PaulRainbow
Well-known member
Nothing wrong with my hearing.
Do you see any people in this thread also stating "incredible noise all night from Felixstowe Docks" ?
Shotley Marina feedback/advice
- Thread starter Johnny WAFI
- Start date
Do you see any people in this thread also stating "incredible noise all night from Felixstowe Docks" ?
Daydream believer
Well-known member
Never worried me. In fact I never noticed that one could hear anything at all.
I go to Shotley a couple of times a year- because I like it- & always sleep aboard for one night at least.
It is a nice short cruise from Bradwell.
If the Shipwreck is open, I quite enjoy sitting outside looking over the estuary entrance in the afternoon/evening with a beer in hand.
Noise has never spoilt that sensation
Last edited:
Puffin10032
Active member
I was at the OGA 60th based at SHY a couple of years ago. On the Friday night/Saturday small hours the noise from the docks was very loud with lots of crashing and banging. That was probably a one-off though and I bet there were lots of understandably irate locals on the phone to their councilors next day.
Frayed Knot
Well-known member
Some people could do with a thinking aid.
LittleSister
Well-known member
I have only rarely had a particularly long wait to get into the lock at Shotley, e.g. late afternoon at the end of a sunny (especially bank-holiday) weekend, though it is annoying when it does happen. Locking in/out can add a bit of interest and social interaction, and sometimes a bit of a challenge (especially single-handed) depending on winds (and sometimes who you're sharing the lock with!). I also found the limited capacity of the lock avoided the scramble I sometimes encountered outside SYH Levington, with many boats going this way and that, most busy getting their sails up or down, with motor boats rushing in/out/through the melee in a big hurry.
Having spent a number of years at Shotley in 2 or 3 phases between stays elsewhere, I broadly agree with many of the comments already made.
Staff friendly, helpful and (in contrast to some of the competition) efficient (though I never got a reply to my email to the workshop manager asking for a quote for a significant job on the boat, so had it done elsewhere). I liked having staff on site 24 hrs a day.
I like the location for sailing - you can go left (Orwell), right (Stour), or straight out to sea, depending on wind, tide and inclination.
The place is a bit soulless. The toilet/shower facilities by the pontoons seemed to be closed for long periods every winter, and having to trek up to the main building every time tedious. Enjoyed the swallows (or is it swifts?) nesting in the toilet block entrance every year.
I was never bothered by the noise from Felixstowe, and found seeing the ship and crane/lorry activity there, and the ferries coming in and out of Harwich, by day and night adds interest. I can't recall the boat getting particularly dirty there (unlike another Orwell marina with a working quay opposite).
The Shipwreck can be pleasant to sit outside in nice weather, I found when I was an occasional visitor before having a regular berth there, but otherwise was always a big disappointment. It has always really let the place down badly, in my view. The food is usually disappointing, and on one occasion, (after a 15 hour stint on the helm with the cooker broken and only a packet of bread straws to eat) when I would have eaten almost anything, inedible (uncooked), and the service so-so to downright offensive. I must have been to the Bristol Arms, in which case it is (or was) unmemorable. The Rose (?) at Shotley village was pleasant, but it's a drive away.
I didn't much mind the drive from the A12 to Shotley. I found it a relatively relaxing come down from the sometimes frantic A12 and A14, certainly less tedious than the route to Levington from the south of Ipswich, and preferable to trekking the length of the river from Ipswich in the boat every single time (though the river's a lovely trip to do occasionally).
The berthing charges of the marinas in the Orwell are uncannily similar, but Shotley charging per half-metre (in contrast to the others by the metre) has swung it for me and my boat length on occasion. By contrast, the monthly (or was it quarterly?) charge for 'renting' an electricity meter cable (elsewhere just a deposit required) made hook-up very expensive when I used very little in the way of kW/h (just battery charge top-up and occasional brief use of a power tool).
I don't think any Orwell marina wins hands down, they all have pluses and minuses (and they're all beyond my means, really - we only started using them when my ex was too ill to manage getting to/from a swinging mooring), but Shotley has suited me on occasion.
Having spent a number of years at Shotley in 2 or 3 phases between stays elsewhere, I broadly agree with many of the comments already made.
Staff friendly, helpful and (in contrast to some of the competition) efficient (though I never got a reply to my email to the workshop manager asking for a quote for a significant job on the boat, so had it done elsewhere). I liked having staff on site 24 hrs a day.
I like the location for sailing - you can go left (Orwell), right (Stour), or straight out to sea, depending on wind, tide and inclination.
The place is a bit soulless. The toilet/shower facilities by the pontoons seemed to be closed for long periods every winter, and having to trek up to the main building every time tedious. Enjoyed the swallows (or is it swifts?) nesting in the toilet block entrance every year.
I was never bothered by the noise from Felixstowe, and found seeing the ship and crane/lorry activity there, and the ferries coming in and out of Harwich, by day and night adds interest. I can't recall the boat getting particularly dirty there (unlike another Orwell marina with a working quay opposite).
The Shipwreck can be pleasant to sit outside in nice weather, I found when I was an occasional visitor before having a regular berth there, but otherwise was always a big disappointment. It has always really let the place down badly, in my view. The food is usually disappointing, and on one occasion, (after a 15 hour stint on the helm with the cooker broken and only a packet of bread straws to eat) when I would have eaten almost anything, inedible (uncooked), and the service so-so to downright offensive. I must have been to the Bristol Arms, in which case it is (or was) unmemorable. The Rose (?) at Shotley village was pleasant, but it's a drive away.
I didn't much mind the drive from the A12 to Shotley. I found it a relatively relaxing come down from the sometimes frantic A12 and A14, certainly less tedious than the route to Levington from the south of Ipswich, and preferable to trekking the length of the river from Ipswich in the boat every single time (though the river's a lovely trip to do occasionally).
The berthing charges of the marinas in the Orwell are uncannily similar, but Shotley charging per half-metre (in contrast to the others by the metre) has swung it for me and my boat length on occasion. By contrast, the monthly (or was it quarterly?) charge for 'renting' an electricity meter cable (elsewhere just a deposit required) made hook-up very expensive when I used very little in the way of kW/h (just battery charge top-up and occasional brief use of a power tool).
I don't think any Orwell marina wins hands down, they all have pluses and minuses (and they're all beyond my means, really - we only started using them when my ex was too ill to manage getting to/from a swinging mooring), but Shotley has suited me on occasion.
Flames
New member
A big plus for Shotley used to be the very reasonable Summer Scrub rates. Last year they doubled the cost and it was noticeable that boats went elsewhere.
Shotley website now says " Summer scrub prices to be announced"
Will be interesting to see if they make the same mistake again.
Shotley website now says " Summer scrub prices to be announced"
Will be interesting to see if they make the same mistake again.
