Sitting by the river

I met a friend this morning and we sat on one of the benches overlooking the river and talked for a while. The river was just at high tide as we sat there - the wind was causing ripples on the water, but there were also still areas, giving the impression of currents in the water. We talked about how we had both occasionally seen times where it looked as if the tide was moving up stream in the centre of the river, and downstream at the far bank - neither of us are really sure if this was real or an optical illusion, but nothing about this river would surprise me!

We both became aware at the same time of a black shape over near the other bank - and neither of us said anything because it was not clear if it really was what we thought it might be. Then suddenly it dived, and so yes, it was a seal! I'm told they are not uncommon in this part of the river, but this was the first one I'd seen.

We continued to sit as people went by on their way to their offices, and I felt very fortunate to be able to just sit and watch the water go by, and see the ferry shuttle back and forward, carrying workers and shoppers over to this side of the river.

Just then my friend said he'd seen a fish jump, which is not a normal occurrence here. Then I saw one jump too a bit further downstream, and then there was another and another. Really unusual - was the seal hunting them and they were jumping to get out of harms way? Who can say, but it made for an interesting few minutes.

Sometimes the Quay can be a cold and windy place, and you rush along it to get out away from the weather. But on a sunny and warm summer morning, it is a place to stop and relax, and just enjoy the peace.

Sculthorpe Moor June 2010

After a really warm and sunny period, it had suddenly turned wet over the last few days, but I decided to head out anyway and visit the Sculthorp Moor nature reserve.

The journey was uneventful, but as I neared Fakenham the mist came down, and I ended up driving with my lights on. Arriving at the parking lot, I walked through the Visitor Centre and had a quick talk with one of the volunteers, who told be all the hides were open, and pointed out the web cam pictures of the Marsh Harrier nest complete with chicks.

I walk out towards the Scrape hide first which talks me through the woodland, and I stop to look at the flowers growing there - it is lush green, and these pinpoints of colour really stand out. In particular the wild foxgloves are really amazing with their intricate hanging trumpet-like flowers.























Further along, the land opens out and I'm among tall reeds, and then the path takes me out to the river Wensom, and along that for a way until I reach the hide. Walking in here I see there is one other person already there, and I'm just about to say hello, when I somehow let the door slam behind me! not a good thing for a bird watcher!!

This hide overlooks a stretch of wetland, and my new companion tells me that the water level is a lot higher than it had been, following the thunder storms of the last couple of days, and I also hear that the kingfishers did not survive the hard winter. Over in the distance I get a view of a kestrel on the wing, and then a group of Mallard chicks appear on the water in front of us. Another person joins us - a real birder by the look of the equipment he is carrying. He tells us he's on vacation in the area and lives up in Scarborough.

I spend about 45 minutes there, just watching the birds and occasionally talking with my companions, and then head out to the next hide, with views over the marsh land where the Harriers are nesting.


This hide is more populated with men with big lenses, and it also has a webcam link showing the Marsh Harriers nest.

This is excellent, as we can see and hear the chicks on the screen, and then as the adult leaves the nest to hunt, look outside and see it swoop away. I watch it for a long time with my binoculars, and manage to get a couple of pictures too. Nearer to the hide is a feeder, with smaller birds feeding - tit's which are common in my garden too, and also what appears to be a pair of bullfinches. As we watch, one of the volunteers goes out to put more seed onto the seed table - and nearly slips on the wet tree trunks.





In the distance I suddenly see a pheasant break cover and fly for a few feet before disappearing into the long grass again. Soon a couple of pheasants are under one of the feeders eating the spilled grain.

People come and go from the hide, and eventually I am getting to feel cold sitting there, so I collect up all my things and head out. There is another hide along this path overlooking woodland, but I decide that I've had enough for one day, and take the longer path back to the visitor centre. It's only when I get inside again that I realise just how chilled I'm become outside, and I'm pleased that they have nice bathrooms:)

I talk once more with the volunteer, and decide to become a "friend" of the reserve - I get to come in free, and they have a quarterly newsletter - plus I get a sticker for my car!!!

So I'll be back soon to check on the progress of the birds and wild flowers - and hopefully in warmer weather.

A bike ride to Castle Rising

It was another perfect sunny Saturday morning, and I decided to take a trip along the national cycle route that runs through Lynn, Heading out along the Quay I was soon through The Walks and out on what is called the Sandringham Railway route – which actually runs for a few miles along the route of the old railway line from Lynn to Hunstanton. This is a popular path, but I imagine most people are busy with their weekend chores, and not many people are about. Soon I reach the main Lynn to Cromer road which I cross, and then it's back on a cycle path before the route turns and takes me through South Wotton.

This little village is mainly fairly new housing, and being close to Lynn and the main access routes, whilst also being quiet and in the middle of countryside, is popular for families to settle in. The cycle path takes me through the park, and out by what for me is the village's main claim to fame - the pyramid.



