Wk 23 17th to 23rd Mar

Well, from the sublime to the rediculous, or from the fabulously craggy to the mind numbingly flat, that was this week - Lakes (via Clitheroe) to Lincoln - in retrospect not a great idea, but geographically necessary!!!

Monday 17th March – day 142

We are leaving Norfolk today, after our Lakeland interlude, it would be lovely to revisit some of the north coastline and explore more of its atmospheric salt marshes, but it is onwards and upwards again for us!
Down the A17 yesterday, and back up the A17 today - and it didn’t look any more interesting looking the other way, flat, flat, flat and wet! However the journey though tedious was easy and we had made it to Donington in Lincolnshire by 4pm, for another farm stay and again in splendid isolation, but we expect company soon as the Easter weekend approaches.

Tuesday 18th March - day 143

We are off to visit Skegness today to see if it is as bracing as the posters indicated! First stop Boston though as we have to drive through there on the way. The centre of town had the most historic charm obviously, but also the largest parish church in Britain, which they call the stump, no-one knows why, they just do!! The ceilings were, as many before them quite beautifully painted, the attention to even the smallest detail must surely have been done to Gods glory although we are also really enjoying them. After Boston we drove on to Gibraltar Point just beyond Skegness to picnic and to walk through this strange national nature reserve by the sea. It was indeed bracing and several layers were needed to keep out the elements, but we were prepared. What we were not prepared for though was the difficulty in finding the sea! We knew it had to be there somewhere, but we could not access it across the marshes, though we did find a nice warm lookout shelter, the first of several, as there is some serious bird watching to be enjoyed around here. However we did find another route and we were soon back by the water, which again we had all to ourselves, searching for oyster catchers and sea shells – joy! We had yet to see Skegness itself though and dusk was drawing in so we would be seeing it lit up – may be its best view. It was all we expected, a neon, brash, fantasy land of amusement and adventure, what we had not expected was just how much of it there would be; and how many static caravan parks there were, and for just how far along the coastline they ranged. For miles we passed a melange of manmade, plastic and artificial fun factories in the shape of Fantasy island, Butlins, and Coral Island, there were more electric light bulbs per square foot than most major towns ………… and we could not face getting out to see how bracing it was!

Wednesday 19th March – day 144

We woke this brilliant sunny warm spring morning to the sound of much baaing, and on view just outside our caravan were a real mothers union of ewes and their very frisky lambs having an animated group discussion, unfortunately the meeting closed before I could get to the camera, but we did catch them departing, though we are not sure who took the minutes! Today we are off to check out Lincoln, but have a few admin chores to catch up on, so enjoy the morning in our farm field.
We drove through Sleaford on the way to our destination which was charming indeed, we didn’t stop this time, but think we will need to go back. Lincoln was lovely, particularly round the cathedral. It was set on top of a hill, and surrounded by characterful cobbled streets (a bit of mix of York and Gold Hill Shaftesbury) descending down to the city centre. We of course lingered in the cathedral to view its delights, not least of which were the most evocative set of “stations of the cross”, and a quiet area for prayer, filled with huge candle sticks. We sat awhile in the nave, whist the choir made angelic music in preparation for evensong, before we left to explore the environs, and a slow walk back up “Steep Hill”

Thursday 20th March – day 145

Back to miserable weather, we had planned to go for a walk in the Wolds (are now desperate to see a hill!) but the foul weather outside keeps us prevaricating until well after lunch, until finally we make the decision to go out in search of excitement! Unfortunately it needs to be free and dry, so NT property Belton House at Grantham wins the vote. Unfortunately pre bank holiday queues and a detour to Sainsbury’s for bread and milk (and hot cross buns!) meant that there was not enough time to really explore the house, but by now it looked like the skies were clearing so we headed off for historic Stamford. We were so glad we did, the rain held off for most of our two and a half hour stroll (including a cup of tea!) up and down old and narrow cobbled streets, past endless number of churches, over bridges and by water meadows, it was so charming that it was only the drawing in of the evening, and camera exhaustion (Chris now had a blister on his finger) that caused our holt.
Friday 21st March Good Friday – day 146

