Singleton Environment Centre Walking Group
Rye Harbour
Little Cheyne Court, Romney Marsh – Wind Farm
Brancaster, Norfolk
Last March we spent a week in Norfolk but, for some reason, it didn’t get blogged. A selection of photographs appears on Flickr here. Obviously it was good because we booked another week this year, this time, in a very comfortable flat in Dormy House, Brancaster overlooking the marsh towards the West Norfolk Golf Club. As it had two bedrooms we invited brother Steve who was sporting his new Canon EOS 7D camera.
It was mostly walking and birding. The flatness of the coast provides a huge sky and the marshes and beaches are spacious – although the size of the car parks give a clue to how busy it must get in August. There was also significant evidence that the villages on the coast have been over-taken as second-homes and holiday-lets.
With the help of volunteer guide at RSPB’s Titchwell March we saw four Marsh Harriers in flight simultaneously and a terrific sight of a Barn Owl searching for food. There were plenty on waders to sort out, too.
The Railway Inn at Docking is highly recommended for beer, food and the model railway. Alan Parkinson (@GeoBlogs and Living Geography blog) spotted my tweet and called in for a pint as we were so close to his patch. The Jolly Sailors, Brancaster Staithe, was also excellent and we were top-half ranked for the pub-quiz. It is acknowledged as a serious lapse on my part for not checking that the nearest pub at Brancaster, The Ship, was closed for what looked like a serious re-fit and rumoured to become a celebrity-chef gastro-pub – in other words, ruined.
We took a boat trip from Morton to see the seals but there were only a few common seals in the water and none on the beach.
Holkam Hall has spectacular estate including roe deer. It has an impressive memorial to the first dukes contribution.
On the way home we visited the National Trust site at Wicken Fen, in Cambridgeshire, which is interesting as a managed area of un-improved fenland. There was not much bird action, though.
The birding is Marg’s enthusiasm, rather than mine, but it provides a good reason to be in the great outdoors and to sense the enormity of bird-migration and the changing seasons.
Also see Flickr photo-set [opens in new window]