I walked up to the Pier at Walton on the Naze and met Margaret Andrews and her son William. Margaret is the support services manager for the Clacton office of Alzheimer's Society and William is a member of the lifeboat shore crew at Walton. Together we walked to Frinton on Sea where they left me and I would meet up with Margaret further down the coast that day in Holland on Sea. There I was met by a wonderful 'reception committee' outside a beach hut owned by a gentleman called Terry. Terry is a supporter of the local branch of Alzheimer's Society and they were all there to greet me along with a banner and balloons. It really was a special occasion. We had tea and cakes and a tour of Terry's hut which was fitted with a kitchen! Afterwards I only had to walk a few hundred metres more to reach Clacton on Sea where I checked into a B&B and promptly fell asleep for a couple of hours!
Heavy rain at 6.30 this morning! Then sunshine for the rest of the day. I took the first ferry across the River Deben where I met a guy who is planning to cycle from Britain to Australia next year who I bumped into a couple more times during the day as we were both taking the same ferries. I walked through Felixstowe following a promenade and admired the huge port operations. Then I took a ferry across to Harwich leaving Suffolk and entering Essex, and made my way round to Walton-on-the-Naze. Day 347 Aldeburgh to Bawdsey I packed up and left Ian and Susan's home in Aldeburgh and was sad to leave!. Ian accompanied me across the local golf course to help me on my way. I followed a lovely path through woodland and marshes to Snape Maltings and then along paths, roads and dusty tracks towards Bawdsey. I passed quite a few pig farms. They are lovely animals! I had a lovely lunch at The Froize Pub in Chillesford donated by its owner, David Grimwood. A lovely gesture. Thank you. In the late afternoon I reached Bawdsey Quay where I sat and watched the world go by for half an an hour. The owner of the B&B drove me over to a nice pub later that evening and collected me too! Day 346 Dunwich to Aldeburgh Ian gave me a lift back to Dunwich this morning. It was overcast and very muggy. I started off along the shingle beach but made my way up onto a firmer path along the cliff which was easier to walk on. A heavy rain shower came through at one point but it soon dried up again. I passed Sizewell 'A' and 'B' nuclear power stations and then stopped for lunch at the tea room by the mere at Thorpness where a few people made donations. From there I headed on to Ian and Susan's house for a couple of hours via marshland infested with mosquitos. I had four of them attached to me at one point all drinking my blood. After a couple of hours of online administration I was back on the beach to walk the last mile or so to the Cross Keys Pub in Aldeburgh where I was greeted by the Lady Mayor of Aldeburgh, Sara Fox and a few other supporters who all made generous donations, and I enjoyed a pint! Day 345 Lowestoft to Dunwich I was dropped off back in Lowestoft. It was a hot day and with a little breeze. Along the beach past Kessingland and onto a pub for lunch in Southwold. This is the life! Then a free rowing boat ferry ride across the River Blyth to Walberswick and on down to Dunwich where Ian collected me. Day 344 Winterton on Sea to Lowestoft Much cooler today and with a little bit of drizzle. I met up with an Alzheimer's Society supporter called Sally, her mother Thelma who has Alzheimer's and her step-father Maurice. They bought me lunch in the centre of Great Yarmouth and we all had a wonderful time. The onwards to Lowestoft wher I was collected in the evening by my brother-in-law, Ian. Day 343 Cromer to Winterton-on-Sea At 9.30am on Cromer Pier I met up with an old friend and work colleague who I hadn't seen for sixteen years. Mark and I had a great morning walking along the beach in a Norfolk sea mist which Mark explained was referred to as a 'fret'. We had so much to catch up on and by the time we knew it we had reached Bacton where it was time for a microwave pie from a cafe before Mark's wife Annabel came to pick him up. I then continued along the beach with the sunshine which had soothed away the fret. Along the way I saw some significant cliff erosion. In one instance, near Happisburgh, a road had just been cut off. On the beach a little way before Winterton-on-Sea there was a small colony of seals. Doing my best seal impression I entice a couple of these inquisitve creatures over to me, and a seal pup came out of the water to have a closer look! I must have impressed him (or her). I stayed the night in Winterton-on-Sea. Day 342 Wells-Next-The-Sea to Cromer Another heatwave day but the cooling coastal breeze kept wafting its windy magic. I left Wells-Next-The-Sea along the Norfolk Coast Path past Stiffkey and Morston. At Blakeney I had lunch outside a mobile cafe and received lots of donations. Then past Cley-next-the- Sea and the salt flats at Salthouse onto Sheringham and then Cromer where I stopped for the night. After a refreshing early evening shower prior to going out for some dinner I decided it would be a good idea to apply toothpaste to the chaffing in my nether regions. Menthol madness! After another quick shower I found the correct tube of Savlon. Day 341 Hunstanton to Wells-Next-The-Sea I had stayed the night in Thornham having got a lift up there last night to find accommodation. This morning after breakfast I momentarily knocked myself out as I walked through a low doorway in the pub where I had stayed. I know that nowdays we are urged to go to A&E and get ourselves checked out but I decided to press on, not however, before 'I had a word' with the management. It turns out that the pub is owned by a celebrity chef who a few weeks earlier had insisted that the warning sign and strip of padding that had been fitted over the doorway be removed because it was deemed unsightly by him. In this modern litigious world of health and safety, I diplomatically explained that a sign should be re-instated along with a new strip of padding as a matter of urgency. Later that day I received a concerned phone call from the management to check that I was OK (I was) and to re-assure me that a sign and strip of padding were being re-instated over the doorway as a matter of urgency. Good! Hopefully other guests won't suffer the same fate. I got a lift back to Hunstanton and continued along the Norfolk Coast Path in gloriously hot and sunny weather with a gentle cooling sea breeze. The route took me past Holme-Next-The-Sea and then right past the pub where I had stayed and nutted myself. Then through Brancaster and Burnham Overy Staithe where I had an ice cream. Near here I found yet another classic case of hide and seek signposting for the Norfolk Coast Path. I met another walker (a 'marine on leave') struggling with the route-finding too! We eventually found it peering out from behind the corner of a boat shed. For goodness sake. If you are going to put up a sign post directing walkers, make sure you they can see it. Then a lovely section of walking through sand dunes and alongside a pine forest at Holkham Meals. Around here I saw a marsh harrier. Big bird. Then along a sandy beach lined with beach huts before reaching the lifeboat station and following the water's edge up into Wells-Next-The-Sea. |
Archives 2013
September 2013
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