The annual family holiday is due this year at Thorpeness in Suffolk, which by all accounts is a strange place. We could get into the rental at 16:00 so there was no rush to leave the house, the plan was to stop at the national Trust property Anglesey Abbey over near Cambridge. We were away at 11:15 and after a pretty uneventful journey via mainly motorway and dual carriage way we arrived at the abbey at 12:00.
Anglesey Abbey was mediaeval priory which was eventually owned by Lord Fairhaven who turns it into a family home. He was find of Dahlias and they feature a lot around the house and grounds. There is also an annual Dahlia festival featuring the best Dahlias you’re ever likely to see on one place.
We walked around the grounds then had a look at the working mill, followed by the main house and then some other of the grounds before having lunch in the visitors centre. The house was one or the more interesting houses in that the contents were relatively modern compared to other National Trust properties. There were also quite a few paintings mainly of Windsor castle. Lord Fairhaven seemed to be a collector of things I noted pictures of birds, jewellery crosses, paintings of Windsor castle, and Chinese stone carvings. After lunch we headed back on the road to the twilight zone that is Thorpeness.
We took the tourist route which is a pleasant drive but not suitable for the VW cruise control as there are too many bends and you have to keep adjusting the speed and it is not so bad when you have some one to follow as when they break so does the Golf, but the road was very quiet so no one to follow.
Thorpeness Suffolk view
When we got to Thorpeneas it took a tour of the village MD a mobile phone call to find the rental cottage which was very nice. Plenty of rooms down stairs and more than one TV to save any arguments over which channel to watch. WiFi was soon found and connected to but the speed was a bit rural at 1.6mb down and 1.2mb up.
Rooms were soon allocated, bags unpacked, food stored away and we could begin to relax. A short walk via the beach and the shallow boating lake was in order. It became clear that Thorpeness was a weird place a subject that I will entire to in a later blog entry. By the time we got back it was time to eat. We had come prepared with Waitrose prepared salads so it took no time at all to take the lids off of the products and get stuck in. We also bought a selection of cheeses amongst which was a wedge of Bleu D’Affinois my favourite new cheese, and it was the only one that was completely demolished.
After a game of Scrabble I went to bed looking forward to a walk on Sunday.
A&C invited to spend a couple of days at the beginning of their holiday in Burnham Overy Staithe, we jumped at the chance, for some walking and bird watching on he North Norfolk coast. I when home at lunch time to get our luggage and then left work at 16:00 and picked Helen up from work. We had a pretty good journey considering hat it was a Friday and the weekend weather looked like being fine. Apart from the odd stretch of slow traffic, we really never got in a traffic jam except of at Brandon but we expected hat because there is always a queue of traffic stretching out to the edge of the town, caused by the traffic lights at the centre.
About 30 minutes away from the coast we got a all from A they had failed to get to the shops of time to get everything they needed, so we did a quick raid on the Waitrose at Swaffham for some cheese (including some of that Bleu Affinois), bread, salad and coffee. We arrived at the cottage a about 19:30. A&C did us proud with some lovely roast butternut squash soup, with foccacia and Bleu Affinois! We sat around and chatted, and went to bed about 23:00 pretty late for us, even on a Friday.
Holkham Beach Panorama
I was awake early the sun was shining which made it difficult to get back to sleep but I snoozed until about 08:00. We had breakfast while we put together a vague plan of action. We planned to walk from the house heading out on the coastal path towards Holkham, which is one of Helen’s all time favourite walks.
We headed out along the sea defences it was surprising how cold the wind was and I had just about got enough layers with me. The sea defences lead to a board walk that takes you over the dunes, and onto the main beach. We walked along the beach checking out the flotsam to be found at the tide line, then headed back over the dunes about halfway to the gap, and not the pine wooded area, for a change of scenery. It was surprising how much warmer it was n the shelter of the wind. We eventually found the hide and had a rest, watching out over the marshy field area, where at one point we saw a Marsh Harrier being harassed by lapwings as it searched out presumably lapwing chicks wandering around on the meadow areas.
