Inland holiday destinations for a trailer sailor

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ifoxwell

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Pretty much as the subject suggests...

We are now the proud owners of a Red Fox and now that we have the ability to go any where for a holiday, rather than just the distance we can sail in the time allowed, were thinking of heading inland for a change.

We are based in Kent and the Norfolk Broads is appealing however we're worried that its going to be to busy during holiday season so any one got any other suggestions or ideas?

Ian
 
We are based in Norfolk, and yes it can be busy in the school Hols, but if you put some effort in you can find reace and quiet. Above Potter Heigham bridge as most hire boats can't get through the bridge, so very peaceful, Sam applies above Wroxham bridge, but slightly less so. Southern Broads much less busy generally but tides can be a problem.
 
Depends how far you want to tow it really. Many years ago, we had an Evolution 22 and I towed it with a Series 3 (petrol!) Landrover. One year, we towed it from Preston where we lived, to Fort William and sailed up and down the great Glen with it. Had a lovely holiday but for what it cost me in fuel we could probably have just bought a boat up there, sailed it for the week and then scuttled it!

Bit (but not much!) closer to home, the Lake District offers several different cruising grounds. If it has an outboard though, you'd need to register it on Windermere, I think. Other lakes not quite so precious though.
 
Avocet said:
Depends how far you want to tow it really. Many years ago, we had an Evolution 22 and I towed it with a Series 3 (petrol!) Landrover.
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I would be interested in some real life experience of how that really towed behind a S3 Landy.

I tow my boat with a Subaru Forrester and that handles it well and can maintain a good towing speed and is nice and stable.

I also own a 1972 S3 2.25 petrol SWB as my fun car. On paper the Landy will tow more than the Subaru. However we all know the old Landies are pretty slow and sluggish things, and I fear with a boat on the back I would be grinding up a hill in third with a long queue of fuming motorists behind me.

Or is it a case of hanging a big lump on the hook doesn't make much difference?
 
essexboy said:
We are based in Norfolk, and yes it can be busy in the school Hols, but if you put some effort in you can find reace and quiet. Above Potter Heigham bridge as most hire boats can't get through the bridge, so very peaceful, Sam applies above Wroxham bridge, but slightly less so. Southern Broads much less busy generally but tides can be a problem.
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Agreed. The Southern rivers ( Yare and Waveny) are generally much quieter, and the tides shouldn't really be a problem in a boat like the Red Fox provided you 'work ' your tides.
The pubs 'down south' are MUCH better as well....
If you go/stay north, as suggested Hickling Broad offers some great sailing, as does Barton Broad on the River Ant.
PM me if I can be of more help.
 
Easticks28 said:
Agreed. The Southern rivers ( Yare and Waveny) are generally much quieter, and the tides shouldn't really be a problem in a boat like the Red Fox provided you 'work ' your tides.
The pubs 'down south' are MUCH better as well....
If you go/stay north, as suggested Hickling Broad offers some great sailing, as does Barton Broad on the River Ant.
PM me if I can be of more help.
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Time a film was posted of the North Broads I think

other films are available about the south broads from some bloke

 
ProDave said:
I would be interested in some real life experience of how that really towed behind a S3 Landy.

I tow my boat with a Subaru Forrester and that handles it well and can maintain a good towing speed and is nice and stable.

I also own a 1972 S3 2.25 petrol SWB as my fun car. On paper the Landy will tow more than the Subaru. However we all know the old Landies are pretty slow and sluggish things, and I fear with a boat on the back I would be grinding up a hill in third with a long queue of fuming motorists behind me.

Or is it a case of hanging a big lump on the hook doesn't make much difference?
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This was a long wheelbase ex-army model with a canvas top. Apparently ex Signals Corps, so it had "uprated" springs (like they weren't hard enough to start with!) because it had been full of batteries. Like yours, a 2 1/4 litre petrol engine producing less power than I would ever have believed possible for that size of engine! It would however, climb trees at tickover.

The Evolution was an utter PIG to tow. Don't know if it was the boat, the trailer or the tow car, but I first towed it with a 3 litre Reliant Scimitar - which had the "grunt", but scared myself witless in a bad "snaking" experience. After that, I added a second axle to the trailer (which made things a BIT better) and then bought one of those anti-snake bars. The sort that's a long spring steel blade that sits in a shoe on the side of the trailer chassis and incorporates a friction disc to damp the oscillations. That fixed it permanently - an absolute revelation!

To be honest, it would still try to "wag" the Landy without the anti-snake bar fitted, (and this wasn't for want of nose weight!) so I kept using the bar. In those days nobody was quite so bothered about towing weights so I never really knew what the whole rig weighed, but I reckon it would have been a GOOD 2 tonnes at least.