Woke to a very windy abut sunny morning, buckets and boxes scattered across the camp field, but all easily retrievable. After breakfast we are going to St Matthews Church in Boston to be part of the Good Friday events, so off in the car in good time, only to be brought to a dead stop outside Boston in a great queue of traffic stretching into the distance, here we sat for a good while! Not to be daunted we switched to some side streets to try and circumnavigate the traffic, but as usual this was doomed to fail. Time passed and we very soon realised that we would never make the start of the service, in fact it could have been nearly half way through by the way the traffic was moving. Sad at heart we pulled off and headed towards Sleaford for a walk round after our drive through the other day. On the way we found a huge derelict maltings store, these are so extensive that they are too large for conversion to any other use. Unfortunately Sleaford did not live up to its earlier promise. We did have a look into a local church there but they were also in the middle of a service but with no external signs of invitation we went for an unsatisfactory cup of tea - what no Earl Grey! So Helen a lemon burst(!) and I had PG, (sadly even the tea cake failed to live up to inspire).
A couple of small delights found on returning to the car, were a small side alley and the smallest jewellers’ shop we had ever seen. It could have not been any deeper that 6’ and 12’ long, flanked on one side by a wide water filled drainage dyke, and access to the first floor was by removable ladder. By now the promised rain was heavily upon us so back to the car and a return to the caravan, for once so early in the day that we had time to play scrabble, and yes Helen did win, convincingly, and I was left with a 10 point Q. There will be a return match.

Saturday 22nd March – day 147

What a weird and wonderful day today has been, having recently had a long discussion about the increasingly dire shape of our funds (or the galloping approach of the lack of them!!!) the increasing burden of the price of petrol (top price noted this week - £1.20 per litre for diesel- yikes) and the frequency with which we are having to refuel – at least once a week- let me work that out for you … yes we are spending £400 plus per month on petrol alone, no wonder there is no beer money left!
So today we decided to make the 200 mile round trip to Middleton Cheney to visit Audrey and Gordon. And once we got there we were so glad that we did. Getting there though was a bit of a surreal experience as every 10 miles we seemed to pass through extreme weather changes – brilliant blues skies that had us reaching for our sunglasses one minute, and horizontal snow storms that had the wipers running at double speed the next. The change in weather was as frequent as the stripes on a zebra and we were starting to feel quite seasonally bemused!
Anyway we arrived at Fernleigh fashionably late (no change there) but with good reason this time, and stepped back into a time warp. It had been a decade since I had last seen the house and Aud, but neither seemed to have changed, Gordon is thinner now, but otherwise it was all comfortingly much as I remember; including and particularly the wonderful warm welcome and excellent lunch that was prepared for us. We spent a lovely afternoon with them, and stayed until about 5pm as Gordon was tiring, so then took our leave. As we were driving out of Middleton his nibs proclaimed “Betty (his lovely and long suffering secretary) lives round here I’m sure” so with only a little detective work (he has a nose like a blood hound!!) we rounded the corner of Betty’s drive, and were thrilled to find both Betty and daughter Sharon in and ready with the kettle. After another interlude of different reminiscences we made the return journey in a more settled climate.

Sunday 23rd March – day 148

It is true to say that the weather forecast had promised snow to the south and east of the country, and it is also has to be said that I was wakened in the night several times with an unusually cold nose (one thing we have always been in this caravan is snug and warm) so I should not have been surprised at 8am when I first lifted the blinds, to find ourselves in a winter wonderland with snow at least 3inches deep! It took some doing to get Chris to go outside and sort out the water, and it was only the promise of wearing my pink wellies that persuaded him - but he was again the hero of the hour as he went and dug for our water barrels! As we set off for Sleaford to share fellowship with the New Life church this Easter day, we were a little disheartened to realise that the snow was melting fast in our already soggy field, and it is now a really squelchy scramble to the car. It is a good job we are leaving on Tuesday as we are slowly sinking into the quagmire and all around is slushy brown! Yuk!
The celebration at New Life was fab, and we set off in joyous mood to find the Wolds. The journey was a bit like the one we had yesterday, intermittent snow storms and sunshine. We find the Wolds pleasant but without a map were unable to pick out a walk route, so headed off for a last glimpse of the sea as from Tuesday we will be inland for a month or so. We arrived at Saltfleet in the sunshine, walked along the seas edge in sleet and hail for part of the way, a very stingy experience indeed, and ended the walk in sunshine – I think we looked a little steamy as we made our way back to the car! The journey back took us down through Lincoln’s seaside mecca, and again we were reminded of all its nefarious joys, but swiftly through as we had to be home in time for the final episode of Lark Rise to Candleford – joy!