Holkham Victoria Little planet
We took a slight detour at the gap to look at the area behind the beach where the samphire grows, then headed over to the cafe at the entrance to the Holkham estate, where we had a light lunch. We had some time spare before the next bus so we took a look at the tutt in the Adnams shop, and the supposed outdoor shop that just sold clothes. We did take a look at the shopped called Bring The Outdoors In which had a mix of genuine old stuff, hand made flotsam things and manufactured goods, even I was impressed by some of the goods. However I did not purchase anything.
Next it was the coast hopper to Burnham Deepale, where I just had to drop into the One Stop Nature to have a look at the stuff they sell. Everything you could ever want in terms of looking at nature, from books to binoculars through stealth camera to microscopes. As much as I liked the stereo microscopes they would not have fitted into my ruck sack as it was full of camera gear.
The next leg of the journey was to be the short walk along the sea defences back to Burham Overy Staithe, or so we thought. The weather was starting to close it and there seemed to be rain showers all around, however we managed to keep out of all of them. Our destination seemed to get quite close but then we realised and Helen and I remembered that there is a significant dog log in the defences which adds about a third to what the length of the walk looks like. We eventually got close to the village, and the path leads off across the field towards the wind mill but I thought I knew better, I spotted a foot path that lead in land rather than along the road.
Woodland Walk from Cley Spy
Eventually the pat ran out and we were stuck between private property notices and water/mud. We did not fancy retracing our steps so started looking for ways out of our predicament. Whilst looking for exits from a filed we heard a voice asking us if we were lost, we explained we were, and the nice lady rather than being angry to find us trespassing, offered us the opportunity to walk up her drive to the road. What a kind person.
We were soon back at the hut, it was about 17:30 we had been out for 7 and a hlaf hours and had probably covered 8-9 miles. However there is no rest for the wicked we had a table booked for 19:00 at The Hero we had time for a cup of tea, a freshen up, and a cheeky glass of champagne and we had to leave the hut again.
The Hero is a pub that does good quality pub grub, the staff are really great, and the beer is good to. We had a bit of a potential mishap in that the wrong order came out, but it turned up the wrong plate had been picked up and all ended well. We had for starters chicken liver parfait, vegetable spring rolls, goats cheese tart, and mackerel pate, for mains two Dover sole, spring vegetable risotto, and duck. Everyone agreed the food was great. Back at the house we chatted away the rest of the evening.
A’s crab collection
No one was up early on Sunday, and we had a leisurely breakfast of muesli, yoghurt, strawberries and toast washed down with tea and coffee. We formulated a plan, we would take two cars to Cley Spy the binocular shop for a quick perusal then we would do Bayfield Bird Walk which Helen and I had done a few times before but always enjoy.
We did not spot many birds on the way round but we did enjoy the early summer lushness of the woods, the weather was overcast but quite warm so it made for a very enjoyable walk, and we did have a laugh amoungst ourselves and we went round. At the Wild flower center we stopped off for coffee and cakes, then finished off the last leg of the walk back to Cley Spy, where unfortunately Helen and I had to leave for home, leaving A&C to enjoy the rest of their week. We pointed them in the direction of Cley marshes and the local delicatessen, and said our good byes we had had a great weekend.
Our journey home was pretty uneventful and took the regulation 3 hours. We were very jealous of A&C who had managed to get out on the marshes at Cley and had seen a Bluethroat a bird neither I not Helen had ever seen, it would be a good start to A&C’s holiday bird list.
We caught the 09:01 from Berhamsted to Euston, at that tome an a Saturday you can park on the road near the station. Our mission to visit The View From The Shard, the new pointy building in London. Seats were easily found on the train and it arrived on time. Next was 68 bus to Waterloo bridge followed by a leisurely walk along the Southbank. We dipped in land a bit at the Golden Hind, and walked through Borough Market which was pretty packed and full of enticing food offerings. We found the Shard but our tickets were timed for 11:30 and we were early the nan an on the door said we would have to come back at the right time! Coffee time then.
Queuing was a breeze with plenty of security thrown in, including bag x-ray, metal detector and for me a frisk with a hand held detector because I set off the walk through one. Next we were herded to a lift which has video screens in the ceiling, the lift attendant told us we were travelling at 6 metres a second, and that was just about all the time she had before we arrived on floor 33.