Now, a pyramid isn't something you'd necessarily expect to see in the the Norfolk countryside, and this one is maybe 6 feet tall, and on closer inspection, I see that it was put up to mark the Millennium – other places had fountains, or clock-towers – the Wottons chose a pyramid to mark the coming of the new century – and why not?

At this point the cycle route joins the road again, and this is the village street as we get into North Wotton, and then out of the village to open country. As it leaves Wotton, the road climes a small wooded slope, and a couple of cars pass me. I know that the impression of Norfolk is of a very flat county, and whilst there are certainly no mountains, most of the countryside is gently rising and falling, so there are slopes, and occasional hills. As I cycle up the slope, I see that a group of 5 joggers running down the slope towards me. As they get closer they move to the side and I move out to pass them, and it is one of the joys of cycling that I can say thanks to them as I pass, and we acknowledge each other as human beings, not just more traffic on the road. At the top of the slope this small lane joins a slightly larger road as we approach my destination for this trip, Castle Rising.



As I cycle into this tiny hamlet, the first thing I see is a tea room, and so I stop here, go in to get a coffee, and sit outside at one of the tables and enjoy the sun. From the garden here I have a good view of the castle. Now, I have to admit something here – in my head I compare every castle I see with Dover Castle – I was brought up in Dover, and that castle dominated the town, and is really extensive and colours my expectations on any other castle.

But I am here and as I look up at Castle Rising Castle I have to admit that it does bare some similarities with my beloved Dover Castle – it is at least real 12th century stonework and has impressive surrounding earthworks. I decide to go cycle up to the castle after this rest stop, but first I observe the people around me in the garden. I see that another cyclist has stopped here, and there are a few tables of people enjoying the sunshine. One couple at the other side of the garden are busily pouring over what I take to be details of houses for sale – what a nice thing to be doing on a sunny Saturday! The other cyclist gets up to leave, and we share a few words about the cycle route – she is on her way to Sandringham, and I have been that route so am able to assure her that it just crosses the main road at one point, otherwise it's on country lanes and cycle paths.



Having finished my drink, and utilized the bathroom facilities, I head up the hill – yes a real hill! - to the entrance to the castle. The car park is filling up I see, not unexpected on a day like this, and I get off the bike to walk down along the earthworks. I decide not to go into the castle itself, although from what I can see it's evident that there is a lot of preserved stonework there – maybe another time I'll go inside and explore more.

I then head back into the village, and stop at the church of St Lawrence. This church also dates back to the 12th century, and I am encouraged to see that the building is open for people to walk around. Inside it is white and bright, full of flowers, and with the sun shining through the stained glass windows, it is a very uplifting place to be. I spend some minutes admiring the building and in quiet thought before going back outside and walking around the building looking at the ancient – and not so ancient – grave stones.



I then free-wheel down the hill past the War memorial and stop at the bottom to examine one of a number of unusual looking street lights that I've observed around the roads. They are eight sided wooden posts, and although thy have an electric light in them, they almost look like they could have been originally gas or even oil lamps – the signage on them says the following:
“Erected by the people of Castle Rising as a memorial of the Great War 1914 - 1919”



I make another stop as I reach a kissing gate that the bike won't go through, so I chain it up and walk up the path through a field to see if I can get anymore glimpses of a very unusual looking building I've spotted on top of the rise – a kind of peach coloured frontage, with inset statues. Returning to the bike, I find the saddle covered by ladybirds, which I gently encourage to move back onto the fence, before setting back off home.

I make one final stop in South Wotton on my way back to get a cold drink from the village store – and find the people serving are extremely welcoming and pleased to serve – actually makes me want to go visit them again!

I'm home in time for lunch – a very pleasant way to spend a morning in this very pleasant part of the world.

Stormy River

I know I keep on about how great king's Lynn is, but the weather here is really changeable. Today when I woke up it was bright and sunny, but soon the wind started getting really strong and the clouds came skudding over.

It was nearly high tide, and the wind and the rain made the water really stormy - so I made this short video from my window. And you know - even then it's a good view:)

Spring

Spring is really here in King's Lynn and as I passed in the bus yesterday I spotted the formal gardens at the London Road end of The Walks, so I decided to go back later to check them out.

It was a really warm and pleasant evening, and I went first for dinner at the Chinese Buffet in Station Road, before walking down to The Walks, By this time the clouds had come over a bit, and it was starting to get dark, but even so the path leading from London Road to St John's Church was just a blaze of colour on each side, and then ending with a tree in blossom just outside the church:



This is a truly amazing display, and in particular I thought the vibrant blues here were particularly stunning:


The Walks is always a nice place to visit, but right now it's an amazing one!