Wk 22 10th to 16th Mar

Monday 10th March – day 135

The weekend is over Tim is gone to Argentina and it is another rainy day - good for planning routes and booking campsites! Which is what we did, from dawn to dusk (well mid morning to tea time!) we weaved our way around Scotland charting courses and seeking out residencies. The lovely painters kept us company and the kettle never cooled.

Tuesday 11th March - day 136

Busy day, and sad day today, busy because as well as the painters we are being joined by the carpet fitter, who is replacing the bedroom carpet – the final chapters of the loo disaster! And sad because it is the last day that the painters are with us, and after tea time there will be no more local gossip and lively banter!! Cheerio till June chaps!!
Wednesday 12th March – day 137

We wake up to a wet miserable day again, so can spend another day of planning again without fearing of feeling that we are missing out! We sat in our warm kitchen walking the intrepid walkers turning their collars up against the driving rain – is this the same smirk that locals have every time they meet a sodden tourist!!!

Thursday 13th March – day 138

Although it is just as wet today as it has been the rest of the week, we are now stir crazy and need to get out (obviously still tourists after all!!)
It is too wet to able to get out for decent walk but we drove over to Keswick, down beautiful Borrowdale - glorious in its dampness, with raging torrents of water tumbling down the fells on all sides! Honister too looked wild, and the sheep resolute as we drove through, past Buttermere and Crummock to walk round Loweswater. We had the only dry spell of the day as we plodded round this the smallest of the three lakes in almost complete solitude.

Friday 14th March – day 139

Last day and after a morning of cleaning we set off for an afternoon of nostalgic indulgence! We start with a half at the Brit (must consider the bladder) and walk from Elterwater, up to Loughrigg, round the Tarn where we stopped in a new favourite stop to eat our sandwiches (whether we were needed them or not!) down through a truly spring Lakeland scene of banks of wild daffodils bobbing their heads in the breeze, to Skelwith Bridge (loo stop at Chester’s) and along the river back to Elterwater, bliss, with a final cuppa etc. at Lucy’s before setting off for a weekend of fun and frolics at R’Als

Saturday 15th March – day 140

After a leisurely get up – is there any other now a days, Al and I go to Mitton Hall for a v-e-r-y l-o-n-g lunch, just long enough to put the whole world to right. We take a quick trip to the wrinklies to check they are still standing, and on home for a little rest…. before we all go out for supper to the Lower Buck! Ma had made a couple of cakes so pud was a slice of home cooking.
This is a proving to be a tough year, will we ever be able to set off again…. No……. let’s not think about it yet!
Sunday 16th March – day 141

All too soon it is time to leave Al and Vic’s to head back for Norfolk ready for making the journey to Lincoln. The journey is boring but easy, and only the stop at Sainsbury’s for provisions cause a delay in our return. The evening is mostly spent unpacking and sorting, but we still had time to catch some of the new BBC drama The Passion – FAB, and the final episode of The Last Enemy - equally fab but traumatising and depressing because it feels so close to the truth!!

Wk 21 3rd to 9th Mar

We are here in our flat for the next two weeks, but more for work than fun alas!!

Monday 3rd March – day 128

A day of business not pleasure today, the hall and stairs are being decorated and the lovely Gary and Greg started this morning, and will be with us for most of the time we are here.
We tried to make ourselves scarce and went into Kendal to buy new carpets (for the damaged ensuite) and shower curtains. We managed a L’Oreal moment at the Brown Cow at Winster, We ordered sandwiches, but what arrived was a feast on a plate – a little light supper I think!

Tuesday 4th March - day 129

The Gas Man cometh today, - and stayed for almost two hours trying to reassemble the boiler that he had taken apart to service – dreadful Worcesters – but he did a fab job and now we have no drips from the unit and piping hot water from the taps again!!
In the afternoon we took a trip to Morecambe - via the truly delightful back roads through the Lyth Valley to Arnside and Silverdale, stopping at Arnside Knott for lunch – just so that I could have my eyes tested for free! Once I had been checked out (and passed) we went on to check out Morecambe, which failed to inspire (except the statue of Eric (Bartholemew) which almost brought a tear to the eye – and many happy memories!) although we did enjoy a walk down the prom before going home for Haggis yippeeee!