View inside the Shard observation floor
Out of the lift round the corner and into another which dropped us off at floor 69, just as quickly as the first one. I asked ho many floors a day the lift man did he said they could only do one hour a day. Perhaps something to do with the rapid change on pressure that makes your ears pop.
The view from floor 70 is great far higher than the London eye. From this deck we saw the maintenance crews abseiling done the building.
We went up a couple more floors where you are more exposed to the elements, but still behind glass which makes taking photos a bit trick. I found that my polarising filter helped quite a bit. To leave you just do the same lifts but in reverse, and there is no security.
We wandered round borough market twisting all the cheese on offer, but did both get a halloumi burger each from a stall run by a couple of French hippies, I never knew the French had any concept of vegetarianism. We found a scarce spot to sit in the local church yard to eat our burgers the headed across the river to walk along the north bank of the Thames.
Church outside Borough Market
We wandered and ambled along until eventually we came across Covent. Garden, but realised that our heart was not into shopping. So we headed towards Dustin but not before a visit to a travel book shop and a quick stop in a shop on Tottenham Court Road where I purchased a USB extension cable, for the Raspberry Pi webcam set up. We then jumped back on a bus back to Euston and caught the 16:54 fast train back to Berkhamsted. We popped into Waitrose and got some salad stuff to eat , then went home had something to eat and watched the excellent BBC HD Australia documentary.
Some of RAF Uxbridge Battle of Britain bunker 76 stairs
Following a recommendation from the Ian Visits website we were going to visit the Battle of Britain Bunker at RAF Uxbridge, but before that I needed a haircut. Have been letting it grow for a change, but have got to the point where I either need to buy a comb or get it cut. The barber’s is in Wendover and if you get there just a few moments before 08:30 you can usually be the first in the queue. Today was no exception by 09:00 I was back home and shorn.
Satnav was on but when we got to the edge of the very large site we had a challenge because some entries were blocked and the road was up at others, but eventually we parked up at the bunker. The place is run by enthusiastic volunteers. From the entrance there are 76 steps down which I reckon is about 5 floors worth. At the bottom we were ushered into a film that had just started, where we were told all about the Dowding method for tracking planes during the war. The video was a bit amateur but informative and well presented.
Following the film there were about 8 rooms to look around with lots of RAF memorabilia to look at some of more interest to RAF people but much of it the sort of thing you wish museums showed more of. Lots of pictures of young airman, details of their planes, and where appropriate, where the brave men lost their lives. Part way through the viewing route was the main room where they used to push blocks representing aircraft across a map and allowed decisions about who and how many aircraft to send to deal with. There was lots of WAAF memorabilia including an example of the fetching regulation purple bloomers. One of the guides was particularly informative and wished that they could get hold of some more mannequins for the map room, in order to represent how busy and full these rooms were during peak times. One for M&S public relations I think! Some really interesting exhibits and well worth a visit. The steps were more difficult leaving than arriving unusual for a museum!
RAF Uxbridge Battle of Britain bunker, map room
Helen was all RAF’d up and decided a trip to the RAF memorial at Runnymede was necessary, so I cancelled the satnav destination and put in the new one. Before leaving Uxbridge we stopped off at an Asian supermarket for some cheap garlic, ginger, and falafel mix. We had been to Runnymede once before but it was only when we got within mile that I recognised the area.
We parked up and walked the few hundred metres to the memorial. You enter via some wooden gates, to a tarmac drive, that leads to what looks like a low building, with a central section slightly taller. When you get to the building you realise that the building is actually a sheltered stone wall surrounding a central grassy area with a cenotaph in the centre. It is a very peaceful and atmospheric place, with great views towards the West. The roar of aircraft taking off from Heathrow echoes overhead as you run your eyes down the plaques of the 20,000 airmen remembered there who lost their lives and have no known grave. Watching the cloud bank covering the sky it was easy to imagine Lancasters breaking through the cloud as they flew on in some endless journey.
Runnymede RAF Memorial
Helen went off to find out which list of names an acquaintance of a relative was on by referring to the registers. I tried my hand at a couple of hand held panorama shots, one outside and one inside. I also went up the stairs where from the top you could get great views over Windsor. As we left two buzzards were sweeping across the sky above the memorial in the Spring sunshine.