Towing on the motorway was fine - even getting up to speed on slip roads wasn't too much bother. The roads are quieter up North, of course. Joined the M6 at Garstang and went mid-week. Also, you could only do 50 on motorways with a trailer back then (early 1990s) anyway. The M74 wasn't built, so I was on A roads North of the border. I didn't encounter any animosity when it came to holding people up. Once the whole outfit was moving, you could maintain a reasonable pace most of the time. The overall gearing is so low that as you say, the extra weight on the back doesn't slow it down much. I broke the journey just North of Glasgow with an overnight stop and then set off very early the next morning because I was worried about holding traffic up on the twisty bit of road past Loch Lomond and on the long uphill slog thereafter. Only problems were caused by the width of the boat and the fact that oncoming motorists tended to look downwards at the trailer mudguards, rather than upwards at the widest part of the boat. Only really awkward bit was meeting a coach coming the other way and he had to reverse for the best part of 1/4 of a mile before we could pass.

Barely managed double figures to the gallon though. I'd fitted free-wheeling front hubs and Range Rover wheels to increase the gearing a bit. It's a long time ago now, but a figure of 13 MPG comes to mind...

Obviously, launching at Fort William was where the Landy came into it's own. They haven't invented the slipway that was too steep for it!
 
I keep my boat on Windermere, happy to give any info. Quite expensive, with registration, parking, slipping and mooring fee. There is another slip at the bottom of the lake which may work out cheaper.

Good slipway at Ferry Nab Mast lift hoist BUT CHECK WITH WARDENS. Jetties are being reorganised and at some point lift is being dismantled and either moved or another put in.

Ullswater also worth looking at.
 
There are 4 lakes in the Lake District on which you could sail a Red Fox. Derwentwater, Windermere, Coniston and Ullswater. Bassenthwaite Lake (the only "lake" in the Lake District) does not permit boats with engines.

Windermere is the largest, at about 10 miles in length and up to a mile wide. There are good facilities for launching at the lake warden's slip where there is also a car park. There are also a couple of marinas. A licence from the lake warden is required for any boat with an engine. Good sailing can be had amid beautiful scenery and there are plenty of pubs and tourist facilities at both Bowness and Ambleside. It does get very busy though, especially at weekends and holidays. Although the lake is 10 miles long it is really split into two halves, the northern and southern. In the middle width is restricted by shoals and a large island ( landing not allowed), and although it is often easy to sail through this centre part it can be a bit iffy at times due to the vagaries of wind and the amount of traffic - ranging from hired rowing boats, motor boats and lake steamers. The main drawback from my point of view is that most of the shoreline is privately owned, with many large houses (usually with equally impressive gardens) lining the banks. The river at the south end is navigable for about a mile with a hotel at the end where moorings are sometimes available. I kept a Hunter Minstrel on Windermere for a season many years ago, thoroughly enjoyed it but one season was enough.

Ullswater also has decent facilities at a yacht club and a small marina. It is a lot quieter than Windermere and again some good sailing can be had. Winds can be quite challenging, often funnelling right up the lake, and at the southern end - the most beautiful - can come vertically down off the hills, most disconcerting in small dinghies.

I don't know too much about Coniston. There is a yacht club with launching facilities and not much in the way of commercialisation.

The smallest of these 4 lakes is Derwentwater. It is only just over 3 miles long and about a mile wide. However, if I were towing a small yacht to the Lakes for a holiday it is the one I would choose. I took a Lysander there for a long weekend once and stayed for 5 years (at least the boat did). The sailing is, in my opinion, better than the other lakes. There are 4 fair size islands which make for interesting sailing. One of these has a house on it and is private but the others can be landed on and are great fun, especially for kids ( of all ages) to go exploring, picnicking, swimming etc etc. The shores are almost totally unspoiled by development and are mostly National Trust land. I often spent nights tied alongside the little jetties used by the launch which takes visitors round the lake, these launches stop at around 5pm and you can then be as alone as any remote anchorage anywhere. I remember one evening stepping ashore and finding a red deer stag staring down at me from about 20 yards away. The scenery is probably the best in the Lake District and there are 2 small marinas for launching, parking, showering etc. Keswick is a short walk away and has lots of pubs, eating places and shops.

If I ever feel that I'm getting too old for the west coast of Scotland, a small boat on Derwentwater will be my choice. Don't let the size of the lake put you off. The walking in that area is also the best in the Lake District.
 
Bit (but not much!) closer to home, the Lake District offers several different cruising grounds. If it has an outboard though, you'd need to register it on Windermere, I think. Other lakes not quite so precious though.[/QUOTE]

Coniston is good (though a while since I used it) no reg, no sticky numbers to buy, no 12 month payment Jan/Dec for a long weekend trip. They have a tractor to dunk your trailer if needed.