Wednesday 5th March – day 130

Hairdresser and car service today, followed by admin and IT stuff - it almost like we are back in the land of the nermal – boring, boring, boring! (Our painting companions though kept us good company throughout the day though.) By mid afternoon we were getting stir crazy, so sporting the new flaming red highlights (not sure that is what I asked for!!) we set off for a walk along Under Loughrigg, over the stepping stones and back into town. It was truly lovely to be out and we returned refreshed, and with faces not quite as red as the hair!

Thursday 6th March – day 131

Day of purgatory!! We are here in the most beautiful part of England, and we are just not able to get out as we have too many jobs to do. So after a day of admin yesterday we spent the whole of today in front of the laptop and attached to a phone trying to plan and book the sites for the rest of our holiday. We started badly as we had forgotten the immanency of Easter and could not readily find a camp site in Lincoln. We did get there however, and in the end got as far as Scotland before the eyes, ears and grey cell packed up for the day!

Friday 7th March – day 132

Can stand no more of doings, so are off for a long walk! Went for out to walk for several hours. We parked up by Wray Castle and walked down by Windermere until near the ferry, where we climbed up and walked along the tops to Belle Grange, Arthur’s Wood and finally the back roads back to the car. The bottom path was fairly busy, but we had the top path to ourselves – actually it was not really a path today but rather a flowing stream, following the recent rainfall! Once back at the flat there was a bit of clearing up and cleaning to do (as most of the hall was still in the twin bedroom!) to be ready for Tim’s arrival.

Saturday 8th March – day 133

Tim and I went to Leeds today to show him his other Uni choice. The journey down the A65 was lovely, and from Skipton onwards it reminded me of all the journeys I had made from home as a student. The journey back also worked its way to the heart strings as it feels more apparent that the A591 will be our road back home soon!
Leeds was heaving and wet as it was raining hard, so we only managed a quick trip round the shops, found the Art College and St Georges, and a cuppa at Costas, before making the 2 hour journey home to a srummy roast chicken magnificently prepared by Chef Minton!

Sunday 9th March – day 134

Sadly Tim is leaving us straight after brunch, in order to get packed ready for his flight to Argentina on Monday. We have had a lovely time with him, but that is it now for the next 4 months, as he will be with Latin Link until July. Once he had left it was heads down again for more jobs – oven cleaning/bath re-masticking/paint repairing etc! Our reward was the anticipation of Lark Rise to Candleford 9but only for one more episode).

Wk 20 25th Feb to 2nd Mar

We start the week in Norfolk, and finish up in Ambleside via Clitheroe, what a pair of globe trotters are we!

Monday 25th February – day 121

Today has been a day of little joys and surprises. The first was the weather, it should be raining but the sun is shining! We are touring the north Norfolk coastline from Holt to Heacham. The first stop was historic Holt to look for a post office, amidst other things. It reminded us a little of Malmesbury, pleasing to the eye and comfortable with itself! Morston which we had not considered stopping at and was both a surprise and a joy, the Quay was a lovely jumble of old wooden moorings set in the marshes, definitely worth stopping for. Through Stiffkey to Wells next the Sea. Unfortunately we were not drawn to explore Wells, so moved on to Burnham Market, where we met our next two joys, first a windmill (now a holiday home owned by the National Truss – worth remembering) and then Burnham Overy Staithe a little corner of English rural idyll. We lunched at Burnham Market, a very upmarket little town with a river running through it – and a lovely fishy shop.
Next stop was Brancaster Staithe where we parked up to walk off our lunch, along the edge of the marshes – pleasant but not so inspiring as previous marsh walks, however we did come across the piece of machinery that answered our questions about how the reeds are harvested, which was enlightening. On finally to Heacham as dusk is falling (of course) and another short and bracing walk as David Bailey tries out his tripod techniques!

