Derek Carr's Holiday in Norfolk 2006

Hunstanton gardens

At the end of Hunstanton promenade, the cliffs rise rapidly and rather spectacularly. This layer cake effect is very distinctive of Hunstanton.

After tea, we drove to Snettisham Beach, about ½ 7, and Margaret and I went and looked at the birds. We saw oystercatchers, an egret, shelducks, etc.. On the way back we stopped and took some photos of these wonderful poppy fields.

On Wednesday morning we went to the gardens of Norfolk Lavender. The gardens and park are very nice. Norfolk is famous for its English lavender, and this is one of the main producers of it, just up the coast from Kings Lynn. Here are some of the display and test beds. It's amazing how many different types of lavender there are.

Here's my cousin Margaret and my mom, taking it easy in the Norfolk Lavender gardens.

At the end of the cliffs, on the point, is the lighthouse and this ruin. This photo looks very serene, but it was blowing something awful at the time. It was a good job that the sun was out: I needed a fast shutter-speed to stop the shake!

This is a lovely garden area, and I think those houses on the right are almshouses, or houses for retired clergy. Walsingham is a very ancient site, and has been a pilgrimage centre for Catholics for many centuries. The church is built over a holy well, that almost certainly was sacred to the Inceni, and was probably visited by Boudicca herself.

Walsingham shrine. As is typical for a Catholic pilgrimage site, the inside of the church has many altars. I was particularly taken with this one.

Well, I did say we were looking for Warham camp when we found Walsingham. This is a bronze-age hill fort, about halfway between Walsingham and the coast at Wells-next-the-Sea. It's a couple of hundred yards down a narrow track, off a very minor road, about ½ mile or so from the little village of Warham. The above picture shows a part of the ditch and ramp. This photo shows Warham church in the distance, and an idea of the pretty countryside around.

This picture gives a better impression of the size of the ditch and mound. It is an impressive site.

After leaving Warham camp, we drove back to Wells to have a look round the place. It was getting a bit late by then, which is why it's so quiet. This is one of the narrow lanes leading down to the port.

This gives an impression of where the quay at Wells is. The open sea is quite a way away through the marshes.

The house at Sandringham is not that special, just a rather nice mansion.

At the side of the house is the kitchen garden, which is very pretty, and more intimate that the rather grand other parts of the garden.

Further on, this is this beautifully landscaped lake. It's so romantic, I think. You can just see the main house behind the trees.

Here's another shot of that beautiful lake and its surrounding gardens.

Peterborough cathedral West front. It's an odd cathedral enclosure: there's only one entry and exit (just behind you in this shot) through an arch. That caught us out and we ended up walking all round the outside looking for a way out!

This was the cloister of the original abbey, Apparently there are signs of damage done by the Vikings on that far wall. Oh, and that far door into the cathedral is the only entry and exit into this area too (perhaps they're still worried about Vikings).

Not far from Peterborough out in the fens, is the Flag Fen Iron-age site. This is a kind of combined outdoor museum and nature area. Here you see my mom standing by a reconstruction of a couple of bronze-age fen dwellings.

Margaret took this picture of me, Derek, and his mom, outside one of those bronze-age roundhouses.

Here are the flags (water plants) after which Flag Fen is named. We were there at the end of their flowering season, unfortunately. I understand they look terrific when they are all out. Well, you can imagine it, can't you?

Just a general view of the fen, with some wooden stumps in the foreground, which would have looked like that in the bronze-age.