It was getting a bit late to get home for lunch, but I had the idea that we should stop at The Crown in Little Missenden, a real gem of a pub. Helen had chosen the blue route back which meant passing down Slough High street, where Helen felt the need to break out into the On The Buses theme tune!
Last day in Norfolk, weather promised to be windy with frequent shows and we were not let down. The plan was to take a look at the board walk at Barton Broad, as recommended by Ross the boat man, and then take a look at a Nation Trust property probably Blickling Hall. It was only a short drive to Barton Broad, we parked up we had a choice of any parking space clearly a popular place. The board walk was about 1km walk, down a narrow country road we didn’t meet any traffic but we did get a shower so the poncho was donned.
We soon found the entrance to the board walk, which is really well built, according to the notices they had to put in some piles 6.5m down to hit solid enough ground to support it. The walk is circular out over the wooded marsh area and has an observation point. We stopped off and watched from the observation point, spotting terns, plenty of grebes, and we heard what we thought was the call of a water rail. Another shower came along as we sat there so the poncho came out again and we huddled under it. When the rain stopped we headed back to the car park and were soon caught out again by a shower this time very heavy. Helen who had left the car unprepared and without poncho got a bit wet.
Dinning room in Blickling Hall NT Norfolk
Next stop was to be Blickling Hall, an Elizabethan building, with parks and gardens. The sky was grey when arrived so we did the tour of the house first. There are two levels to the house and it is typical of NT properties lots of old stuff, signs on chairs telling whether you can or cannot sit on them, and signs on other stuff telling you that you could not touch. I was impressed by the long room which apparently was build so they could exercise when the weather was inclement and later housed the best library in the National Trusts possession.
There were some impressive trees in the park land one in particular looked old and looked like it had spawned newer trees (albeit very old ones) where he limbs of the main tree (now a dead stump) had touched the ground and rooted. When the next shower came along we popped in for a coffee, and shared a granola cake, then we headed out and had a game of croquet on the lawn. Although we could not figure out the rules by reading the instructions, we made some up and Helen won.
View of a church in Norfolk
The gardens are extensive and there is some great topiary, but were not really that impressive from a bloom point of view I suspect because it is a bit early in the year, but you could see the potential. My guess is that in a months time the beds will look really impressive. We had a go on the hoopla game at Helen’s insistence, she claimed to be the Bucks under 10 champion, but in the end failed to score and so it was one all in the competitive stakes for the day.
In one of the side buildings there was an art exhibition and more interesting in another was details of the how the local land had been used during the war as an air base called RAF Oulton. It appeared to be mainly used for Boeing made bombers, which makes me suspect that it was somehow connected with the Americans They also had a few planes painted black which were used for special ops.
We were back at the hut at about 17:30 and had enjoyed the day.
The plans for today were centred around visiting Horsey Wind pump at Horsey, so following a leisurely breakfast we left the hut, and headed off. We are staying only about 10 minutes form the pump, which is run by the National Trust our plan was to do a circular walk, so see some seals by the sea and possible take in a boat trip from the mill, however just as we arrived outside Horsey I had a spontaneous change of plan, and we parked up at a beach car park. The car park was pay and display but the pay and display machine was locked up inside a mini container, so we saved ourselves a couple of quid.
The beach is accessed via a gap in the dunes which run along this part of the coast. The weather was great for taking photos as the haze of the last few days had cleared and the blue skies were covered in fluffy clouds. The weather forecast for most of the country was gales and rain but there was a chance that we were in a corner that would just miss all the bad weather. On the beach the wind was increasing but the sun was out and it was pleasant enough. The tide was going out and there was a stretch near the surf that was solid thus making walking easier. We headed south which was where we were told by Helen’s colleague the seals hang out. We soon started to spot waders on the beach ; Ringed Plover, Grey Plover, Dunlin, and also Little Tern hunting over the sea. We walked for about a mile and spotted plenty of seals in the sea popping their heads out of the water to keep their eyes on us, then we came across probably about 200 seals lying on the beach between two break waters.
