River Cruise

Restaurants
...in Suffolk
01473 558 712 07831 698 298
www.lady-forence.co.uk www.allen-gardiner.co.uk
info@lady-forence.co.uk info@allen-gardiner.co.uk
ALLEN GARDINER IPSWICH
Brunch, Lunch & Dinner Cruises
LADY FLORENCE ORFORD
PO Box 297, Woodbridge, Sufolk, Ip12 9ER
Lady Florence and Allen Gardiner cruises are ideally suited
for birthdays, anniversaries, naturalists, ornithologists,
photographers, family or club outings and ofice parties
(Christmas menu a speciality with Christmas fayre available all
December).
Other options include: Private charters for extended (or
shorter) cruises, corporate entertainment, company incentives,
team building and business or training meetings.
It is advisable to book well in advance. However, we
endeavour to accommodate late bookings. Prices and times
are correct at time of printing, but may change without notice.
Menu items are subject to change without notice, depending
upon availability and quality of ingredients.
Booking
Timetable
find us
Vouchers
Making a Booking Timetable & Prices
How to Find Us
Gift Vouchers
Please check our website for maps of where we cruise from in
Orford and Ipswich. You may also request an email map. You
may also use GPS/Satnav: Orford Quay IP12 2NU : Ipswich Wet
Dock IP3 0EA (Berth BB3, Ipswich Haven Marina, New Cut East).
Personalised Gif Vouchers for any amount you wish are
available. Complete the form on the website and pay via
Paypal; or phone us with your credit card number; or send
details and payment to Lady Florence to: PO Box 297,
Woodbridge, Sufolk IP12 9ER.
Lady Florence Allen Gardiner
(up to 12 persons)
Brunch 3 Course American Style
9.30am 11.50am All year
22.95pp; 275.40 up to 12
A la carte Lunch & Dinner
Lunch 12 noon 3.30pm All year
Dinner 4.00 7.30pm (Apr Sep)
Sunset a la carte Supper
Diferent menu to reflect shorter
cruise 3.30 6.00pm or 4.00
6.30pm March, Sep and early
October
Cruise 15pp, Weekends 17.50pp
Mains from 7.95. Choose on board.
(up to 12 persons***)
Brunch 3 Course American Style
9.30am 11.50am All year
22.95pp; 275.40 up to 12
A la carte Lunch & Candlelit Dinner
Lunch 12 noon 3.30pm. All year
Dinner : 3.5 hours starting between
4.00 and 7.00pm
Other Options
We can tailor sunset, happy hour,
and afer-work get-togethers
*** Lock View Dining (over 12 persons)
Static dining for more than 12.
Watch boats in & out of the lock
while dining. No Cruise
Champagne Brunch with Champagne or sparkling wine per bottle extra
Cruise 15pp most of year. Weekends & Bank Holidays 17.50pp
Private charters available
Mains from 7.95, other courses from 3.95. Choose on board.
Main course at least must be purchased
There is a modest 10% service charge on all quoted prices.
Visa, Mastercard & Debit cards or cash. Book as individuals
or as a private charter. Advisable to book well in advance.
Please note that navigation through the lock into the river
may cause delays to timings.
Note: all prices & times are subject to change
without notice.
Florence Abour Us Gardiner
Orwell
River Maps
Lady Florence About Us Allen Gardiner
River Orwell
River Maps
Lady Florence was built in 1944 as an Admiralty MFV supply
boat, so has the character and history of a fine wooden ship.
She is registered as a National Historic Ship. She is 50 feet long
and weighs 35 tons net register, so with only 12 passengers
there is plenty of space on deck, as well as in the wheelhouse
and the comfortable saloon, with its cosy coal fire in the winter
months.
John and Susan bought the established Lady Florence business
in 1992 and set about increasing the operation from five cruises a
week to up to three a day. This necessitated bringing son Craig and
his partner Kris into the business. The family business expanded
internationally in 2002, setting up the Allen Gardiner on Durban
Harbour, South Africa. Afer eleven successful years, it was decided
to consolidate both Lady Florence and Allen Gardiner businesses in
Sufolk in 2013.
The Allen Gardiner addition in Sufolk provides Lady Florence
customers with a very new and diferent dining experience,
while maintaining the standards of excellence those customers
have come to expect. The boat itself has a very diferent ambience,
the River Orwell is as diferent as it is possible to be, and the Durban
experience has lef its mark with a very diferent menu. The Durban
licence was for 58 passengers, but it will be some time before
MCA grant such a licence. Meanwhile, she can cruise with twelve
passengers. However, she can accommodate up to twenty sat at
table, and more with fork bufet meals, but with more than 12 she
must remain at her berth. The berth is at the entrance to the lock,
so with the large picture windows, it is fascinating to watch the
frequent trafic entering and leaving the Wet Dock.
It is well worth noting that although half our cruises are private
charters, the other half are made up from individuals happy to
share the experience with other like-minded people.
The Allen Gardiner was built in Miami Florida in 1942 as a South
African Air Force air/sea rescue launch, and has the character of a
fine wooden ship. She is 63 feet long and weighs over 46 tons
gross register. When built, she was capable of 42 knots (about 50
mph). During 2011 she underwent a six month rebuild, with all
planking above the waterline being replaced.
The Alan Gardiner cruises the river from Ipswich. It is a river of
contrasts, leaving from the Wet Dock, cruising past the Port of
Ipswich, the largest grain and timber facility in England, right
down to the Port of Felixstowe, the largest container terminal in
Britain. Between the two, however, is one of the most picturesque
river shorelines in East Anglia and the renowned Orwell Bridge.
The Lady Florence cruises an area rich in both wildlife and
history, leaving from Orford with its 12th century Norman
Castle and the 14th century Wool Church. Cruises pass
the National Trusts Orford Ness, RSPBs Havergate Island
and banks owned by Sufolk Wildlife Trust. It is an Area of
Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and a Site of Special
Scientific Interest (SSSI). We usually see the elegant and
graceful Avocet, for which the river is famous.
Alde & Ore
Rivers Alde & Ore