Holiday Planning

With the majority of this year’s holidays now over and done with it is time to start planning ahead and thinking where we would like to go next year. As we tend to travel with a group of boats we have to plan well in advance of the actual event, due to varying work commitments, holiday requirements and general preferences. It can make for some interesting discussions.

For the OH and I, next year’s holiday season works out quite well what with extra bank holidays and the intended timing of our breaks we will end up with six weeks of expendable holiday time. So far we have a few trips in the planning which will take up four weeks of this time.

The first major trip of the year is planned to be to Leeds during Easter week. A nice warm up run that will take in large commercial tidal rivers, estuary cruising and non tidal commercial waterways before merging into more gentle river cruising at the entry to Leeds. This is a journey we have yet to complete despite having cruised extensively on the Yorkshire Ouse, Trent and Humber. Leeds may not be an obvious holiday destination; however the journey will take in an array of different waterways each with their own complications and will culminate in a stay at the new Clarence Dock development.

The next trip in the planning is looking like being a trip North on the coast to Whitby and Scarborough during Whitsun week. This will be the first time we have headed North on the coast, our previous coastal cruising being South from Boston on the Norfolk coast. We have spent many a happy hour watching the boats in both port towns and it will be a great pleasure to be on the other end of the admiring looks. It will also give us a great opportunity to spend some more time on the hook. There are many secluded bays where spending time at anchor will be a great way to waste a few hours.

This year our back up plan for our two week holiday was a trip up the Great Ouse to Ely and Cambridge. Next year this is certainly on the list of places to visit. This trip will form our main two week summer holiday and will consist of a mixture of coastal, tidal and non tidal river cruising. This will provide the perfect way to while away the summer evenings with plenty of villages and towns along the way to keep us occupied.

This plan will still leave us with a couple of weeks spare to enjoy aboard Naughty-Cal. No doubt we will revisit Wells next the Sea at some point during the year. A coastal town now close to our hearts. It would also be nice to revisit Lowestoft again, a town that gave us a very pleasant surprise this year. We shall just have to wait and see where the year takes us.