Tuesday 26th February - day 122

Today is our last day in Norfolk before driving north for a couple of weeks. The sun is shining again which is a bonus. We are visiting Ely, via the historic market towns (so the book says) Swaffham and Downham Market, so with camera, sandwiches and anticipation off we go!
We got out and had a wander round Swaffham, but little inspired – even the church was closed. Neither did Downham so we did not stop there – eager to see Ely!! But we took a detour - that looked interesting on the map – to find a lovely spot to have our sandwiches. And indeed it was interesting- a hundred foot wash –a river a wide span of marshland flanked by another river sitting serenely on a pancake flat landscape. You could hardly call it beautiful, but there was something stirring about the expanse of it all, especially when gazing at it under bright blue skies. Then we were off to Ely, to the enormous Cathedral that stretches out and completely dominates the little town which has earned the right to be called a city because of its centre piece. We had read that the ceiling work was beautiful but that was a complete understatement, the ceilings were magnificent!!! And the doom in the picture we were told was not fitted to the roof, but set on top of it, but as it weighs over 40 tonnes there is little fear that it will blow off! The stone carvings were extravagant, the ceilings painted in the naves, and as in Norwich, the bosses had been given the creative treatment and a row of medieval angels looked down at us!

Wednesday 27th February – day 123

A bright sunny day for our journey north, we spent the morning packing up and moving the caravan into store, and were away by noon. It was then that we turned on the radio for company to hear that there had been a significant earthquake in the middle of the night, and the epicentre was in Lincoln – 40ish miles away – and we slept through it!!!
The journey was long and tedious and crossed miles of flat uninteresting terrain, but eventually we arrived in Clitheroe, with just enough time to wash our faces and leave for supper at the Calf’s Head Worston.

Thursday 28th February – day 124

Dull day, rain on the way, but did not arrive in time to stop us from going for a refreshing walk along the river bank from Waddington to Grindleton and back, after a morning of chores. The air was lovely and still but the ground was soggy under foot, and there were three pairs of pink cheeks and very muddy boots when we had finished!

Friday 29th February – day 125

Leaving Clitheroe today for the flat and the rain has arrived in force! No delays on the journey though and we were in plenty of time to get to the Solicitors in time to pick up some papers ready for a meeting about the flats at Lowfield in the morning. The trip to Booths for the food shop was interesting though; Lake Windermere was a white water swirl, with spray scudding across the surface, and tree debris all along the road. We were ready for the rain, but the strength of the wind surprised us a little! The sight in Booths itself amused as well, as we all ran in from the car park right outside, looking like we had been pulled through a hedge backwards, there were some who were clearly not enjoying this undignified experience. But not us, we were intent on filling our basket – what a bill, Morrison’s next week!

Saturday 1st March – day 126

Meeting this morning to discuss parking issues and setting up a management group; we think it went well, but the proof of the pudding will be when folk see the bill for the work that we have agreed.
Too wet to go out later today, so much enjoyment spent having a lazy time – and Chris catching up with SEVERAL John Wayne movies (that is why I am in the kitchen typing this!!!)

Sunday 2nd March – day 127

Taking our three types of Bread and Butter pudding (yes home made) to Ali’s today to surprise Mum for Mothers Day, Hannah also joining us so that is my treat! We were not required at Green Drive for an hour after picking Hannah up, so we had a little time luxury at the Emporium whilst Chris went off in search of flowers – good man!! We had a lovely afternoon all together, Al and Vic showed their true aging colours by thinking that it was chic (yes really) to offer us a fashion parade of them wearing their winceyette night shirts (yes really!) Be still my beating heart, it took a while before I was able to face lunch, but the wondrous spread that they lay before us - but I gave it my best efforts!!!!!
We dropped Hannah off at the station by 6.30pm and home for Lark Rise to Candleford.

Week 19 18th to 24th Feb

We leave Suffolk to go on to Norfolk this week, it has been startling to see just how completely different two neighbouring counties can be!

Monday 18th February – day 114

Well, a first today, having gloated only a few days earlier, that we had not been bothered by frost and frozen pipes since we set off on our trip, you guessed it we woke to frozen pipes!!! My hero was out there in his flip flops trying to smash the ice in the barrels then we could have a cup of tea, and we had to defrost the fresh water pipe in the caravan!! Mind you the view was crispy white and sparkly and looked lovely from our bed (which we got back into to drink our tea!!)
We are leaving Suffolk today, and heading for Norfolk, the easiest journey since setting off again in January, straight up the A 140! We are in another field on our own, but right next to the facilities this time which is great, although the walk to the loos at Stonham Aspal was very picturesque!
We were going to go into Norwich once settled, to do some shopping, but a real pea souper of a fog came down, so we battened down the hatches for the evening.

