Mrs PB and myself had a few days away in Norfolk, and this is the first of a 2 part record of the trip (the 2nd part will be much longer, as it involved the Titchwell Marsh reserve and lots of stuff there).
As it was about a 6 hour trip we left in ample time to arrive early and have a mooch about the area to see what was what, firstly Hunstanton.... Welcome to Norfolk!!
As you can see, it was a bit grey, but it brightened up a bit later... I could see distant birds along the surf line, so went for a wander out towards them, whilst Mrs PB enjoyed a hot chocolate on the harbour front.
It was mainly Oystercatchers
But because the tide went out so far, the distant white blobs remained white blobs, but less distant! Closer to hand a couple of Redshank were milling about
And then as I was returning to the harbourside something caught my eye just beyond the surf...
We decided to head up to the hotel, and see what else there was to see. We checked in all nice and lovely, and I said I fancied a wander to the beach (about 10 minutes away) and Mrs PB sent me on my way!
In the car park some very pretty plants (especially so now the sun had come out!)
And in field practically adjoining the hotel, Mr Muntjac
And flying above, several Magpies
Further down the path some beautiful Cherry Blossom
And equally lovely Quince (apparently!)
I got to the beach, and in the distance I could see a mass of black and white... a huge amount of carrotbills
Behind me there was a rivulet of sea, barely a few centimetres deep when I crossed it to move a bit closer to the Oystercatchers, and in it, another Redshank
NOW, this is the main reason for posting about this bit of the trip. There was information in the hotel room about how quickly the tide comes in on this beach, and about the tide forming deep channels.
No more than 20 minutes after that picture of the Redshank, the "rivulet" I'd crossed was a waist deep river. The sea itself was still 50 yards out, if not more. The tide came in behind me, unbelievably quickly, and without me even noticing, despite having read the warnings.
I managed to keep the camera stuff dry as I waded back, but everything in my trouser pockets were soaked, wallet, car keys.... nightmare as it's remote locking, push button start... £200+ for a new key fob... so... TAKE CARE ON THE BEACHES OF NORTH NORFOLK!!
The more fun part will follow when I've sorted through the 800+ pics!!
Stay Safe All
(Pardon the Scottish Accent)
Hi PB,
Beautifully captured day out with a somewhat hair raising ending.
In my younger days I had a weekend job digging for fishing bait, lugworm and ragworm, and it was often on the North Norfolk coast. The experienced bait diggers I went with were very aware of where the water was all the time as the tide came back in so rapidly. On foggy days you had to be very careful and I've had a life long respect for the sea on huge flat open beaches. It's so easy get caught up with what you are doing and lose track of time and place, I'm glad all you got was wet and a bit out of pocket.
Best wishes,
Trevor