Back at the end of August we went on our annual family holiday to the Norfolk Broads. As well as all four of us, my brother-in-law came with us too. We stayed in a cottage on this holiday, but as children The Husband and his brother used to go on boating holidays on the Norfolk Broads; that was their favourite kind of family holiday.

I have a done a couple of boating holidays but they weren’t really my thing; though, that might have had something to do with the fact I didn’t get along with father-in-law too well, and they were with him… Maybe I’ll try again another time!

When Herbert Woods offered us the hire of a day boat, I thought that wouldn’t be so bad; the Norfolk Broads are definitely beautiful to see when travelling by boat.

Hiring a day boat is a great way to experience the sights and sounds of the Norfolk Broads from the water. Enjoy a great family day out visiting the towns and villages along the Broads and stopping of for lunch at one of the many riverside pubs. Free mooring is available throughout the Broads at Broads Authority 24 hour mooring sites.

My thoughts

The boat

If you’ve ever been on a boating holiday, you will know that leisure cruisers are big in general, so a Herbert Woods day boat was quite a bit smaller. They do fit up to eight people though and there were five of us, with plenty of room left. The day boats are quite basic, pretty much with only the cockpit and seating, plus a cover just in case of rain; which typically for us, happened on our hire day! This didn’t stop us though.

The Husband and brother-in-law are quite knowledgeable about the workings of a boat, but I have literally no clue. So it’s a good job that before we set off, we were given a tutorial and safety briefing by a member of staff (who looked and sounded like he didn’t want to be there!). We were all provided with life jackets, as well as a full tank of fuel and a map of the Broads (though TH and BiL were full of knowledge about that too due to their years of experience!).

The boat itself did look like it had seen better days; it was peeling a bit and the roof was a little leaky. It was also rather noisy for a small boat, but it started and travelled fine. The two grown men seemed able to handle it okay!

Our journey

We all thoroughly enjoyed our cruise down the river; people watching and boat spotting – other boaters are so friendly too, so give them a wave!

We travelled up to Acle where we stopped for a lovely lunch. I highly recommend the Acle Bridge Inn; the food was delicious, and the portions were huge!

By the time we’d finished, it was time to turn around and make our journey back to the boat yard in Potter Heigham, where we had a smooth handover of the day boat and went on our merry way.

Cost – from £26 – £135, depending on hire duration

Our rating – 3.5/5

Disclosure
I was provided with a day boat hire to write this post. All thoughts and opinions are honest & my own.