Salthouse and the shingle ridge

Carolyn and Gerry recommended this walk from Salthouse and even supplied the cutting from the Eastern Daily Press. Like them, we found the directions in the cutting less than precise and were glad to have a real map.

Rain was forecast between 10:00 and 13:00. We arrived at the start of the walk just after 10, and light rain duly arrived as we pulled into our parking space. We donned rainwear and headed up hill (yes there are some here) towards the church. It wasn't long before the rain stopped, it brightened up and T-shirts were order of the day. 

The first section of the walk led us to Muckleburgh Hill (only docile cows here) - a good viewpoint for the rest of the route. We descended to the shore line, which has a  beach, a shingle ridge and then  salt marshes.  You can walk along the top of the ridge, but its very hard work so we took the path at the landward side.

Off to lunch at The George at Cley - also recommended! Then off to Cromer for Rosie to have a dip (but not quite a swim) in the sea.

These looked like the beach hut equivalents of council houses

This house used to be The Whalebone Tearooms. We stayed here when we did the Norfolk Coast path pre-kids. The moulding is made of horse knuckle bones.

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Fleet Dyke, The River Bure and The Fur and Feathers

After yesterday's coastal walk, it seemed appropriate to do a Broadland walk today. Rosie devised this circuit, starting near South Walsham Broad, heading along Fleet Dyke, South along The River Bure and then back cross-country.  We say lots of Broads cruisers, a few lovely sailing boats (certainly the way to travel here) and several windpumps in various states or repair. A lovely sunny start, but getting cloudier towards the end.

Entirely uncoincidentally, we were close to the Fur and Feathers, the pub attached to The Woodfordes Brewery.  Naturally, a couple of excellent pints were sampled (Rosie was the designated driver).  We also ate there - the portions were very large, especially Dave's Steak & Kidney Pudding. We certainly didn't need any dinner. Recommended.

I had only taken one pair of trousers to The Lake District so had to buy another pair. This holiday, I didn't bring a fleece. I am now the owner of a Woodfordes Brewery fleece.




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Happisburgh, Ostend and Ridlington and then a paddle and some vertical exploration

We decided to walk North West along the coast from the Happisburgh and got as far as Ostend, which is a 'Coastal Community'. This seem to be code for 'will be in the sea soon' as coastal erosion takes its toll. We then headed inland towards Ridlington and then back to Happisburgh.

On Sunday, we'd passed a lot of ripe backberries and Rosie had repeatedly wished that we'd brought a box. She'd remembered one today, so we duly picked enough for several pies. Not that we're going to be baking anytime soon.

We passed several fields that had sunflowers planted in a corner or at the end.  Rosie's theory is that they're cover for game birds.

Carolyn and Gerry joined us for the afternoon that involved a swim for Rosie and Gerry (who pronounced the water 'boiling'), a visit to the Happisburgh Village Fete (didn't take long!) and a climb to the top of Happisburgh Lighthouse.

The lighthouse is the only privately run one in England, and is managed by a local trust that recently raised £25K for a re-paint. Although parts of Happisburgh are falling into the sea, the lighthouse is thought to be safe for 100 years yet.

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I forgot to track this walk on my phone. Rosie was kind enough to trace it using the Google Maps editor.

Wet underfoot at the North Walsham and Dilham Canal - with added cattle

We're on our annual holiday in Norfolk, staying at a cottage in Happisburgh (pronounced Haisbro), accompanied for the first part of the week by our friend Dave.

It rained on Saturday night, so we should have known better than to choose a walk along the North Walsham and Dilham Canal, with an elevation of around 2 metres above sea level.

A lot of the route was squidgy underfoot. Some of it was ankle deep and wading was unavoidable. The diversion to see the weir was worse than that, and we opted out from that.

As we got close to the end, and were looking forward to putting on dry shoes, the public path crossed an enclosure containing a large number of cows with young calves. Several of the cows were bellowing aggressively. Anyone who's walked with me will know that I'm not a great fan of livestock. There was no way I was going to walk through these cows. Rosie and Dave took no persuading to indulge in a mild trespass and skirt that enclosure. However, it did involve climbing a barbed wire fence that wasn't much fun.


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Pewsey to Bedwyn - the final stretch of the Kennett and Avon - with a bonus

Although Pewsey and Bedwyn are on the same line, there are no trains between them at the weekend, so we drove to Bedwyn and took a taxi to Pewsey. This was not much more expensive than two single train tickets.

The forecast had been 'dry with white cloud', so the rain that started just as we started walking was not welcome. It didn't last long, but the low cloud lingered for a while, making it a humid morning. we made good progress on this quiet stretch.

The main feature of the morning was the Bruce Tunnel at the very summit of the canal. It's quite short, but has no towpath so walkers follow a public path over it. The original canal boats were horse-drawn - the horses were led over the path and the barges were propelled through the tunnel by the bargeman lying on their backs and 'walking' the barge along with their feet on the roof of the tunnel.

However the highlight of the day was Crofton Pumping Station which was built in 1812 to pump water up to the summit of the canal. It has two steam beam engines, one of which is apparently the world's oldest working beam engine in its original site, The engines are only 'in steam' a few weekends a year and this wouldn't normally have been one. However, a National Geographic film crew was on site working on a documentary,so most of the staff were on duty and both engines were in action. A great site - and a reminder of our many visits to Kew Bridge Steam Museum. You don't need to have young boys with you to enjoy these attractions - but it helps.

This was the final stretch in our project to walk the K&A between Reading and Bath. However, we're hatching a plot to extend to project to include the Avon between Bath and Bristol.




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Familiar ground - Hambleden and Medmenham

We had limited time for our walk with Denise and Robert today, so needed to stay close to home. Rosie had taken a fancy to the menu at The Dog & Badger while we were playing there on Wednesday, so she planned a walk from Hambleden Lock car park that happened to arrive at the D&B at lunchtime. Lunch didn't disappoint - hearty portions with nice chips. Good value and certainly  recommended.

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