High Street

King's Lynn High Street goes from Tuesday Market Place to Saturday Market Place, and is a pedestrian street only - in my mind just as well, as it is a narrow street, and with traffic would be dangerous and noisy - as it is, it's quite pleasant to walk along and look at the shops.

Starting at the "Tuesday" end you come to some fine old Bank buildings - one of which is now a Nando's restaurant, but the architecture is the same. This top end of the street it is normally full of shoppers, many of whom park in Tuesday Market place. One interesting thing is two charity shops on either side of the road facing each other! I was also kind of amused to see an "Edinburgh Woolen Mill" shop here - 300 or so miles from Edinburgh! It's also home to Marks & Spenser and McDonald's which must be two of the most visited locations in town.

Shortly we have Norfolk Street on the right, and then we come to a collection of smaller shops, including a Chinese herbalist which I have yet to have the courage to go into! My experience with these places is mixed - I like the idea of them, but the one occasion I got something from one of them, the treatment was worse than the thing I was trying to cure!

This part of town is also the place where there are a number of phone shops - why they are co-located is interesting - is this a deliberate policy I wonder? And then two card shops face each other across the street - again I wonder if this is deliberate. This part of High Street is home to a number of clothing shops, and is consequently busy during shopping hours.

High Street is then crossed by New Conduit Street, and on the corner is a building which looks to me like it was designed to be a cinema - just something about the style of the place gives me that impression. Actually, it's a men's cloths store!

From here the street get quieter, and the main shopping attractions are a general store and a department store, although this are also a number of empty locations, including one large pub building which has been empty for a long time. It's not all bad news, however, with one of the stores being newly redecorated, and recently opened as a cards and accessories shop.

As we reach the end of High Street there is another charity shop, and an "old fashioned" sweet shop, with jars of sweets that are sold loose. Then we come to the corner of Saturday Market place and the Wenns with their signs for forthcoming music acts.

The long term locals tell me that High street is not a patch on what it used to be, and I'm sure that is the case. But as one coming new to the town, I have to say that it has survived as a mixed community of shops a lot better than many High Streets I've seen, and remains an attractive place to visit.

A Random Trail

This is a strange walk in a way – when I returned and looked at the map it seemed I'd been in among houses all the time, but it felt like it was mostly green open land – I guess it comes from being on footpaths, rather than on roads.

Anyway, I started off along the quay and cut through Boal Quay parking lot, and then through the streets between there and London Road. The houses here are an interesting mix of ages – a few 17th century cottages still remain, but the bulk are Victorian or Edwardian, with some in-fill building within the last 50 or so years – so one can walk along a terrace of solid Victorian 3 stories houses, and suddenly come upon a side street with a courtyard of 1990's build apartments.

Reaching London Road I cross at the first available place, and see in front of me a tiny alleyway - it's only about 3 feet across, and on one side has a Grand Victorian building, now quite run down, and on the other a plot where it looks like construction has started, but stopped a few years ago. I assume the ally must lead somewhere, so go down it. At the back of the at the end of the building plot I can see that there is another Victorian building, this one really run down and is boarded up. The path runs the length of the plot, then turns a sharp left, and is now only 2 feet wide, running between the abandoned boarded up building and a tall wooden fence. The path is strewn with beer cans and only runs for a few feet before it turns to the right, continues along to a wide road – what a strange little alleyway!

Continuing on I walk in the direction of where I think the brook that runs behind the cemetery must be, and I cross the main road and choose a street at random to walk down. Suddenly, this road opens up to a green open space, and there is a bridge crossing the stream. On the other side the path goes along the bank of the stream, and I decide to turn left, and walk along with the green and the water to one side, and more allotments to the other. On my walk the other day I went past a huge allotment site, and this one seems at least as big – it's good to see so many town folk growing their own!

After a very short time the path comes to the railway line, and crosses it – I'm kind of taken aback at the fact that there is just a gate each side that I open with signs telling me to stop, look and listen – somehow this doesn't seem right in the middle of town, more what I'd expect to see in the middle of the countryside.

The path continues along with trees to one side, and then crosses over the stream to back onto houses on my left, and a wide area with brambles growing on the right – worth remembering for the autumn when the blackberries will be ripe! I'm walking along thinking that this path must link up with the Railway cycle path somehow, but just as I'm thinking that, my path ends at an industrial site, so it obviously doesn't!

I walk for a bit on the road, and then spot another path leading back through the trees, and take that. After a while the path becomes one of the small streets with terrace houses on both sides, and crosses the railway again – this time with a crossing barrier and lights!

I turn left along another road, this one with bungalows on one side – quote pretty and open, and then I see that I'm crossing Tennyson Road and The Walks are opposite me! So it's a simple walk across them and back home.

When home I get out my Ordnance Survey map to try to see where I've been – I can re-trace my route, but I don't see the name of the stream is that I crossed, and it's not evident that there is some green open space there. I guess it's all in how you look at it – and I chose to think I went for a walk in the country!