View from top Horsey Wind Pump NT Norfolk
We headed up into the dunes so as not to disturb them, where we found somewhere to site down and watch them and have a snack of Christmas cake. I took the opportunity to take some time lapse photos with the GoPro. Next we headed back to the car the weather was still holding out but the wind was building as forecast. We drove the mill itself and parked up at the NT car park , another free be as we are members. The nice man at the cafe invited us in and explained about the mill, told us to get on the boat trip you need to put your name on the “automatic” booking system and was happy for us to us the cafe to eat our sandwiches. Helen when off to put our names on the booking system while I went and got her binoculars form the car, then we went had had a look at the Mill/Pump, which if you don’t mind steep steps gives a great view from a platform at the top. Back at the cafe we got a coffee and the man tempted Helen with a box a bargain cards, how did he know that Helen is a sucker for a card? We took our coffee’s outside and sat in the lee of the building and had lunch.
Ross’s boat trips from Horsey Wind Pump
We took a stroll round the broad for a bit to kill the 30 minutes before the boat trip. It turned into a private boat trip, as we were the only people booked on it. Ross Warrell who runs Ross’ Norfolk Broads River Trips it turns out has a connection, I mentioned that I went school fairly locally and he said did I know his borther Adrian turns out he was in the class below me, what a small world we live in. The boat trip was great Ross really like bird watching and essentially the trip turned into a bird watching trip. We saw loads of Marsh Harriers, Sedge Warblers, Reed Buntings, as you would expect but we also had a fly past by a Cuckoo and great views of two Hobby’s. We both really enjoyed the trip and would thoroughly recommend it, Ross is really the star of the boat with his knowledge of birds and his relaxed attitude to the whole tour of the broad.
Back on dry land we went back to car to decide what to do, we had probably an hour to do something but could not see anything on the map that took our fancy. We had been out in the wind all day and wanted something a bit more sheltered. We headed to Winterton-on-sea to see if we could get a coffee and found a gem of a cafe called Dunes Cafe just off the beach car park.We went in expecting nothing special, but inside it clearly was not you usual beach cafe, they had an expresso machine, a great collection of cakes, and the menu looked great too. On the wall there was evidence that it had featured in the press, with framed articles.We opted for the homemade red velvet cake which was a chocolate cake with beetroot and a butter cream icing, it was lush.
Coast watch tower at Winterton Norfolk
Whilst we had coffee I noticed there was a coast watch hut and a couple had been invited in to take a look, so after we left the cafe I wandered over to see if I could have a guided tour too. The man in the watch tower was just packing up as his shift finished at 16:00 but he very kindly agreed to show me around and tell me what he was up to. The watch is run form 08:00 to 16:00 each day and concentrates on smaller craft i.e. those not on the AIS system. Apparently the one at Winteron is covered by only 8 volunteers. I noticed on the table he had a note about a dead dolphin being reported on the beach to the south, backing up his comments that public treated them a lot like to the place to report anything from lost keys to lost children. We talked about local pubs and he recommended the Nelson Head at Horsey.
We got home we checked out the website for the Nelsons Head it looked good and promised to yo accommodate any diet, Helen gave then a call and checked that they did veggie food and booked a table. The pub is a strange place in the back next to the var park there was a car van with a staffie at the window. In the pub it was like your tradition establishment with all sorts of brick a brac hanging from the walls including, a very large shot gun with a six foot barrel with a gauge of about an inch and a half, apparently it was used to shot many ducks with one shot. The food was average but the beer was great. I had Brain’s Bitter and Helen had Nelsons Revenge.
Up at reasonable time with breakfast sorted, we left the house at 09:22 destination Cley Marshes, and a day bird watching. The route was familiar along the A149 which runs from around the North Norfolk coast from the broads at Yarmouth to Kings Lynn. We usually don’t like to spend too much time driving around when we are on holiday but the draw of Cley Marshes and the potential for bird watching was too much to resist.
The one hour journey was shortened somewhat by three episodes of The Archers, and my attempt to break my fuel usage record. The adaptive cruise control on the golf tends to accelerate smoothly and economically and the A149 has some long stretches of 50mph, by the time we parked up at the Norfolk Wildlife Trust car park we had achieved 61 miles per gallon which is very impressive.
