Geoff Brock & Bruce Gamble
         
     

September 2016: Norfolk

  
   

Linda, Derek, Ros and Adrian very kindly invited us to join them in Norfolk and to share their holiday beach house in Heacham, near Hunstanton.

 

 

 

During our visit, we explored King's Lynn, visited Castle Rising and went to the Titchwell Marsh Nature Reserve. We had some excellent meals at local restaurants and generally relaxed and enjoyed the company.

 

 

 

Oh yes, it was also the hottest September for decades!

 

 
 
Monday 12th September 2016
Our lovely beach house at Heacham.
 
The heart of the house
 
The guests settle in!
 
The wonderful view from the house
 
We decided to take a walk from Heacham to Hunstanton
 
Linda and Ros waved us on our way with a promise to see us there later
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Glaucium flavum? (Yellow horned poppy)
 
 
 
 
Ros and Linda met us in Hunstanton. We were very pleased to see them, because it meant we could get a lift back. Before that, however, there was time for an ice cream!
 
 
Back at the house, we admired the view and had a drink before going out for dinner.
 
 
 
 
 
 
We had an excellent meal at a pub restaurant in Snettisham.
 
 
Geoff's starter...
...main course...
...and dessert.
 
 
Tuesday 13th September 2016
Early morning and the tide's out. A long way out!
 
A Little Gull, Geoff thinks.
 
 
 
 
 
Bruce ready for today's trip to King's Lynn.
 
 
We arrive at King's Lynn.
 
Derek asked Linda to tell off the buoys!
 
 
A buoy on the River Great Ouse
 
 
 
 
The Custom House on Purfleet Quay...
 
 
...and what it should look like!
 
Art along the Ouse
 
Captain Vancouver
 
Quite a lot of photos were taken by Bruce, Geoff and Derek. Here are some of Derek's.
 
 
 
 
Waiting patiently for Bruce to do a little shopping in the Custom House.
 
 
We followed the Hanseatic Walk from the Custom House along King Street.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
St George's Guildhall
 
 
The Corn Exchange
 
Tuesday Market Place. The architecture here looks quite similar to buildings we had seen in Bergen last year. This is not too surprising, given that King's Lynn is one of the cities, along with others like Bergen, Lubeck and Hamburg, which were part of the Hanseatic League, a maritime trading confederation of Northern European cities. Some people liken the Hanseatic League to the present day European Union.
 
We retraced our steps and found a bulb stall. Ros bought some for Geoff.
 
We continued our walk along Queen Street.
 
Clifton House
 
 
What's through here...?
...a garden!
 
 
 
 
We almost missed the doorway leading into the courtyard of Thoresby College.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Thoresby College hammer beam roof
 
 
 
 
Trinity Guildhall
 
 
 
 
King's Lynn Minster
 
 
We were just in time for an organ recital.
 
 
 
 
 
Hanse House
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
After a very interesting visit to King's Lynn, we drove to Castle Rising.
 
 
Castle Rising moat
 
Castle Rising
 
Before visiting the castle, however, we needed something to eat and found the perfect place nearby for a light lunch.
 
 
The local library!
Cottages near Castle Rising
 
Afterwards, we took on the castle.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Inside Castle Rising
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
After a busy day, we headed back to the beach house, where we toasted the sunset!
 
 
Later, we enjoyed another excellent pub dinner.
 
 
 
Wednesday 14th September 2016
Early morning. Oyster Catchers and other waders from the balcony.
 
 
A vast flock of possibly Golden Plovers arrived.
 
Outside the house, ready to leave for our bird-watching outing...
 
... to the Titchwell Marsh Nature Reserve.
 
 
 
The official track is a (more or less) straight line towards the beach, passing the Hide over to the right.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Is he sure that lens is big enough?
 
Retracing our steps from the beach, we made a detour to the Hide with its two lookouts, one facing salt water, the other facing fresh water. There were a lot more birds to be seen today in the fresh water section.
 
A Redshank
A Greenshank
 
 
 
An Egret
 
An Avocet
 
 
A Lapwing
 
 
 
After our visit, we enjoyed Ros and Linda's lovingly prepared picnic lunch!
 

Afterwards, we drove back to our house via Hunstanton. It was very hot by then so we all decided to do our own thing. In Bruce's case, that meant a nap. Linda and Adrian discovered the boules set in the games room and Geoff got his camera out to capture some moments!
 
 
The games room
 
 
 
The sun lounge
Breakfast area
 
 
The South balcony
 
The living room
The North balcony
 
 
After his nap, Bruce took a walk on the beach.
 
Pre-dinner drinks were enjoyed on the North Balcony, which was a lot cooler than the South Balcony!
 
Our last dinner was at a very elegant restaurant.
 
 
All good things must end and we had come to the end of our short break. We loved it all. Thank you very much to Linda, Derek, Ros and Adrian for your company, your hospitality and your kindness.
 
 
 
©Geoff Brock and Bruce Gamble