What could be more delightful to contemplate than a leisurely and peaceful few hours viewing the beautiful area of Orford Ness from the river whilst fine-dining aboard the ex-Admiralty MFV (motor fishing vessel) supply boat, the Lady Florence River Cruise Restaurant?

Aboard the Lady Florence, you are sure to enjoy a fine-dining experience with a stunning natural backdrop.

This mysterious, historic and unearthly part of Suffolk could not be seen in more apt or comfortable circumstances than from aboard the Lady Florence, cruising the calm waters within the Rivers Alde and Ore for either two-and-a-half or three-and-a-half hours.

The fifty foot Lady Florence carries twelve passengers in spacious comfort, so you might want to make up a party of your own, or join up with others for a brunch, lunch, dinner or a sunset supper cruise. Unlike many tourist attractions, cruises operate all year round, including Christmas Day, regardless of weather and tides, with a cosy coal fire in winter. An informative commentary, providing a wealth of information about the area from early times to sinister wartime events, brings the fascinating area to life, and is given throughout all Lady Florence cruises.

As the award-winning Lady Florence cruises the rivers, you will be served fine wines and food from the a la carte menu, freshly prepared on board. Dishes are served in the elegant dining saloon and include local fresh produce including items from Orford’s two smokehouses.


The rivers offer outstanding scenery to accompany your meal, and every cruise includes a circumnavigation of RSPB’s Havergate Island bird sanctuary, famous for its avocet. The area is rich in both wildlife and history. With fine views of Orford’s twelfth century Norman Castle and fourteenth century “wool” church, Lady Florence passes several historical landmarks and well-known wildlife reserves. The ever-changing scenery and skyscapes provide peaceful tranquillity through to dramatic settings.

The three-and-a-half hour lunch and dinner cruises head upriver to within sight of Aldeburgh, Iken and Snape, where there are fine country houses with lawns gently south-sloping down to the waters’ edge. The cruises then cover the full ten mile length of National Trust’s Orford Ness conservation area, which ends at North Weir Point opposite Shingle Street, where the river enters the North Sea, amidst wild raging surf, racing tides and the lonely desolation of shingle banks. On return to Orford, the cruise completes the circumnavigation of Havergate Island, with an opportunity to watch at close quarters the antics of seabirds, wildfowl and waders, including the graceful and elegant avocet, the RSPB’s logo.

The two-and-a-half hour three-course American-style brunch cruise starting with half a fresh grapefruit, includes hash brown potatoes with the ham, egg, sausage and tomato, and culminates with hot American muffins and apple pie and cream. Since there is no choice on the menu (apart from special dietary needs, which can be catered for), there is a single inclusive price of GBP21.95, the only extra being a ten percent service charge, and, of course, the Champagne should you wish to enjoy a Champagne Brunch.

The a la carte luncheon and dinner cruises require an extra hour, making these cruises three-and-a-half hours, to facilitate the fresh preparation of the menu choices made by the passengers upon embarkation. Lady Florence has no mains power, so lacks the convenience and speed of microwaves and freezers. This has the benefit of ensuring the freshest home-made, or rather, “boat-made” tastes. Being at the coast, you would expect fish to be prominent on the menu, and smoked trout and smoked salmon are offered, reflecting the different smoking techniques of Orford’s two smokehouses.


Fresh salmon is baked on board with a citrus herb crust. Starters include smoked duck breast and a “POSH” prawn cocktail layered with mango. In summer, our desserts include (with our South African connection) popular malva pudding, which is a sponge pudding steeped in brandy and cream. In winter, when we light the cosy coal fire in the dining saloon, there are individual home-baked steak, venison and mushroom pies, with a pastry top crust. Winter desserts include the mouth-watering loganberry and apple crumble, where we bulk order the loganberries for the entire winter season from our local fruit farm.