Cley beach view
We checked in at the visitors center had a pee and set off around the reserve, in a clockwise direction, which is not the way we usually walk around. At the first group of three hides it was great to see plenty of waders out on the scrapes; Ringed Plovers, Godwits, Dunlin, Sandpipers, Turnstone to mention a few. We then headed out to the beach car park where alas the cafe and loo are no more, following a storm a few years back the temporary structures have been removed. We walked on to the north most hide where we had some of A’s great Christmas cake that we had frozen just after Christmas. Then we stopped for sandwiches at the bench on the south east corner, where I also tried a timelapse with the go pro. We checked out the final hide nearest the visitors center, before we went in for a coffee and some well deserved apple cake.
Next stop was Cley Spy binocular shop where I had an opportunity to try our loads of binoculars, including a tempting set by Opticron at £299 DBA 10×25 Oasis W/P which give a great bright image, and pack down really small so would be perfect to keep in my rucksack when out for a walk. I picked up a bargain mini ball tripod head for £39 instead of the usual £55.
Fly on Alexander
On the way home we picked up some supplies at Waitrose North Walsham. I had a plan for the evening after we had eaten, which was to try our the raptor watch point at Stubb Mill, apparently you can often see 10’s of Marsh Harriers and other raptors. I drove up to and parked at the visitors center but when I walked up the lane as I understood you were supposed to, I noticed that the gate was lockable. Despite looking at all the notices at the reserve there was not indication of when the gate would be locked, so I got back in the car and drove down to Stubb Mill. There were signs that suggested that they prefer people not to park there, I squeezed the car up against a bank next to the watch point, and kept my fingers crossed that no one would come and tell me off.
The sun was about 30 minutes from setting and was shining on the scrubby fields in front of me, but apart from the odd crow, cow and deer there was not much happening. I took some pictures and set up the gopro to do some timelapses, as I waited. Just as I was thinking I had wasted my time and that they only roost in the winter, I started noticing Harriers arriving in their ones and twos! My guess is that they were all Marsh Harriers but I did see one that I thought was grey on top which would make it a Hen Harrier, but I will not be putting it on my list. Then I started to hear not only a Bittern booming but a Cuckoo, well Cuckooing. I can imaging that in the winter when they are not breeding and it is cold they the sight is quite spectacular.
We were up early had, breakfast then left the hut at 09:20, destination Hickling Broad NNR, about two miles walk. It was a pleasant walk, mainly by track and footpath, we arrived at the visitors center and attempted to book a place on the 1030 boat trip but unfortunately it was full, but there were some places on the 13:30 so we booked that one in instead.
As we had three hours to while away we started off slowly with a coffee, whilst we sat and drank our coffee we were surprised at the number of birds we spotted just sat there; Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Whitethroat, Blackcap, Robin, Tits etc. We set off around the reserve stopping off at the Cadbury hide, named after the family who purchased the land and then donated it to the NWT some years ago. The Cadbury family still have a link with the reserve as they lease a lodge deep in the reserve and next to the edge of the open water. When someone is staying they raise an appropriate flag, today a flag with a Marsh Harrier was flying. We did not see much from the hide the I think because the water levels where so low the habitat was not how they had intended it when the hide was built.
In the next hide we thought that a situation was in front of us until Helen spotted a Water Rail. The Water Rail is a very elusive bird normally only observed briefly when they venture out of the reeds. The low water level was to hep us in this situation, the edges need the reeds where the rails would normally feed was dried up forcing it to wander out into the open. We saw it forage slowly and then go into a small patch reeds where we lost sight of it but our patience was rewarded when it came back out into the open for a while before a short flight back into the reeds. Along with the Black Tern yesterday the Water Rail wold be added to the weeks highlights.
Observation tower Hickling NWT
Next it was down to the far edge of the reserve and past the Lodge leased by the Cadbury family, where we headed back towards the visitors center making the walk into a circular one. We ate the sandwiches we made back at the hut with another instant coffee then we walked back into the reserve to find the mooring for the boat trip.
