So what’s
been happening since last September? Well, Boris says he has got Brexit done –
although the terms remain uncertain (quite possibly none). Liverpool have a 19
point lead in the premier league and, with 12 games remaining, require a mere
15 points to ensure their first title for 30 years. Various storms have
affected the country, including two in the last three weeks which have led to
flooding in South Wales and along the Severn. And something called the
coronavirus could soon be declared a pandemic by the WHO. But currently no
declared threat of plagues of locusts.
The two most
recent storms (named, very threateningly, Ciara and Dennis) may have
disappeared, but the rain is falling and the wind is blowing when John, Ben and
Mike arrive at Cromer station and meet Gary who has been in Norfolk over the
weekend. It doesn’t take long to get back to the street leading to the Lifeboat
Cafe from where we set off just before 10:45. Because of the weather, we decide
to be prudent and follow the official route of the coast path, which takes us
out of Cromer up to and along some low cliffs, rather than venture along the
shoreline. However after no more than 20 minutes, as we approach Warren Wood, a
route marker directs us down to the beach which we follow for about another
half an hour. It only takes a few minutes for Gary to become the first faller
of the year when he slips on one of the rather damp timber beams which have
been helpfully positioned to make walking over the initial stretch of shingle
more comfortable. But generally the beach is sandy and firm. It takes us below
and beyond Overstrand – so we miss the sight of Royal Cromer Golf Course and
the lighthouse alongside it – to a point just before Sidestrand where we return
to the cliff top. The next few miles follow streets, field edges and copses to
Trimingham where, on the edge of a field leading back to the cliff tops, we see
what looks like a giant golf ball and is, in fact, a remote air defence radar
station. We continue towards Mundesley where get back to the beach to begin the
remaining 10 miles to Sea Palling. It’s now early afternoon and the rain has
stopped by the time we pass below the gas pipeline terminals at Bacton. The
next 3 hours comprise stretches of beach action interspersed with diversions to
coast roads/paths or raised walkways at the back of he sands. We pass by
Walcott, Happisburgh and Eccles-on-Sea and, shortly after 4:30, follow the edge
of a couple of fields and arrive in Sea Palling. By a road which leads up from
the beach stands Reefs Bar. This is where we’re planning to eat this evening
and we haven’t (we think) quite reached the official end of today’s walk. This
is about 100 yards further up the road at a path which (again we think) marks
the start of our journey tomorrow. But we call in at Reefs for a reviving pint
before completing the remaining 100 yards and then continuing along the road
for another 10 minutes to our overnight accommodation, The Old Vicarage
B&B. Our welcoming hosts direct us to our rooms, take our breakfast orders
for tomorrow morning to expedite departure, and inform us that they will also
be at Reefs this evening. Rooms are comfortable and showers efficient. Shortly
after 6:30, we walk back to Reefs and find that our hosts are already ensconced
at the bar. It strikes us that it’s not altogether unusual for them to be found
there! The food at Reefs is standard pub fare – both in terms of what’s on
offer and what we order (fish and chips for three of us and scampi and chips
for Gary) but it’s pretty good, and certainly needed. We’re relatively
abstemious on the drinks front – just a beer, the one bottle of wine and a
sticky – which could well be the result of a general weariness among the team. Certainly,
it’s a bit of a struggle to stay at the pub until the end of the first half of
Liverpool v West Ham which is being shown on TV. But before we leave, our host
from the B&B informs us that, even at high tide tomorrow morning, we’ll be
able to walk along the sea wall path at the back of the beach and that there’ll
be no need to take the path through the fields. A 100 yard adjustment to the data
for today will therefore be needed. For now, sleep calls.
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