Norfolk - Marshes

 After a rainy, stormy night, I awoke to bright sunshine and the sound of birdsong. What is going on with this Norfolk weather?! At least we have avoided a drenching so far. I fed Misty then took her for a stroll along the lane by the site that Mark had indicated as a dog walk. It was just a track for the first bit, but then opened out into a field with a beautiful panorama of the countryside. The wind up there certainly blew any cobwebs away as well. 

Back at Dame Shirley we lazed about and had a crossword off (I won, again) before I rustled up a full English

Full English in Dame Shirl

We had a bit of a problem with the sink draining while trying to do the washing up, and I took a ferocious blow to the head when the door swung back in the wind, but we were soon ready to take a walk.

We walked up through Cley and past the famous windmill before heading to the beach at the Cley Bird reserve. Misty did not like the pebbly beach one little bit, so we returned to Cley to a very nice little bistro for coffee and cake. It tickled us that two old lags in the corner taking up loads of room were bemoaning the growth of tourism in the area! Apart from them there were just us, another family of tourists, and a couple outside with a vicious dog. The owners were really friendly though. We then headed back out onto the marshes at the Blakeney side, before returning to the very nice looking deli on the corner for vittels for tomorrow. 

The windmill

A twitcher

The marshes

Two handsome people

Coffee and cake

The deli

Back at pitch five

After a rest and a shower in the little shower room we headed off for the Wiveton Bell, in the little village of Wiveton about a mile away. It’s part of the Chestnut Inns group which Ian used to do the audit for. He always promised me a weekend away at one of their pubs, so a meal out is the next best thing. I really enjoyed it, my pork was perfect, and Ians steak was his third best ever, after Lake Como and the top of a mountain in Morzine. We both had puds as well, as being a pretentious place the portions were smallish. 

I forgot to take a photo at the start!

Puds. Ian does love a boring cheeseboard

It was dark as we walked back to The Shieling, luckily Ian had remembered his head torch so we made it without getting squished on the narrow country lanes /racetracks. We had left Misty behind to rest her tired limbs and she was very happy to see us home safe. Ian took her up the track then we settled down for an episode of Happy Valley before turning in.

Strava watch

We walked Misty’s legs off again. All on the flat though.

Nature watch

As we walked through Cley in the morning a Muntjac Deer wandered across the road just in front of us. On the marshes we saw white egrets, oystercatchers, sandpipers, redshanks, sheld ducks again, and we spent ages watching a marsh harrier, just like the pub we had tea in in Norwich.