Life in a Motorhome for a Year - Week 13 - Wells By Sea - Cley Next the Sea - Blakeney Point - Sheringham - East Anglia

 TUESDAY, 25 NOVEMBER 2014 Week 13

We started off in Cley Next the Sea, and I must say it was a thoroughly cute little village. It was very cosy and quaint, with all the old cottages made from locally sourced beach pebbles.

Close by was Blakeney Point, where we were going to embrace some of the wildlife of the Norfolk coast, and we decided we’d go on a boat trip to see some seals and a bird sanctuary. Got to the boat tour jetty in plenty of time and waited… and waited… and waited! Finally, I had the sense to ring the two numbers on the advertisement board… No answer, but we did get given a voicemail message to ring another number in an emergency. I was cold and fed up of waiting… it was an emergency! (picture: This is the consolation seal I got to meet!)

The lady on the other end said, “I’m sorry we’re not running today. We didn’t have enough interest.”

Me: “Well, there seems to be plenty of interest. You’ve got six people waiting by the jetty, lots of people sitting in cars (no doubt keeping warm), and more milling about,” (probably waiting to see if a boat turns up)!

Lady: “Well, no one rang to book.”

Me: “To be fair, your advertisement says it’s ‘advisable to book during summer periods’. It’s winter, and it doesn’t say ‘booking essential’!!! So are you sending someone?”

Lady: “No.”

Well, I can see them going out of business to their competitors any time soon! I'm a bit gutted, really, because I wanted to do something a bit different, and we weren’t going to be there the next day when the other seal boat company was running a trip. Hey, ho, such is life.

So, instead, we had a little trip around Sheringham. A cute little fishing village with lots of art painted on the beach walls and a steam train that wasn't working. (spot the real person in the photo)

After almost getting stuck in the mud again, Del decided I deserved a treat. We stayed in a cosy country lodge hotel in Old Hunstanton for the evening, enjoying a few wines and a roaring fire… lovely!

We travelled slightly by land to Barney (between Fakenham and Holt) because quite a bit of the Norfolk coastline is made up of large blots of marshland. As a result, there are very few caravan parks, and even fewer that are still open in November. 

Anyhoo, The Brick Kilns was a delightful park surrounded by woodlands, all changing colour for the autumn. I love this time of year when the countryside takes on a new glow of burnt reds, oranges, and browns, a slight nip in the air that gives you that pleasurable when you get back into the warmth with a steaming cup of tea. Mmmm!

We had a day trip to Wells By Sea and came across this odd-looking apartment. Yes, that green box on stilts is someone's home! It reminded me of Aunt Josephine's house hanging from the edge of the cliff in the Lemony Snickets Movie (above) and the Ostler's house (below), which I think has to be the smallest and most crooked house in East Anglia (if not England). It's so cute!!

I’ve been to Norfolk a few times and worked around here, too, but I haven't quite looked at it in the same way as I have this week. The area seems to be made up of small villages surrounding large, sprawling farming estates (like Sandringham or Holkham Hall, which seem to have their own little micro economy going on, which is very quaint and British) with the odd market town dotted about to buy essentials and little boutique gift shops. I actually quite like the Norfolk coast. 

We also got our first feel of Christmas festivities. We were directed to Thursford, a converted farm that I think is usually used as a museum, quaint gift shopping area and wedding venue. But when we arrived, it was decked out as a winter wonderland. It was great, and I felt like an excited kid again.

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