Holiday in Norfolk: Blakeney and Cley

On the north Norfolk coast a
visit to the Grey and Common Seals
on Blakeney Point is a must.
(More detail about the area at:
http://www.norfolkbroads.com/guides/area/blakeney )

So having walked the coastal path
from Blakeney to Morston
I boarded one of the boats taking groups
down the muddy creek and out to
the Point


The seals behaved impeccably for the cameras!








I could have then returned to Blakeney, trip over.
But I decided to be "marooned" on the point
and the boat returned home without me.

Now, thought, I was alone with the "lonely sea
and the sky"........

Solititude
Video sent by agracarter2

Well, so maybe not entirely alone. But it was
wonderfully remote out there on the shingle
spit..... a haunt for a few holidaying (?) anglers
(and somewhere to stay too!)

..with floral splashes of colour.

Here's a horned poppy..

...or here some sea lavender on the salt marsh


(Are you thinking "Magwitch" yet?)




Golden mud....a goldmine for hungry wading birds..

A long, rewarding trudge and I approach "the mainland"
once again....and the windmill at Cley. (Does anyone
visting Cley come away without a photo of it? I wonder)


I was struck by the flint walls on my visit to North
Norfolk...very attractive, and such a contrast to
Cotswold stone!

I like to call this photo "Cley-with-flints"
(a rather obscure geological pun)

Holiday in Norfolk: Amid the Broads

A visit to the Broads would not have seemed
complete without calling in on Ranworth church.
It is described as "the Cathedral of the Broads"
and it offers a chance to get a great view of nearby
Ranworth Broad....

Ranworth View
Video sent by agracarter2

Inside the church, however, is also interesting for
its 15th Century rood screen complete with original
medieval paintwork

Beyond, however lie the Broads themselves,
historic haunt of Norfolk wherries

and now all kinds of boating tourists

As well as Ranworth I visited Hickling Broad,
where beautiful tawny coloured Konick ponies
(orginally from Poland)
graze areas of pasture as part of the
(Norfolk Wildlife Trust) reserve management strategy,
and Strumpshaw Fen (managed by the RSPB)

A Marsh Orchid

Not sure what this is yet...

Purple loosestrife?

...this I do know! It's a comma butterfly.
Not as rare as the Swallowtail I saw at Hickling
(A great view of a spledid beast!) but attractive
nonetheless..

A yellow flag

As for bird life, well, amongst others,
marsh harriers drifted over the marshes,
a hobby chased dragonflies and (a first for me)
a bittern (secretive brown type of heron)
flew up, over a stretch of open water, and
then dropped down into reeds at the far side.
I enjoyed that!
Whilst waiting in vain to see some cranes
I just gazed out over the peaceful scenery,
soaking up the calm swish of the wind in the reeds.
Lovely.

Holiday in Norfolk: Norwich (A Fine City)

I really enjoyed being in Norwich again. It is,
as the saying goes "A fine City". A fine old city
mixed in with fine modern bits! Hope you enjoy
this whistlestop tour!......

Firstly admire the wonderful Forum building,
added for the Millenium, beyond is City Hall.

Viewing the Forum from alongside St. Peter Mancroft church
you can appreciate the internal horseshoe shape
of the Forum.

The old market square with its stalls...


The Royal Arcade, bedecked in Art Nouveau
style ......



Up to the Norman castle, with its eye on the market
below.....best keep an eye on those Angles....



And then there is the fine Norman
cathedral too!


















Pull's Ferry, whence the stone for the Cathedral
arrived from Caen



and in the shadow of the cathedral

...fine old streets and buildings....




...of a FINE CITY!!!!
For a longer photo tour around Norwich
(not of my making!) take a look at
http://www.oldcity.org.uk/norwich/

Holiday in Norfolk: UEA

It was great to revisit some old haunts earlier
this month. A trip onto the University Campus
held some surprises and disorientating features
(loads of shiny new accomodation blocks, an old
familiar one on the brink of final demolition....
and a Coptic Orthodox service as the main
Sunday morning event at the Chapaincy!!)

But the basics were still there:
The delightful Broad....



...the limpid waters of the river Yare flowing
by (invitingly cool looking on a scorching day!)

And the starkly impressive concrete architecture
of the main teaching blocks....





and famous "Ziggurat" accomodation terraces



But the main attraction at UEA, beyond the
splendid new sports complex (and the Olympic
sized Bernard Matthew's swimming pool....
what a bonus!) still has to be the Sainsbury Centre
for the Visual Arts. http://www.scva.org.uk/

Within its cool interior I passed a pleasant morning
admiring both a splendid temporary exhibition
of 18th and 19th century Polynesian craftwork
and, amid other great "World Art" pieces, some
old favourites....such as Degas "Little Dancer"
http://www.scva.org.uk/collections/mustseeobjects/index.php?collection=1&collection_object=43
Well worth a visit.