Travelling North

Thurs.5^th Sept:  It was nearly noon when we left Aldeburgh this morning after long, hot showers (usually shower time is limited and not always hot so we made the most of them) and a cycle ride into town to visit the Royal National Lifeboat Association.

One of the volunteers showed Mike over the lifeboat even though members of the public are not permitted on board which made Mike’s day. 

On then to see an English Heritage property nearby, the ruins of Leiston Abbey before taking a detour to the seaside town of Southwold but as the place was chokkers with cars and people, no room for Boris, we did a u-turn and hightailed it out of there.  We pulled in to a snack bar along the road and bought a hot dog, a bacon sandwich and mugs of hot chocolate for lunch which was very naughty of us as it’s not exactly health food and we usually make our own lunches, but it was good!

From there we drove on to Reedham on the River Yare, which flows into Great Yarmouth.  After driving down the narrowest of roads, we came to a ferry crossing where for two pounds, (it should have been four but Mike talked the ferryman into dropping the price!) we were carried across by a chain ferry

 to the other side where we booked into the camping ground for the night, then went on a bike ride to the town, about a mile away.  Then back to the pub by the campsite for a quiet beer while watching the boats go by.

Fri.6^th Sept :  Overcast this morning, some drizzle after raining through the night and we left camp at 9.30ish for the drive to Wroxham where we planned to ride on the Bure Valley Railway to Aylsham and back, a 45 minute each way journey through farming country.

It was an enjoyable ride but we didn’t go into the town as it was too far from the station to walk there and back in the 40 minutes we had before the return…we had opted for the round journey as we wanted to be back in Wroxham for the 2pm boat cruise on the River Bure and Wroxham Broads.  The sun had come out for the train trip but by the time we returned to Wroxham, it was drizzling again, but not for long and we enjoyed the 2 hour boat cruise

…a lovely, lovely relaxing day, ending with a night in the car park of the Fur & Feather Inn, a thatched pub in Woodbastwick in the Norfolk Broads, next door to the Woodforde’s Brewery.

Many English pubs allow motorhomes to stay overnight in their carparks…the motorhomers will usually by drinks and/or meals in the pub as a sort of payment but it’s not always a requirement.

Sat.7^th Sept : On our stroll into the little village after breakfast, we stopped at the Forge and chatted to the smithy,

a retired gentleman who no longer makes a living from his craft but enjoys doing small jobs as a hobby.  We inspected the church and the few houses in the village…only 5 are privately owned, the rest are the property of the ‘lord of the manor’

…and stopped to talk to the smithy again on our way back.  His mate turned up and we had a very lively conversation with the two of them.  We were invited to stay for coffee but we had places to go so said our farewells and departed, heading north to Cromer, then along the coast  to the pebbled beach at Weybourne, a brief stop at the Muckleburgh Collection  followed by a visit inland to Binham Priory, another English Heritage site and close by, Creake Abbey where a young, newly wed couple was having photos taken. 

Back to the coast road then, stopping at Castle Rising Castle ruins, but as there was only 15 minutes left till closing time, we had to do a very quick tour, so unfortunately not able to see it all. The caravan camps at Sandringham were both full, there is some big fair on this weekend so probably not a good time to visit the Queen’s summer house which was disappointing, so we pushed on, finding a quiet camp at a place called Foreman’s Bridge where we spent a quiet night.

Sun.8^th Sept :  I think we crossed into Lincolnshire late yesterday, not sure where the border is.  It was sunny this morning but with a chill wind so warmer clothes than we’ve been used to were needed.  A very happy day was spent visiting the Sibsy Trader Windmill, climbing up the steep steps to the top,

then the remains of Bolingbroke Castle, a 13^th century hexagonal castle, birthplace of King Henry IV

and then off the track a little to spend a couple of hours at the Claythorpe Watermill and Wildfowl Gardens

before resuming our day’s travels.  We are now in Kirmington, I think still in Lincolnshire or North Lincs., and are parked at the rear of the Marrowbone & Cleaver Inn for the night.  The pub has closed for the night, and so will I!