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squiz Member Member#: 6644 Location: Registered: 27-05-2007 Diary Entries: 2882 |
17th December 2018 Hiking - Walking: Circuit of West Somerton Wind Direction: Wind Stength: Surf / Sea State: Air Temperature: Sea Temperature: Weather: sunny Max Speed: Distance Covered: 5.81 miles (Nautical Miles - unless stated otherwise) Monday 17th December - walk ***** – West Somerton Circuit - sunny. Toasty night in our little VW campervan in a lay-by at the end of the Staithe at West Somerton under two quilts, the rain from yesterday gone, leaving another sunny day. I was up at 7.30 when it was pretty dark, with the camera and tripod walking along the Staithe to try for some sunrise pics near the windmill. I was not even sure which direction East was and was surprised when it came up from behind West Somerton when I was expecting it to come up over the sea as in Felixstowe but we are now in Norfolk and Horsey beach just down the road faces N/East. It was lovely walking along the reed fringed dyke with the sound of geese on Martham Broad and the swans taking off to join several others grazing in a field. The path was good despite the heavy rain as I walked over the narrow bridge, past the lovely boat house and out into the wilds waiting for the sun to show its face! I got a pic of a fisherman leaving in his flat bottom boat. Then get a nice shot of the mill with the sun rising:) I got back to the van after an hour frozen and got back under the quilt to warm up! Then we packed some snacks and left the van at 10, there was an information board showing several routes and we chose walk 4 (pink) but added walk 5 (blue) which would show us the best this area has to offer both rivers and broads:) We needed to be on the other side of the Staithe to my early morning stroll so headed into West Somerton in lovely sunshine giving everything the most wonderful colour. We turned right into Staithe Road past Inspirations Cat Hotel and nearly missed the footpath to the water. There were a few boats but all the moorings that must be busy in the summer with broads’ cruisers were empty. This is the end of the line from the River Thurne and a good spot for the boaters to spend the night, a meal in the local pub before returning to explore Hickling Broad. At the boat house the path bears left with high reeds to the right and farm land to the left with intriguing glimpses of Martham Broad, a National Nature Reserve. There was a view down to the Broads edge which was lovely and full of swans, boats are not allowed. We come to the River Thurne with its old mill on the far bank and a small yacht with a couple fishing for pike and fishing swims cut in the reeds. We pass Martham Pits as we reach Martham Staithe, the turning point of our walk. You can hire a pleasure boat here in the summer and there are loads of holiday homes from large luxury to dilapidated wooden shacks! A couple of fishermen were in the Staithe but things were slow and then when we reached the end of the Staithe an old converted minibus with windsurfers on the top was parked up and we got chatting a lovely man whose home this vehicle has been for 25 years! He was a chef and worked a few weeks agency and then had a few weeks off, he was a keen windsurfer, skier and cyclist so we had a lot in common:) Getting peckish we walked back down to the Thurne and walked towards another mill looking for a spot for a picnic. With all the holiday homes along this section getting a spot was difficulty but we did manage to find a nice place with views down the River to Hickling with an old boy struggling to row with a boat full of fishing gear! Refreshed from cheese and biscuits followed by mince pies we headed back to the Staithe and then followed the footpath signs through farmland and back to the van. We had been out nearly 4 hours covering 5.80 miles, seeing several interesting birds and enjoying the Norfolk countryside. A relaxing cuppa in the van was followed by the drive home making a small detour to see the low bridge at Potter Heigham, the end of a fantastic two days in sunny Norfolk:) Photo Gallery Here |
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