There were not many birds to see on trip I think we were just there at the wrong time of year, all the winter wildfowl had left and the spring/summer migrants delayed by the delayed spring weather. The guide had some interesting facts to convey to us, one that stuck out was the story of Emma Turner who was a victorian naturalist who got permission to use an island on the broad which was used for hunting. She had a house boat built and a hide then lived there for the next 25 years, photographing and recording the birds.
We walked back to the hut and got back at 16:30 so we had a long day out in the field. We ventured out to the The Swan pub at Stalham an Adnams pub where the food was great.
We were up and about at a reasonable time of 08:00, and we had a plan. Near by at Neatishead there is an retired RAF station which since the 2nd world war, and through the cold war was a radar station. There is museum there run by volunteers, and it opens at 10:00 with a tour starting at 10:30. We had breakfast then headed out following the sat nav, but because we could not find the (well spell) Neatishead, we set the destination as Horning. Helen then took charge and put the correct spelling in but then we then had to go anti-clockwise round the broad we had been travelling clockwise around!
As it happened we got there at bank on 10:00, and there was plenty of room in the car park. The entrance fee is only £6 but we opted to pay the slightly extra fee and agreed to the gift aid deal, which means that the charity can claim back the tax. A couple arrived behind us and the guy was explaining to the manager that he had been posted at Neatishead twice during hs career in the RAF, both times in the 80’s. The place reminded me a bit of Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire, the place would be nothing without the volunteers, but I can imagine that the committees and working groups behind the scenes must be a bit of a nightmare for the only paid employee, the manager.
Douglas Baders bunny at RAF Neatishead Norfolk
The tour was very interesting and the speakers all very skilled at explaining the way that RADAR works, and how the RAF had perfected and used the technology to monitor the aircraft nearing the United Kingdoms airspace over the years. The first exhibit started with WWII where everything had to be done by hand, with token, and telephone lines being used to push the information up the chain of command. As RADAR improved the systems became slightly more sophisticated and eventually, crude by today’s standards, computers were introduced. The final exhibit was a bit like the NASA mission control room, but all the large screens on the wall were maintained by operatives writing backwards on glass screens, to relay the information. When the tour was over we looked at most of the other exhibitions all RAF and RADAR related, including one where they explained how space was started to be monitored as satellites became the norm. We finished off by having a toasted sandwich and coffee at the cafeteria, which was find and good value.
My parents headed off home from the museum and Helen and I had a date with and NWT nature reserve at Ranworth Broad, so sat nav programmed we set off. As is tradition in this part of Norfolk you have to pass through Wroxham if are going anywhere, and today was no exception. It was comforting to know that Roys of Wroxham is still thriving in what one can only describe as Norfolk Broads on Sea, I would not be surprised if you an purchase “Kiss me quick” hats at Roys. Wroxham is at the cross roads of quite a few roads and has a bridge that joins the roads in the South to the roads in the north. Add to that the moorings and boat trips you can take from there, and everyone wants to be there on a bank holiday Monday, the place was Sergio Ramos. Luckily we were just passing through.
On the way to the Broad we stopped at the Woodfordes brewery of Wherry Bitter fame, we were hoping to get a take out 4 pint container of beer, but unfortunately they did not have the facilities to do that in the shop, but hey did sell the containers, which could be filled at the pub next door. We purchased a container but decided we would get the beer at the pub near the hut, where we knew we could get Bure Gold and kind of summer ale at 4.3%. We parked up in a conveniently placed field below the church at Ranworth, which was free and just a short walk to the nature reserve. To get to the reserve visitors center there is a board walk, which is just a short walk. The building is floating and there are plenty of viewing points on the upper deck where you can look out over the broad. We inquired about the boat trips and as luck would have it there was one due in 15 minutes, so we paid the £5 a head, members price, and waited.
Ranworth Broad floating visitors center
The boat trip was very relaxing the boat just pootled around the edge of the broad at about 2 mph which the informative volunteer told us about the wildlife and management of the place. We saw quite a few species, even though the winter is the busiest season for the broad, including Great Crested Grebe, Teal, Cormorant, Common Tern as well as the less common Black Tern. We thought that the boat trip would take us back to the floating visitors center but it took us to the next door broad called Malthouse broad at a pub called the Maltsters inn. From there it was just a short walk back to the car.