Or go a little further and launch at Roa Island-
 
Had a couple of magic family holidays with a Pirate (18ft) on the broads. Lots of pubs to stop for a break/meal, isolated broads if you want apart from the rivers. Good advice already given about areas less crowded. Also worth considering the Lake District various lakes, Bala and Milford Haven. Scotland is beautiful but the rain and midges when it is not raining would make it a no no for me personally.
 
Mataji said:
There are 4 lakes in the Lake District on which you could sail a Red Fox. Derwentwater, Windermere, Coniston and Ullswater. Bassenthwaite Lake (the only "lake" in the Lake District) does not permit boats with engines.

Windermere is the largest, at about 10 miles in length and up to a mile wide. There are good facilities for launching at the lake warden's slip where there is also a car park. There are also a couple of marinas. A licence from the lake warden is required for any boat with an engine. Good sailing can be had amid beautiful scenery and there are plenty of pubs and tourist facilities at both Bowness and Ambleside. It does get very busy though, especially at weekends and holidays. Although the lake is 10 miles long it is really split into two halves, the northern and southern. In the middle width is restricted by shoals and a large island ( landing not allowed), and although it is often easy to sail through this centre part it can be a bit iffy at times due to the vagaries of wind and the amount of traffic - ranging from hired rowing boats, motor boats and lake steamers. The main drawback from my point of view is that most of the shoreline is privately owned, with many large houses (usually with equally impressive gardens) lining the banks. The river at the south end is navigable for about a mile with a hotel at the end where moorings are sometimes available. I kept a Hunter Minstrel on Windermere for a season many years ago, thoroughly enjoyed it but one season was enough.

Ullswater also has decent facilities at a yacht club and a small marina. It is a lot quieter than Windermere and again some good sailing can be had. Winds can be quite challenging, often funnelling right up the lake, and at the southern end - the most beautiful - can come vertically down off the hills, most disconcerting in small dinghies.

I don't know too much about Coniston. There is a yacht club with launching facilities and not much in the way of commercialisation.

The smallest of these 4 lakes is Derwentwater. It is only just over 3 miles long and about a mile wide. However, if I were towing a small yacht to the Lakes for a holiday it is the one I would choose. I took a Lysander there for a long weekend once and stayed for 5 years (at least the boat did). The sailing is, in my opinion, better than the other lakes. There are 4 fair size islands which make for interesting sailing. One of these has a house on it and is private but the others can be landed on and are great fun, especially for kids ( of all ages) to go exploring, picnicking, swimming etc etc. The shores are almost totally unspoiled by development and are mostly National Trust land. I often spent nights tied alongside the little jetties used by the launch which takes visitors round the lake, these launches stop at around 5pm and you can then be as alone as any remote anchorage anywhere. I remember one evening stepping ashore and finding a red deer stag staring down at me from about 20 yards away. The scenery is probably the best in the Lake District and there are 2 small marinas for launching, parking, showering etc. Keswick is a short walk away and has lots of pubs, eating places and shops.

If I ever feel that I'm getting too old for the west coast of Scotland, a small boat on Derwentwater will be my choice. Don't let the size of the lake put you off. The walking in that area is also the best in the Lake District.
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Excellent info, but could I just add: Windermere Marina Village - very expensive but if you stay in one of their apartments it's just £15 per night extra to take your boat. Or it was when I asked when I was there last September.

Derwentwater - Be aware that it shrinks in a drought! I heard that it's only 17 feet deep maximum at the best of times so best to check before travelling. The Camping & Caravan Club site at Keswick is great (and cheap) for launching dinghys/canoes.
 
Rutland is very pleasant but I'm not sure its worth a whole holiday?
It would take you about two days to fully explore the whole lot. The top end of each leg of the horseshoe is a nature reserve with no sailing permitted so you actually have about 2/3 of it to sail on.

Insurance is required and no outboards are allowed (unless you have an electric) You can only sail when there is rescue cover and you cant stay out at anchor anywhere.

If you launch at Whitwell Creek you can only leave the boat on the pontoon at the weekends, which is a little expensive, something like double the day sailing rate. Otherwise its launch and recover each day. You can use the sailing centre showers but only in opening hours.

The staff at Whitwell are very helpful though, give them a ring and they'll sort you out. I've never used the Edith Weston sailing club as its more geared towards members usage.

I would say Rutland is well suited to staying ashore with a day sailer. If you want to stay on board, the broads or the lakes offer a lot more.

Does it have to be inland by the way? You could have a lot of fun in the Orwell and Stour?
 
A few that would be on my list :
Chichester Harbour, and the Solent if your feeling adventurous.
Falmouth Harbour, lots of lovely creeks.
Milford Haven.

Get googling on google earth?
 
What about something a bit more adventurous?

The Stockholm skerries
Mediterranean
Rias of Gallicia
Lake Balaton
Black Sea
 
Thanks everyone, some fantastic suggestions, keep them coming.

One question re the broads or similar. Over hanging trees... having just fitted some wind instruments I'd like to keep them there so are there any?
 
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