A few days in Norfolk – Day Three
Day the third saw us heading to the north Norfolk coast, and again the weather was fine, sunny and (sometimes very) warm, despite a forecast of rain, which never materialised in any meaningful way. I’d caught the 09.45 Sheringham train from Norwich, on the Bittern Line, and had been joined in the front carriage at North Walsham station, by my old friend (who happens to live in North Walsham).
We alighted at Gunton, the next station on the line, after a short journey, and began our ramble towards the village of South Repps, on the way to which we passed this abandoned pub. Boarded-up pubs have been an all too common feature of the English landscape in the past few decades…
The Suffield Arms at Gunton…
On we wandered to our first destination, the village of South Repps, and we lingered a while at the church, St. James, which is well-maintained, and much used, and seems to play a significant role in the social life of the village.
St. James Church, South Repps (or Southrepps)…
Along the road to our next destination, St Mary’s Church at North Repps, we passed a field containing these two equine characters; the white horse turned out to be a lot less shy than the Shetland Pony…
By now it was warming up, and this horse was getting thirsty…
This one kept its distance…
By the time we reached St Mary’s Church, we were feeling in need of a rest and some refreshment, so we sat on a bench and relaxed in the churchyard for a while…
St. Mary, North Repps (or Northrepps)…
Unlike at St. James at South Repps, there was no one around at St Mary’s Church other than ourselves, but when I went inside, I took a liking to a couple of the windows…
And here’s the village sign…
Presumably celebrating the Queen’s Silver Jubilee…
We were now heading for Overstrand on the coast, by way of this long wooded pathway, and I couldn’t help thinking of a line of Wilfred Owen’s poem ‘Strange Meeting’, something about a ‘profound dull tunnel’ ;).
Or maybe ‘Alice in Wonderland’…
Nearing Overstrand, we passed this rapacious looking Beetle…
Yes, don’t you mess with me… 😉
And here we are in Overstrand…
Crabs, boats and beaches…
Now we really were near the seafront, and here are three views from the clifftop…
We then went down to nearer beach level, and I was rather taken with the zig-zagging nature of this breakwater…
There are numerous breakwaters between Overstrand and Cromer, but this one seems to be unique in design…
We then rambled the couple of miles westward to Cromer along the beaches, and arrived there in due course…
Despite the appearance of the clouds, the rain kept away…
Cromer’s pier…
Heading along the pier to the Pavilion Theatre, and the Lifeboat Museum beyond…
Stained glass window in Cromer Lifeboat Museum…
A view from Cromer Pier back towards Overstrand…
Cromer Pier from above…
We then ascended into the town itself…
A framed seaview from the town…
Jetty Street sign…
By now it was late afternoon, and we were feeling the need of a pint, so we repaired to the Red Lion, and some Aspall cider…
And very welcome it was… 😉
Another view through the Red Lion’s window…
We had a train to catch at Cromer railway station around sixish, so we made our way there via Mary Jane’s Fish and Chip Shop, where we bought some chips to eat on the way to the station. It would have been a veggie burger too, had they not told us they cooked it in beef dripping… 😉
A Morrison’s supermarket was built in the old Goods Yard at the station, and here are two murals nearby…
Here’s one of them…
And here’s the other…
Yes, two weary ramblers, but a great day out nonetheless… 🙂
A Weekend Diary 