at Thurne was calling, particularly as getting a mooring in the dyke during summer is a near impossibility.

It has to be said, it’s a great place with an amazing selection of quirky ales and a lovely old world atmosphere enhanced by a cosy open fire. I was quite surprised to find it wasn’t incredibly busy and had been concerned we might have trouble getting a table without booking. The menu was spot on for a pub at this time of year with a classic lineup of pub grub classics and the essential Sunday roasts.

I went for roast beef and was really impressed with the quality and quantity of food presented. You might struggle to fit starters in !

In terms of value for money it was excellent and in fact better value for money than the usual Ludham carvery without the standing in queue.

Getting out of the dyke was a little awkward with a strong wind making it very hard to swing the boat near the ‘marina’ area. Taking it easy and fending off was the order of proceedings as we headed back to our Ranworth mooring just before sunset.

The Bure was an incredible combination of bleak but stunning in equal measure. With leaves having dropped from the trees and reeds also dying back along with still very high water levels, the views across the Broads were uninhibited giving an amazing sense of location. The Norfolk Broads skies couldn’t have been any bigger. Another interesting observation was the height of the river in comparison to the lower wetlands.

Having run the dehumidifier for three or four weeks, it was a genuine joy to arrive at the boat without that horrible damp atmosphere in a cloud of mildew spores. It’s definitely the way to go for me in future.