Happisburgh Boxing Day Circular Walk

 

It's a murky and misty morning as we make our way down the coast to Happisburgh (pronounced Hazeborough). We set off through the churchyard at St Mary's Church. It was demolished and rebuilt in the 15th century. The tall tower of St Mary's church is an important landmark for mariners ancient and modern. Warning of  the location of the treacherous nearby sandbanks.To the north of the church there is a mound marking the burial place of 119 British soldiers. The soldiers drowned when 'The Invincible' one of Nelson's fleet on the way to the Battle of Copenhagen was wrecked offshore on Hammonds Knoll.

Leaving the Church we follow the North Walsham Road before taking the footpath on the left hand side of the road. We walk past a caravan park that seems to be deserted, as we walk in the direction of Walcott Hall.It's mainly fields of crops, probably animal fodder and fairly uneventful. That is until we happen upon a a gathering of Tweed clad men with shotguns in the field directly ahead. Thankfully not the way we wished to continue.We didn't hear much gunfire, hopefully not too many Pheasants were dispatched. We followed the narrow tarmac road, taking us past Walcott House. The lady of the house was putting out bird feeders, we exchanged Christmas greetings over the pond. 

There is a brief sojourn with the B1159 as we we look for our next footpath on our left. It is still grey and damp, and doesn't look like improving. We find the path and it is a straight run now to the village of Ridlington.(19.7 miles (31.7 km) north-east of Norwich). The village is surrounded by land largely in arable use. We make our way past the half thatched church of St Peter. A German Zeppelin bomb damaged the Chancel end of the Church, around midnight on 24/25 April 1916.Just past the church are various paths leading in different directions. We need the one that follows the field edge before turning left and finding a gap in the hedge. We follow the green lane down to the road. 

 

St Peter's Church Ridlington

There is a bit of road walking to be done for a couple of hundred yards. A nice Christmas scene is playing is playing out on our left. Two lovely horses and a flock of Geese are gathered. Our next path could be easily missed. It's a narrow one that winds between tow flint cottages on our right. We end up back on the B1159 and follow the grass path edge before crossing close to a ditch. We are heading towards the coast path, this will take us right into the heart of Happisburgh and hopefully the Pub! Given the reputation for cliff erosion in the area I'm giving the edge a fairly wide berth.Down on the beach a dead Seal has been washed up on the sand. Someone has circled it and written in large letters 'RIP'. There are a few walkers around, we meet the lady from Walcott House who I had spoken too earlier. Another tells us that there was once a Caravan Park close to where we stood. It had to move swiftly before the sea could swallow it up

Very sadly Happisburgh is crumbling into the sea, and nothing seems to be able to stop it.During the last 20 years, 34 homes have crumbled into the water in Happisburgh because of coastal erosion.It is so susceptible to erosion because the cliffs are made from boulder clay which slumps when wet. The narrow beaches give less protection against the powerful waves, which increase in energy as they travel across the North Sea.You can clearly see the pipes and wires that remain coming out of the cliffs from previous properties. 

Abandoned pipes and wires

The Hill House Inn

I am very keen to visit The Hill House Inn, and not just for obvious reasons.Dating from the mid-16th Century it is packed with history. This rural retreat was a favourite with author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in the late 19th Century. It is said that it is here that he wrote arguably one of the greatest Sherlock Holmes stories ;The Dancing Men'. Other notable visitors from the Arts world include Sculptors Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth. Although set back from the Cliff top the pub has been given an estimated 15years before it too will fall to the mercy of the weather and the sea. I took the opportunity to enjoy a pint of  Lacons brewery festive  ale 'Saint Nick's 4.2%. Accompanied by a bottle of Adnams 'Tally Ho' Barley Wine. Quite a palatable combination I can confirm. 

Happisburgh is dominated by the red and white candy striped lighthouse, the last place to visit on this walk. The oldest working Lighthouse in East Anglia. It was first illuminated by oil and then in the 19th century by gas. Acetylene lighting was introduced in 1929 followed by electricity in 1949. In 1987 Happisburgh was one of five lighthouses declared redundant by Trinity House. Threatened with closure in 1988 it was saved by the village community. It is now the only independently run lighthouse in Brittain. In June 2018, the lighthouse was repainted. At a cost of £20,000, the work took two weeks by a specialist team of four painters using  300 litres of specially mixed masonry paints.

It has been  a really enjoyable walk , in total 8.37 miles.