Fresh salads, vegetables, potatoes and sauces are all served separately, so you have EXACTLY what you require. Since the price will inevitably vary depending on the number of courses chosen and the choice per course, a single price like the brunch cruise is not possible. The price of the cruise varies between GBP12.50 and GBP17.50, depending on the day of the week and month of the year. There are usually about six starters and six main courses to choose from, with desserts and cheeses to complete the meal. Main courses start at GBP7.95 and other courses are from GBP3.95, so it is possible to have a three-course lunch and a three-and-a-half hour cruise for less than GBP30 plus service.

During March and again in September and at the beginning of October, when the sun is setting earlier and precludes a longer cruise, a two-and-a-half hour sunset supper is served. This is again a la carte, and there is as much choice as on the lunch and dinner cruises. However, the more preparation-time-consuming items are substituted by such dishes as a trio of chorizo, Suffolk and Lincolnshire pork sausages.

We are very conscious that an increasing number of customers have special dietary needs. Susan, for instance, is allergic to apple. With advance notice, we cater for nut allergies, dairy product allergies, vegetarians, vegans and coeliacs. Our South African experience has taught us about religious culinary requirements such as kosher and halaal foods. We are also flexible enough and attentive enough to listen to customer needs for special occasions, and provide such delicacies as quails eggs, oysters, crab, lobster, and whole hot-smoked salmon.

A fully stocked bar is available throughout all cruises, including specialist sprits and liquers. Suffolk beers and wines are of course available, and the small but comprehensive wine list is supplemented by some interesting wines from South Africa. We visit Western Cape vineyards during the winter months and meet owners and winemakers at many vineyards, culminating in a series of blind tastings with local friends who conscientiously mark each wine. We thus narrow down wines from maybe thirty vineyards to the final eight or so from whom we ship each year. Where possible, these are from small exclusive vineyards, unknown in Britain, and we keep prices affordable by importing directly ourselves from the vineyards to Orford each year.

Lady Florence is an historic wooden ship, and is indeed registered with the National Historic Ships’ Register. She is one of over eleven hundred motor fishing vessels (MFVs) built by the Admiralty during World War II. It may seem anomalous that the Admiralty should build fishing boats during wartime, but when war was declared in 1939, the fleet was ordered offshore to avoid being bombed by enemy aircraft. However, the Admiralty had never needed supply boats to ferry provisions and personnel to vessels offshore, as during World War I, bombing from aircraft was very primitive, small bombs being dropped over the side of the aircraft by the observer. The Admiralty had to commandeer whatever private ships they could find to fill this requirement. By halfway through the war, half of these ships had been sunk, since they were never built for all weather operations and high seas coming alongside battleships and carriers. The design that stood up best was the fishing boat, hence the 1100 MFVs. The Admiralty hoped to sell these vessels after the war to replace fishing boats lost during the hostilities, and many did go to fishing.

MFV766 is fifty feet long, sixteen feet six in beam, draws six feet of water and weighs 35 tons net, 54 gross register. She is now powered by a 120hp six cylinder two-stroke diesel engine built by Foden, and has had a Foden engine since 1953. She serviced battleships from Plymouth, then moving to Portsmouth with the Royal Marines’ Cliff Assault Wing Commando.

Subsequently she served with the Midhurst Sea Cadets, then the Hove Sea Cadets, before being sold into private service around 1970. She was owned by an engineer from Manchester in 1977, when she became a Registered British Ship at Lloyds, Official Number 361575. She was bought in Woodbridge by Geoffrey Ingram Smith around 1983, and he set up the Lady Florence cruise operation in 1984. Geoffrey retired in 1992, and John and Susan Haresnape bought the business and expanded it, becoming international in 2002, by setting up the Allen Gardiner Harbour Cruise Restaurant on Durban Harbour, with a 1942 wooden ex-South African Air Force air/sea rescue launch. Son Craig and his partner Kris have subsequently taken over managing both businesses, keeping the businesses within the family for 21 years.

To book your own experience on this historic vessel please visit http://www.lady-florence.co.uk