25 to 28 July
Fields of Gold
On 25 July
our friends, Gavin and Terry, celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary and
we were not only invited to the party, but encouraged to stay the night in the
motorcaravan, parked in their daughter's field!
Despite the fact that the weather had been unseasonal during the
preceding days and that the marquee had disappeared up the road during the
night in the high wind, it was a splendid occasion with around ninety guests,
including family from all corners of the globe, sailing buddies and ex-Philips
colleagues. Even the weather relented,
and the clouds gave way to a lovely sunny evening.
So having
brought the 'van to the Fakenham area, it seemed only sensible to tack on a
couple of days and I suggested it would be “fun” to walk part of the Norfolk
Coastal Path.
On Sunday
morning we moved the 'van to a pleasant campsite, Foxhills Camping, with a
Caravan Club CL in a separate field, located on the edge of Weybourne, next to
the Muckleburgh Collection, the UK
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| View from Muckleburgh Hill |
This section of the path follows
a shingle ridge, which is quite tiring to walk on, but there are lovely views
of the coast and marshes. As forecast,
the heavens opened at around 1 pm and we were rather sodden by the time we
reached the National Wildlife Trust information centre for some welcome
refreshment. Then it was back to
Weybourne courtesy of the Coasthopper bus, which provides a regular service
between Wells and Cromer seven days a week.
On Monday
we decided to raise the bar, and set off in the opposite direction towards
Sheringham and Cromer. Turning left from
the site, you come into Weybourne where there is a small shop, tea room, pub
(The Ship Inn) and hotel (The Maltings Hotel), which also has a small site for
five units on the other side of the road.
A left turn into Beach Road
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| Weybourne Windmill |
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| Cliffs near Weybourne |
The coastline is dramatically
different here, with the path meandering along the top of the crumbling
cliffs. The constant erosion means that
the path has had to be re-routed, for example to the landward side of one
house, which is now precariously perched on the cliff edge.
 |
| On the edge |
Along the final
stretch into Sheringham the North Norfolk Railway runs close to the path and
you get good views of the steam engines working hard up the gradient out of
Sheringham.
Before
setting out we had purchased a copy of “Peddars Way
After 3.5
miles we reached Sheringham, and came across a tea room “Copper Whelks” on the
edge of town where we had a tasty lunch.
We had been caught in heavy rain a second time, but thankfully the
tables and chairs were wooden, not upholstered, so we didn't feel too bad about
going in. Then off towards Cromer. Soon
after Sheringham you pass Beeston Bump Y-station, which was the site of a
top-secret military listening post during World War II.
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| Beeston Bump Y-station |
After that I was disappointed to find that
our Norfolk Coast Path book directed us away from
the coast through countryside to get to Cromer and I felt a little cheated that
this part of the coastal path wasn't coastal and, to add insult to injury, en
route we had to climb up to the highest point in Norfolk, Beacon Hill,
admittedly only 338 feet! A bit more research shows that it is possible to carry on along the coast, except for a detour around East Runton.
Never
mind. We reached Cromer without mishap,
a distance of about 8.5 miles, with time to spare for a coffee before catching
the Coasthopper back to Weybourne.
On the way
home on Tuesday we paid a quick visit to the remains of the motte and bailey
castle at Castle Acre, which was interesting, and free! But beware, the access road is very narrow
and the car park small. Anything longer
than 6 metres would find probably find it difficult. We didn't have time to venture to the Priory;
always good to have something in reserve for next time!
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