Tuesday 19th February - day 115

So, Norwich today - after a lazy morning. We arrived in town later than hoped as we spent too long in B&Q trying to find an attachment for the hose (take the water to the barrels, not the barrels to the water, yeh!)
But no luck in the end, after an exhaustive search, no fittings fitted so mission aborted and off to see the sights.
The first stop was the Cathedral and what a joy that was to see. It is a very elegant building, with the second tallest spire in the country!
It also has the most impressive number and quality of ceiling bosses we have ever seen. Each one was carved out of the stone that had already been placed, so all work had to be done in situ (and some of the ceilings were very high!) Then each of these intricately carved bosses were painted and gilded, so if you look up you can see little scenes like Noah’s Ark, or the Last Supper, they were too high to catch on film, but the bosses in the cloisters were also magnificent and close enough to photograph! At the end of the cloisters we saw a SIGN, it read…................................... refectory - well we could not ignore it so we followed it all the way to the serving counter. Today though, as well as the joy of a little Earl Grey, we bumped into a neighbour, Jackie Tongue, from Malmesbury who is touring with a Repertory Company performing The Bright Blue Sea, by Terence Rattigan, and they are in Norwich for the week. She very kindly organised some heavily discounted tickets for us, to go tomorrow night, so that is what we are doing!
After a happy catch up, we left for a walk round the town centre, and were impressed with all we saw. Norwich, like York, has an old and distinguished cobbled shopping area, called Elm Hill, which we lingered in to browse the antique shop windows, before walking along the river and on further into town. I think that we should try and catch some more of this lovely place.
Wednesday 20th February – day 116

Off to Cambridge today, but need to keep an eye on the time as we have are off to the theatre this evening, yippee!
We made our usual prompt start, and arrived in Cambridge by early afternoon! We did have enough time though to take a tour of all the colleges. I may be dense but it had never dawned on me that the church had been responsible for most of the early academic institutions in England, and therefore each of the colleges had its own enormous mini cathedral, especially Kings College! All the buildings and grounds were very fine, cared for and gazed at by generations of visitors but the pretentions of a superior intellectual atmosphere was almost oppressive, so we popped into a rather splendid arts and craft shop for a little hedonist comforting, but left there quickly too - feeling poor!
We made it back to Norwich in good time to park up and walk through town, along interesting old streets, through the market, and in front of the very modern Forum – all glass and style, to get to the newly renovated Theatre Royal for a splendid evening of live entertainment. The play, The Deep Blue Sea, by Terence Rattigan was stirring stuff, a real roller coaster of emotional upheaval, cleverly set on a set of skewed perspectives. The cast, as well as Jackie, included Simon Williams and Greta Scacchi (who played a very dramatic leading role) We had arranged to meet Jackie in the bar afterwards, it was a joy to spend a bit more time catching up and talking of the performance, as well as updates from Malmesbury, but there was quite a surreal moment when she introduced us to Simon Williams, who was also in the bar, I think we managed to stay cool, but it was a significant enough moment to get a mention here, obviously!

Thursday 21st February – day 117

A dull day today, but first day of miserable weather for a while! Undaunted, we are off to explore the Broads. We took a circuitous route along the back roads to try and find the lovely rural Norfolk, but it certainly was not in the same abundance as seen in Suffolk. There was however a moment when we stepped right back into the 19th century! We have discovered that there are few places where it is possible to cross the marshes, but there was a ferry at Reedham, which took any number of pedestrian passengers and 2 cars (the cars had to pay £3.70each!!) the 30 yards across the river, pulled along by a rusty and noisy chain, stopping only on the journey for speeding river craft, but only just!! We eventually arrived at Beccles and stopped to walk the river path and marshes. It was of course late afternoon and we had the place to ourselves, high reed beds and low ditches made it feel a little remote and not a little eerie, even though we were not far from the main road, but joy of joys, along the way we found a very productive pussy willow tree, and could not resist a few branches to take back to the van, I am looking at them now as I write, these really evocative childhood memory stirrers!
Our final visit was to Lowestoft for a walk along the sea front and a cuppa, but there was so little to inspire that we drove on right through and carried on home.

