May Bank Holiday

Harvest mice.

Wells harbour.

Our local Mencap branch has a caravan (a trailer to you people across The Pond) at Heacham on Norfolk's north coast, quite near Hunstanton (but not too near, if you know what I mean). We have stayed there several times during school holidays and were quite surprised that we had no competition. It was always a good deal and the location is perfect for almost anyone. Now, suddenly, it has become more popular and I guess the reason is that it has had a complete re-fit. We used to laugh at the fact that we had a ramp to give wheelchair access, but the door was too small and none of us could fit in the shower. But, not any more! The whole inside has been re-organised to provide access and there is a full-sized wet-room and shower as well as an electrically operated bed. It looks new.

Brent geese

Dan just loves staying in the caravan, especially the fold-out sofa-bed. He has his parents, his iPad and a TV close at hand and we always have adventures. We like the wildlife and would happily cycle and walk our way around, but Dan likes rides and food, and he likes to be entertained.

Happily we can find all the wildlife, food and entertainment we need on the doorstep. Criech Abbey has a thriving Saturday farmers' market. We could have spent a fortune there, but Dan went into a feeding frenzy after trying all the local cheeses and had to be dragged off to lunch in Burnham Market. The village was absolutely choc-a-block with cars and shoppers, but we managed to find a spot to park at the Hoste Arms by using Dan's blue badge. As well as being a bank holiday week-end. there was a big wedding at the nearby church. The hotel was busy serving 140 guests at once, and doing a grand job of it. 'Just as well, because they are building an extension to take 40 more.

Wells to Walsingham Light Railway.

We went on to have a look at Thornham creek where we watched avocets, gulls, oystercatchers, redshanks and a lonely knot before going to the local pub for a pint.

On Sunday we vowed to give Dan a more interesting day so, after a perfect Sunday lunch at The Duck in Stanhoe, we took him on to the Wells to Walsingham Light  Railway. It's a friendly family affair with real steam engines. You can sit outside or in a covered carriage and immerse yourself in the countryside. We saw dozens of hares and partridges. In summer it's a great spot for butterflies. If you had all day, both Wells and Walsingham make good venues to walk around.

Crabbing in Wells

Bank Holiday Monday brought another blue-skied, warm day so we headed back to Wells to go on a boat trip. High tide wasn't until nearly 3 pm so we stopped off for another good, fishy and crabby lunch at the Lifeboat in Thornham.

We highly recommend the harbour tour at Wells. It only costs £5 each for nearly an hour on the water and you learn a lot about the locals, fishing, crabbing, boats, offshore wind farms and the price of a beach-hut on Wells Beach (£70 thousand!)

You also see a lot of wildlife including wildfowl, waders, gulls and terns. That has to be good value!

Dan on the railway with his Dad.

Afterwards it was time to head for home, but we stopped off inland at the Hawk and Owl Trust's little gem of a reserve at Sculthorpe Moor. My best picture was of a nest of harvet mice there, taken in the visitors' centre. Dan ran round the entire boardwalk in under a half an hour, which wasd good for him, but not the best way to see wildlife. All the same we saw a willow tit and a nuthatch which are both rare birds for us.

The bank holiday traffic was pretty bad on the roads that lead from the coast so we cut across to Ely on the by-roads. With the low sun and the trees full of blossom, it was a delightful drive all the way home.

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