Canoe Ride on the River Bure from Coltishall to Belaugh and beyond.

We were on the river early, well earlier than we were booked in for at least. Parking spaces looked at a premium at Coltishall on the River Bure, west of Wroxham, in the English county of Norfolk, within the Norfolk Broads.

We are setting off from the 'Rising Sun' Public House nestled on the edge of the beautiful River Bure, next door to Coltishall Common.Coltishall is a wonderful Norfolk village with many local amenities in a picturesque rural setting. The River Bure flowing through is a gently meandering river, with lots of peaceful corners to explore. As Coltishall is the highest navigable point to motor traffic, it is a relatively quiet stretch of river as few venture up this far. 

The river narrows as you head further upstream, making wildlife sightings on or around the banks regular.Safely kitted out with our life jackets we were about to set off in the 2 man canoe 40 minutes ahead of our start time. Giving us a little more than the 2 hours than we had booked for. Thoughts of reaching Wroxham were soon dispelled by the Canoe owner, saying 'you won't get that far'. I do like a challenge!

A little bit tricky getting into the canoe but we were soon off downstream keeping to the right hand side. (Starboard). 

It took a few minutes to get an understanding going, we had a few close encounters with the riverbank lets just say. 

It was already quite busy on the water with other canoes, paddle boarders, kayaks and powered boats. It was lovely to see the other side of the houses where we walked yesterday as far as the small village of Belaugh pronounced (Bee-la).  

It was very hot already, forecast to hit around 28 degrees. So very refreshing to be on the water and feel the cooling ripples on our hands.   

 Some of the riverside properties were really beautiful and had their own mooring places.

Rising above the trees is the Church of St Peter at Belaugh. We walked to the church on our first day and went inside. Located at the top of a steep slope it was built in the 14th Century. 

A young John Betjeman on a boating holiday with his parents looked up and was astonished by it. 'The first time I ever fell in love' he would later recall. The start of a lifelong love affair with churches.

According to information displayed in the church of St Peter Belaugh, in 1695 Richard Slater - a servant at the village's rectory - stole money and jewels from the church and buried them in the rectory garden. When he later returned to dig up the stash, he was discovered by the rector. In the scuffle that followed, the thief drowned in the river. He is supposed to rise up nightly to recover the money, only to be forced down again by the weight of the stolen loot. 

 

It's very difficult to take a photo while trying to paddle and steer the canoe at the same time. As soon as you put the oars down the canoe drifts rapidly towards the bank.  I think any plans of reaching Wroxham have now been abandoned. Looking at the time it is a good idea to turn round and make our way back towards Coltishall. It is a lot harder going back up stream as well!

Plenty of wildlife on the River Bure including these Egyptian Geese pictured. Closely related to Shelducks they are quite common in East Anglia. As you would expect they breed widely in Africa in the Nile Valley and south of the Sahara. 

A few Swans, Moorhens and Coots too. The highlight though was probably the Grassnake  that weaved its way across the water before disappearing into the weeds.   

The River Bure is the longest, and in places the busiest, of the Norfolk Broads Rivers. The Bure rises near Aylsham which was the original head of navigation. Nowadays, the head of navigation is 10 miles downstream at Coltishall Bridge. After Aylsham Lock and Burgh Bridge, the River Bure passes through Buxton Lamas, Coltishall, Belaugh, Wroxham Horning, past St. Benets Abbey, Acle, Stokesby, along the northern border of the Halvergate Marshes, through Runham and Great Yarmouth where it meets Breydon Water and flows into the sea at Gorleston.

After 2 and a half hours in the canoe and some 5.5 miles covered we return to the start point at The Rising Sun Coltishall. A pint of Adnams Ghost Ship went down extremely well! As did it's follow up from the local 'Wolf Brewery' near Attleborough. 'Golden Jackal 3.7% being the brew in question. 

A great  trip and now off to Hornsey!

Norfolk Coast Path - Winterton on Sea and Horsey

 

The Church of the Holy Trinity & All Saints

A scorching hot weekend! Where better to be than by the coast. Supposedly a little cooler than inland and it certainly felt that way as we set off from the car park at Winterton on sea.

We are 8 miles (13 km) north of Great Yarmouth and and 19 miles (31 km) east of Norwich. Between the village and the North Sea are Winterton Dunes which include a 109 hectares (270 acres) National Nature Reserve. The village has been described as "a very pleasant place to spend a holiday" so we should be fine.

It is actually slightly chilly on the beach with the breeze coming off the sea. It really is a great natural beauty spot. The beach is uncrowded , unlike some of it's near neighbours. Part of the beach is netted off to protect  the the breeding grounds of the 'Little Tern'. 

There is quite a commotion going on over the waves. A large flock of the Little Tern's weave a pattern similar to the Starling 'Murmuration'. The problem soon becomes apparent, A 'Hobby' (bird of prey is on the hunt. The birds have opted for the safety in numbers approach. 

Walking along the beach in the direction of Horsey we start to spot a few heads bobbing around in the surf. The Atlantic Grey seal colony at Horsey and Winterton is one of Britain’s great wildlife spectacles.  The flat beaches, shallow waters and high dunes offer seals an ideal location for giving birth.Roughly half of the world’s population of grey seals live around the British coastline which is quite surprising. They share our shores with another species the smaller, and some say prettier, common or harbour seal.  Grey seals are one of our largest mammals yet are very vulnerable to disturbance when they come ashore during the breeding season

 We swap the beach for the coastal path asthe plan is to move inland at Horsey to find the pub that is listed on the map. 

We hadn't been going for very long when we spotted a fabulous 'Fallow Deer'grazing on the heathland. It wasn't at all shy an hung around for a while before bouncing off to find cover. 