We took the opportunity to have a look around he church, which had a tower you could climb up to take a look at the view. The notices warned on many narrow steps so I was left on my own to tackle it. And narrow the steps were then there was a metal m ladder followed by a final set of wooden steps which lead to a hatch onto the roof. Luckily for me we only passed two people on the way up could fit into a doorway as I went past. The view from the top was great because not only was the church on a hill top but the tower was a tall one too. I joined about 8 other people heading down I thought that we would have the strength of numbers where it came to who would back off if we came to and impasse. Luckily we did not but at times it was a bit of a squeeze especially as I had a rucksack on my back.
We had a drink and piece of cake at the church cafe, the cake was a bit disappointing as I was expecting home made cake but the Honey and Cream was obviously shop bought and frozen. The journey home was short and we seemed to be going the right way as there seemed to be lots of cars going the other way but stuck in several queues. They would probably be at work tomorrow, we wouldn’t.
You may be wondering about the title of the blog post, well on two occasions today we had to give way to dogs wandering onto the road from the drive of two houses, the owners seemingly oblivious to the potential fate of their canine friends. Perhaps it is a Norfolk thing?
We were up at a reasonable 08:00, and had some toast and coffee for breakfast, then lounged about till 10:00, then headed out the plan was to go to Cromer. We took the A149 which follows the coast al the way round to Kings Lynn.
When we got to Cromer we had a change of heart and decided to go to the the Poppy Line, a steam train line, at Sheringham. Being just a little bit further down the coast, it did not take us long to get there, and park up. We paid £5 for a days parking. We went to the ticket office and bought tickets for the trains, the way it works is once you have the tickets you can jump on and off the tran all day for £16. The next steam train was in a hour so we had a look around Sheringham and stopped for a coffee, before waiting on platform one for the train to arrive.
The train was full but not packed, everyone got a seat. They were having a Thomas the tank engine weekend so all of the engines had plastic faces attached to them, which did It make for good photo’s. There is a stop at Weybourne and it was where the main Thomas stuff was going on we took one look and decided to stay on the train till Holt.
At Holt station there is a bus stop, and one was due in less than 20 minutes, so we thought we would wait for be bus as it is about a mile and a half into town, however after about 30 minutes there was no bus, and we had a dilemma we needed to get back in time to get to a supermarket for our planned evening meal, so we ended up heading back to the station and got a diesel train back to Sheringham.
Boats near Sheringham
On the way back we stopped off at the North Walsham Waitrose, and picked up some supplies for dinner. We dumped the food back at the hut then headed out for a walk on the beach at Sea Palling, which is a strange place. There is a concrete ramp leading to the beach between the sand dunes, the local fisher men use it to launch their boats. Once over the dunes there is some break waters out a sea they clearly have an erosion issue, there were some serious boulders piled up for a mile or two out at sea with a gap every hundred or so yards. As we walked down the beach we spotted Sandwich and Little tern.
We returned to he car park by heading in land over the dunes then following a track parallel to the beach. Along the track there were quite a few wooden shacks of varying sophistication many of them with water, electricity and phones, I even think they had off mains sewage.
Back at the main area I dropped in to the amusement arcade, and changed a fiver for some 10 pence pieces. The arcade had a strange system of tickets wins prizes, every time you had a go on a machine you would get tickets and if you actually won you got even more. I got two 75 ticket wins on a roulette style game. You take your tickets to a machine where you feed them in and they get counted and you are issued with a receipt if the count. I had enough for a pen so I went to the counter and showed my tickets and said could I have a pen any pen. There was one confusion the lad thought I wanted to borrow a pen, but eventually were on the same wavelength. I followed him over to the cabinets and pointed to the only decent looking pen. He had trouble finding the pen I wanted so I settled for two sets of highlighter pens.
Back at the hut we lounged around again (well we are on holiday) then had salad and anti-pasta for dinner. We followed that up with a game of knock out whist, which I won. Then we settled down in from of the telly to watch the antiques roadshow, rock n roll, followed by the last episode of the village, and great series on BBC1.
