Wednesday 29 July 2009

A BREEZY WEEK IN "SUNNY HUNNY"

Four weeks since I last did a blog posting - disgraceful! What's my excuse? Well I've been busy but given that I don't actually do any work I guess it's not the strongest of excuses. Last week though the Troy family was on holiday in the neighbouring county of Norfolk. We rented a lovely small home in Hunstanton, or "Sunny Hunny" as its known to its devotees. Its the only resort on the east coast where you can watch the sun set over the sea according to its publicity blurb. We were very pleased with our seaside retreat which is pictured here -

Unfortunately it was only the part of the house this side of the hedge but it is bigger than it looks with 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms as well as a large living room and more than adequate kitchen. Its set in a nice private garden close to the cliffs and within walking distance of both Hunstanton town centre and the sandy beach and dunes of Old Hunstanton.

During our stay in Norfolk we did however visit a somewhat larger house . Sandringham, the "Queen's Country Retreat in Norfolk" is only a short drive from Hunstanton and the house is set in lovely grounds. It is used by the Royal Family solely for holiday breaks rather than any official business and so the rooms open to public view have a nice family feel to them (in a Royal sort of way!). There is also a great museum as well as the beautiful grounds to admire. The last time we visited there, in 2000, the house was closed to the public but it was a Sunday and we actually saw the Queen and the Queen Mum coming out of the local church. Obviously there is no Queen Mum there now but Charles and Camilla are staying at Sandringham this week. Here's a photo of the house and grounds -

If look closely you can see that it is somewhat larger than the house we rented.

There are some excellent beaches on the north Norfolk coast. When the tide is out you can barely see the sea. When the tide is coming back in it advances at quite a pace and it is easy to get trapped on a sandbank island. On one beach, Brancaster, where we spent the day, there was ship wreck visible in the distance. This photo, taken by telephoto lens, brings it in a little closer.

I wanted to take a close-up look but there was a water channel in the way. Afterwards (back home) I googled "Brancaster Beach Wreck" and discovered that the wreck is the SS Vina and it was used for bombing practice during WW2 (although I could see little resemblance to Dresden). The water channel near it is quite treacherous and many people have got into difficulties trying to cross it to get to the wreck. Feeling very sensible, but frustrated, I didn't attempt it on the rising tide.

One evening we went to Thornham Quay. It was high tide and the road had a caution sign noting "Tidal Flooding". This was indeed correct - the calm water in the foreground of this photo is in fact the road down to the quay.

The quay is where the two yachts are moored. Finding the quay end at high tide involves stepping from one foot deep water to twenty foot deep water in one step (not recommended).

We had a very quiet but most enjoyable week and we can thoroughly recommend the Norfolk coast for a lazy peaceful holiday.

Hopefully you won't have to wait another month for my next blog posting.

9 comments:

Ladybird World Mother said...

Used to holiday a lot in nearby Holme next to sea... and would go to Hunstanton to get our supplies... lots of fond memories. Used to ride on the beach. Beaches seemed HUGE. Glad you had a good week.

Valerie said...

Lovely part of the world. I haven't been to Hunstanton though. Spent a lot of time birdwatching ... that's when summers were summers and the rain stayed away.

Grace said...

We all have lazy days blogging every once in a while. It happened to me, too.
By the way, it is my first time here in your blog, Troy. I just want to say that I enjoyed reading your post. :)

HelenMWalters said...

It's a beautiful part of the world. Great photos.

Troy said...

LWM - the beaches are still HUGE even when the tide is in. (Then huge but covered with water).

Valerie - there are some good RSPB bird reserves nearby. If you go at 6am you can apparently see thousands of birds rising together off the sandbanks. I stayed in bed and imagined it. It was good.

Grace - really great to see you here and thanks for taking the time to leave a comment.

Helen - I'm guessing it the nearest coast to where you live. I agree, it has its own special beauty the Norfolk coast.

Anonymous said...

Cor blimey! You politicians don't have get ya holidays!!

Looks and sounds lovely, glad you enjoyed yourselves.

CJ xx

Troy said...

CJ - failed politicians like me get 52 weeks holiday (but not all of them away from home)!

cheshire wife said...

Anywhere looks good when the sun is out. Pleased that you had a good week.

Troy said...

CW - thanks for calling by. I'm guessing from your comment that you've never been to Luton.