Friday 22nd February – day 118

What a windy night we had - yes outside the van, and still windy when we awoke, but it is doing the good job of blowing the clouds over. We are going back for a closer look at the Broads, as we didn’t really see all they had to offer yesterday, so less meandering and straight to Wroxham, the so called capital of the Broads, it is definitely where a lot of boating holidays start. We didn’t stop to explore but went on to Hickling Broad, which looked promising on the map. Fortunately for us we missed the turning that I was looking at on the map, and ended up at Hickling Heath, and what a bonus, it was utterly unreal, with what we discovered on closer inspection was a group of thatched roofed boat houses sitting low in the reed beds. Apart from a row of dreamy little houses it was quite away from the hustle and bustle of the larger marina 200 yards down the road. I think we could have settled there awhile, but we wanted to search out some windmills, but the only one we found of note was this one - without its sails -
but which was more intact than many of its counterparts as it still had its top section in place at least! Then on to Caister-on-Sea for a walk along the coastline to California! On arrival we were indeed surprised to see 30 large wind turbines just off the shore, erected by Powergen in 2004 (yes we did read the info board!) The coastline was unpromising really, sandy and pebbly underfoot but no enticing views to draw you on. We walked to the sand cliffs that were mentioned on the map, but even those did not stir the senses!
Final stop again was a ride into Great Yarmouth with the same thoughts as last evening, but it so reminded us of Blackpool – all amusement arcades and pleasure beaches - that again we decided not to stop, but came on home.

Saturday 23rd February – day 119

Today we are off to walk a bit of the Norfolk Coastal path, but start with Cromer first for a look at the premier holiday town in Norfolk! Which, it has to be said appears a little shabby and in need of sprucing up. The beach area, although sandy has a fair sprinkling of stones which will make building sand castles and interesting project. We take a walk along to the small pier, with a theatre and café at the end, and as usual we were in need of some Earl Grey refreshment, so a short stop is definitely required. The walk along the front shows that most of the houses around are large and Edwardian, but they seem generally to have been converted into flats, either for full time occupancy or holiday lets. Well we have had a look, so now on to the coastal path, and memories of Cornwall!!!!! (not)
We park up at Welbourne, with plans to walk to Cley next the sea (or maybe Blakeney - 6 miles total – but flat for most of the route) however after half an hour we were still struggling across slippy shingle in search of a path, and it doesn’t feel much like fun! Eventually the path firms up and we begin to make progress, until it disappears again, and now we were in marshland! But Cley is in sight so we stride (?) on. Although unpleasant under foot the rewards are being to make themselves known, as we first came across a group of delightful ducks, with bronze Mohican hair do’s called Teals, and later we spy a couple of Avocets, Lapwings and a flock of Dunlin or Sandpipers, (not really sure which).
With not a little gladness for the firm path under foot, we headed through the marshes to Cley - to discover that we had only made it as far as Salthouse, (a mile short!!) but as the bus is still 50 minutes away we carry on and take another loop around the marshes listening to the birds revving up for the dusk chorus. We arrived back at the car in time to see the sky deepening to a crimson red and gold glow …….. joy!
Sunday 24th February – day 120

We are going back to Blakeney and Cley today, for more bird spotting and walking the marshes. The weather forecast is not promising, but has started well, so picnic packed and off we go. Blakeney is possibly the most charming town visited so far, and bonus, there is a collectors/ antique market. There is the usual over priced tat, but in one corner, almost hidden from view was a little stall selling wrought iron door knockers, coal shovels and pockers etc etc. Behind the stall was a rather shy couple who seemed pleased that someone should be interested in their wonderfully simple naively crafted artwork. I am not sure whether they were not just as engaging as their goods, and 10 minutes later we left the stall with a beautiful oak leaf shaped door knocker and a long handled chestnut roaster – wonderful.
We parked by the quay to walk the loop that runs through the marshes to Cley next the Sea. The scenery may not have been stunning, in fact it would have been a little eerie had it not been so full of people meandering along wearing binoculars, but the bird life was amazing. It will take some researching to find out what the names of all the ducks alone are! We do know that we also saw a Barn Owl, a Curlew, a lovely little Stonechat and a flock of Brent Geese.
We walked across the marshes toward Cley and were greeted with a fine view of the best looking windmill in East Anglia, Chris was almost undone (but still managed several photos!) It no longer mills the wind (after last nights curry, I think that is our job!!) but it is now a Bed and Breakfast –and a lovely one at that. Cley was also very charming, we were glad that we had made the effort to return, particularly when we spotted The George –where we were able partake of ……. A cup of tea!