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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!
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Monday 12th
September 2016 |
Our lovely beach
house at Heacham. |
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The heart of the
house |
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The guests settle
in! |
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The wonderful view
from the house |
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We decided to take
a walk from Heacham to Hunstanton |
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Linda and Ros waved
us on our way with a promise to see us there later |
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Glaucium flavum?
(Yellow horned poppy) |
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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! |
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Back at the house,
we admired the view and had a drink before going out for dinner. |
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We had an excellent
meal at a pub restaurant in Snettisham. |
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Geoff's starter... |
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...main course... |
...and dessert. |
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Tuesday
13th September 2016 |
Early morning and
the tide's out. A long way out! |
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A Little Gull, Geoff
thinks. |
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Bruce ready for today's trip
to King's Lynn. |
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We arrive at King's
Lynn. |
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Derek asked Linda
to tell off the buoys! |
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A buoy on the River Great Ouse |
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The Custom House
on Purfleet Quay... |
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...and what it should
look like! |
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Art along the Ouse |
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Captain Vancouver |
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Quite a lot of photos
were taken by Bruce, Geoff and Derek. Here are some of Derek's. |
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Waiting patiently
for Bruce to do a little shopping in the Custom House. |
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We followed the Hanseatic
Walk from the Custom House along King Street. |
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St George's Guildhall |
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The Corn Exchange |
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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. |
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We retraced our steps
and found a bulb stall. Ros bought some for Geoff. |
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We continued our
walk along Queen Street. |
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Clifton House |
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What's through here...? |
...a garden! |
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We almost missed the
doorway leading into the courtyard of Thoresby College. |
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Thoresby College
hammer beam roof |
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Trinity Guildhall |
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King's Lynn Minster |
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We were just in time
for an organ recital. |
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Hanse House |
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After a very interesting
visit to King's Lynn, we drove to Castle Rising. |
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Castle Rising moat |
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Castle Rising |
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Before visiting the
castle, however, we needed something to eat and found the
perfect place nearby for a light lunch. |
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The local library! |
Cottages near Castle Rising |
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Afterwards, we took
on the castle. |
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Inside Castle Rising |
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After a busy day, we
headed back to the beach house, where we toasted the sunset! |
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Later, we enjoyed another
excellent pub dinner. |
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Wednesday
14th September 2016 |
Early morning. Oyster
Catchers and other waders from the balcony. |
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A vast flock of possibly
Golden Plovers arrived. |
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Outside the house,
ready to leave for our bird-watching outing... |
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... to the Titchwell
Marsh Nature Reserve. |
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The official track is
a (more or less) straight line towards the beach, passing
the Hide over to the right. |
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Is he sure that lens
is big enough? |
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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. |
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A Redshank |
A Greenshank |
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An Egret |
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An Avocet |
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A Lapwing |
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After our visit,
we enjoyed Ros and Linda's lovingly prepared picnic lunch! |
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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!
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The games room |
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The sun lounge |
Breakfast area |
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The South balcony |
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The living room |
The North balcony |
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After his nap, Bruce
took a walk on the beach. |
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Pre-dinner drinks were
enjoyed on the North Balcony, which was a lot cooler than
the South Balcony! |
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Our last dinner
was at a very elegant restaurant. |
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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. |
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