15 December 2013: Holt to Weybourne

Walk descriptor	Test walk		Day	00
Date	Sun 15 Dec 2013		Start to end time	06h 29m
Start point	Holt		End point	Weybourne (loop)
Miles today	17.26		Cu miles	0,000.00
Ft today	857		Cu ft	000,000
Route miles left	0,000		Route ft left	000,000
Today’s weather	Sunny at start, clouded over in afternoon. Stiff breeze from south east. started cool but finished very mild (10 deg) Rain for an hour about 2pm

Today’s location (the red cross in a circle shows where I am at the moment)		GPX based track of today’s walk (click here to access to access downloadable file)

Commentary

Another glorious day’s walking from Holt. A 17 mile circular walk, taking in Weybourne and Cley (pronounced “Cligh”). Sunny at the start though with mare’s tail clouds which the meteorologists among us will know are usually a harbinger of stormy weather. And indeed even though it wasn’t stormy, by early afternoon it was cloudy and raining and the wind had strengthened.

Soon after leaving Holt, we came to the excellent view point from near Kelling Heath over to the village of Weybourne, then passed by Weybourne station on the North Norfolk railway (formerly the Midland and Great Northern Railway, also known as the “Muddle and Going Nowhere” Railway). Today they were running “Santa Special” steam trains. We decided to give it a miss..

Walked down to the coast at Weybournbe (a pub and a couple of shops – but all shut today, as it was a Sunday). The beach is windswept shingle – very hard to walk over, a bit like deep snow with hard bits. A lot worse now, as a result of the storm surge on 5 December, which had covered the path with shingle and other debris. The wind was quite strong and, combined with the shingle, made the 4 miles along the beach to Cley a bit of a slog. A few hardy fishermen were out, trying to catch Dab (a flatfish) but to me it looked like pretty miserable way of spending an afternoon.

At Cley, the coastal defences had been breached by thestorm surge, and the normal path to Cley from the beach was closed as it had been swept away in parts. Cley itself was looking a bit down-at-heel but we managed to find a nice delicatessen for lunch. Made the mistake though of buying a small bag of chocolate cherries which at £5.30 a bag meant they cost approximately 50p each. Had a look at the windmill where James Blunt, the singer, apparently spent his childhood.

Back to Cley via Leatheringsett as it started to rain and began to get dark. By the time we were back at the flat, it was, once again, completely dark.

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


Gresham’s school, Holt. V. upmarket	Val on way out of Holt

Enjoying the view over Kelling Heath	North Norfolk railway station at Weybourne (a mile outside the village because landowners in village centre in late 19th century wouldn’t sell their land)

Joining Peddars Way on beach at Weybourne	Fishing for dab near Salthouse Marshes. Cold.

View over to the windmill at Cley – childhood home of James Blount (aka Blunt)