It was about a mile off the coastal path to the 'Nelson Head' in Horsey.. It was really hot by now and a healthy thirst had been worked up. Lets just say thinks got off to a difficult start. experienced the member of staff who barked at us with “put your mask on and scan in” in an incredibly abrupt and condescending way. Somewhat strange as we were in the large outdoor seating area. Carrying a rucksack and with multi-pocketed trousers I wasn't able to locate the mask. I tried to explain that I was 'double jabbed' and had completed a lateral flow test. This was only met with a sarcastic comment. Not the best way in my opinion to make someone feel welcome! 

 

That said the food was OK and the Beer (Woodforde's Nelson) was even better.  

We took a wander through the village of Horsey before making our way back to the Coastal Path. 

The Church of All Saints Horsey is unusual as it is thatched.

The church was probably begun in the 10th century, long before the coming of the Normans. The church is built on a very simple Saxon layout, with a round west tower and a nave and chancel without any structural division. 

The church was updated in the late 13th century and remodelled in the 15th and early 16th centuries.

It is a beautiful church in the most perfect of settings and well worth a visit. But now it is a matter of re-tracing our route back towards Winterton On Sea . 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The Seals that we had seen in the water all seemed to have congregated on the beach! There were two large colonies enjoying the warm sunshine. Apparently in the late Autumn during the breeding season the beaches are literally covered in Seals. They are a magnificent sight and not shy at all

 

 

 

It has been a fantastic walk on some stunning beaches. The weather has been perfect and we have just under an hour to relax at Winterton before the car park closes. The Norfolk Coast Path runs for 84 miles from Hunstanton to Hopton-on-Sea, with much of this walking trail running through the dramatic landscape of the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Today we have covered a distance of just over 10 miles.

 

 

 

Great Cransley & Thorpe Malsor Walk

 

A short mid week walk with the promise of a pint at the end! How good does that sound? An incentive if ever I should need one.

Starting point was outside the Three Cranes Public House in Great Cransley near to Kettering. The walk itself would be following the route outlined on the Northamptonshire Walks webpage(Number 40) . It states the distance as being 4.5 miles , however I suspect we will do more than that with the odd detour. 

Weather is ideal for walking dry, slightly overcast ahead of what is forecast to be a tropical heatwave over the next few days.

Without further ado we are off, just like that as Tommy Cooper famously once said. We soon pick up the bridleway and we stick to it like something or other to a blanket, I don't know who coined that phrase?

Just keep heading straight  and we won't go far wrong. Several fields later we exit not stage left but under a disused Railway Bridge. 

 

 

We are now heading towards the busy A14, it always gets referred to as 'busy' whenever you see it mentioned in a route. A few very disinterested sheep are loitering around.

This is here it all get a bit confusing. One field looks very much like another. It becomes apparent that we have gone too far after climbing two fiver bar gates that are not mentioned in the route... 

Thankfully after a bit of backtracking and then spotting a young dog walker who seemed to know where she was going we are back on track.!

The stile in the corner of the field is virtually non existent. We are now parallel to the 'busy' A14. Just a couple more stiles now and we can veer away towards the village of Thorpe Malsor.  I can't resist a little wander under the 'busy' A14 where a little stream winds it's way through unconcerned.

Under the busy A14

 

We follow the stream to the left through a really lovely meadow, such a contrast from the noise previously. A brave Old Oak tree stands impassive. 'Been here way before all this was here Son' I can almost hear it saying. In the next field is a very friendly sheep. I give it some of my apple which it seems to appreciate. So much in fact that it follows all the way to the field exit. 

                   

We take the road towards Thorpe Malsor after saying farewell to the sheep. On the left hand side after about a quarter of a mile there is a footpath right through the field to the village.    

The impressive looking gate to Thorpe Malsor Hall is straight ahead. a large Jacobean house. A Renaissance style that followed the Elizabethan period. Unfortunately you can't see the house from here. The two large Eagles on the gateposts are very impressive though. Not surprising that this is called 'Eagle Lane'. 

As you walk through the village towards All Saints Church there is a large stone seat.

 There is some sort of Greek inscription on it. It  reads tw theo proskunason, which means "bow before God" or "worship God".      Beneath that there is a Latin abbreviation which reads "ann:dmi" which is short for anno domini which means "in the year of our Lord", in other words, "AD".  

The footpath is right next to the church and leads back into the countryside. 

Keeping to the right of the hedge line we are heading towards the 'Jewell in the Crown' of today's walk 'Cransley Reservoir'. 

Known locally as Three Chimneys is a lowland lake is situated in Cransley, near Kettering, Northamptonshire. It is also the place where I did my Paddle Boarding (Sup) last Summer. 

constructed in the 1880’s to provide water for Kettering and Cransley furnaces.  It has been providing clean water for Kettering and Desborough for over 125 years. The reservoir is now privately owned and used by Cransley Sailing Club and covers approximately 75 acres.

In  2019 the Reservoir and Filter House went on sale for 1.7 million pounds.  

 

 

 

 

 Not much human life on the water today though. Just one Angler trying to land a prize catch. You can only walk around a small part of the Reservoir which is a shame really. The visit is all too brief as we make our way uphill through the fields to the road. We are now going back towards Great Cransley and that much anticipate pint of Beer. 

One last footpath sign to find on the left of the road. The last field is a bit of a mess with paths running all over the place. 

It is easy to spot the gate in the distance though and we are soon emerging just a little bit further up from the pub where we started from. 

A very enjoyable shortish walk at around 5 miles. The pint afterwards wasn't bad either.The  Kelchner Brewery based in Ampthill, Beds took on the lease of the pub in May of this year. I had the IPA at 4.5% which went down very well!