Wednesday 10 June 2009

Last Day

Just for a change it was Mike who had a friendly duck this morning and she even fed from his hand …

Then we had a visit from a pheasant …

and a robin perched on a wing mirror waiting for some food …

This campsite is a haven for wildlife. We left the site and made for South Walsham today. We parked at the church and had a wander around. There were two churches on the same site and after a chat with a local we learnt that there had been a fire way back and St Lawrence’s had lost its tower. There are just the remains of it now but there is a lovely garden in the area of the original nave and tower …



The church of St Mary …

And how they appear together …

From here we drove to Ranworth and unable to park on the Staithe we went on up to the church …

I went inside and there is a very special Rood Screen …


This is just a part of it …


This is the door to the tower …

and no I didn’t go up it this time! We then took Hamish for a walk and made our way down to the Broad where we saw a Hunter yacht arriving …

and when we reached the Staithe it was mooring up …

We saw a swallowtail butterfly fluttering around the Staithe but it wouldn’t land anywhere for me to photograph it! They are only found in the Norfolk Broads and so are quite rare. Lunch today was to be at Upton Dyke …

After we’d eaten we took Hamish for a stroll along the dyke towards the River Bure …



There were loads of boats on moorings but of course I photographed the yachts …

Our last place to visit this holiday was to be Thurne Dyke …


We only stopped long enough for a cuppa and then moved on back to the campsite. I think we’ve worn Hamish out today …


Aah bless him – fast asleep!

Tuesday 9 June 2009

South into Suffolk

We woke to rain this morning …

but by the time we left the campsite and crossed the bridge over the top of Breydon Water …

it had thankfully stopped. We were making for Lowestoft and after crossing the Lock …

we turned into our regular parking place for Oulton Broad …

We took Hamish for a walk around the Park where he spotted a squirrel which was much faster than him and shot up the nearest tree …

It waited until he’d moved away and then sat on the branch and ate his nut …

We carried on round and looked out to the Broad …

before spying this lovely mum and babe …

When we returned to the RV we passed the Letitia

which was apparently a Dunkirk little ship …

We left Oulton Broad and headed for Beccles where we parked near the river and once again Hamish was taken for a run …

We followed the river as far as the Sailing Club where I saw this noticeboard …

Fascinating. Walking back we saw this boat passing under the road bridge and heading for the public moorings …


After lunch we left via the bridge we’d walked under …

and were making for Burgh Castle.

This is somewhere we’d last visited when the boys were quite young and we only had a vague recollection of it. It was amazing to see it again …



We'd forgotten how large it was – 7 acres! There was a lovely view across to the Berney Arms Pub …

It was now time to make our way back towards Great Yarmouth and over the bridge again with the tide rushing out …

There was a boat aground but unfortunately it was on the other side of the bridge and although I saw it I couldn’t get a photo of it!

When we got back to our pitch there was a lovely duck waiting for some grub …

and of course I obliged!

Monday 8 June 2009

To the Coast

Our first stop of the day was at Tesco for a re-stock of goodies and then we were heading for Wroxham as we wanted to buy a few bits for Crocus. Norfolk is the only place that we can buy a mudweight and rhond anchors ...

With a 10kg weight to carry back to the RV we had a short stop by the bridge and a photo chance …

as I always seem to take photos from the other side. We then drove to Barton Turf as Mike wanted to have a word with Eric the owner of Cox’s Yard where we bought Crocus from and hope to return her there when she’s ready for the water. We reminded him that he’d promised us a mooring! Mick and Gilly’s boat had a fresh coat of antifoul on her and she was looking very smart …

No doubt she’ll be back afloat very soon. After leaving Barton Turf we made our way over to the coast and parked at Sea Palling. Following a sandwich for lunch we took Hamish for a run on the beach …



There was a cool breeze but it was lovely and sunny and we had a great walk. We turned round when we reached these rocks …

and watched a jet skier having fun …

We then re-traced our route back to Stalham and parked on the Staithe so that we could walk to St Mary Church where my great great great grandparents Jacob Southgate and Elizabeth Salmon were married in 1796. I have visited it before when grave hunting but hadn’t been inside. It was beautiful …



I still couldn’t find any Southgate graves but I did find some Salmon ones which may be connected after a bit more investigation when I return home …

We then drove back to the campsite passing over the River Yare on the way …