Thursday September 14th 2017 - More rain, a bargain, and a drive to Gorleston

It was another day of on/off heavy downpours though the wind had lessened considerably from the previous day. By late lunch time I was getting fed up of staying on my pitch so I went down to Asda in Yarmouth to get some supplies and a mop and bucket then drove round to one of the out-of-town retail parks. There was a large Sports Direct store there and as I needed to get some new tracksuit pants I went in to have a look. At first I couldn't seem to find what I really wanted but after a bit of perseverance I came across just what I was looking for and at a bargain price too. Luckily I'm still just about slim enough to fit into children's sizes and I found some age 13 Slazenger ones in the sale, priced at £7 a pair or two pairs for £11 - that was a good price so I picked up two pairs, but when I got to the till I was only charged £10 so that was even better.

By the time I came out of the store the weather had done a complete about-turn and there was now lots of blue sky and sunshine, so as I was on the south side of Yarmouth I decided to drive the few miles to Gorleston and take the dogs for a walk along the promenade and gardens. To be honest I think Gorleston is a bit of a boring place and why anyone would want to go there for a holiday is beyond me as there's very little there, but at least the parking near the beach is free. 

I walked for quite a distance along the promenade and back along the cliff top gardens and the place was so quiet that in all that time I only saw six people. Right out to sea was a big ship with four tall things sticking up from it so just for curiosity I put the camera on zoom and snapped a couple of photos - it was called Sea Challenger, and later information told me it was a jack-up vessel specially designed for installing off-shore wind turbines.

Back at the van I made a quick phone call to my son who was just about to set off on his latest journey back from Ireland, then as there was nowhere else I wanted to go and it was late afternoon by then anyway I headed back to the camp site. I did think about mopping up the puddle in the tent but then decided against it - with the probability of more rain and another puddle before the end of the holiday I might as well let the weather do its worst and mop the whole lot up at once. So with that decision made I settled into the van and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Wednesday September 13th 2017 - Another day in the van

After being disturbed a couple of times during the night by the sound of prolonged and heavy rain on the van roof I woke just before 6am to a leaden sky and a gale force wind battering the tent so hard I was surprised it was still intact. At least it was fine so I took advantage of the fact and took Sophie and Poppie for a slightly-earlier-than-usual morning walk. As I came back along the beach the sun was trying to push its way through the clouds and the sky was clearing to the north so I hoped the day would turn out nice in spite of the wind; that hope was short-lived however as I'd just got back in the van when the rain hit again.

It was during a fine spell mid morning that I went to get something from the tent and when I unzipped the door I was greeted by a scene of devastation. Everything in there had been up-ended by the wind and scattered all over, and the bedroom facing the field had a huge puddle in the middle of the floor from the rain having blown in under the tent itself. Fortunately my bag containing my clothes and personal stuff hadn't been affected, nor had the bedroom facing the back fence, so once I'd picked everything up off the floor I transferred it all into that bedroom and kept my fingers crossed that it would remain dry for the rest of the holiday.

After several bouts of heavy rain it was mid afternoon before the sky began to brighten out to sea, and knowing that it was high tide I went down the path to the beach just to see how far up it was. It was higher than high - the beach where I'd walked only a few hours before was completely invisible, with the sea battering the rocks and surging halfway up the steps.

As a dog walk down there was now impossible I decided to go the other way and walk through a nearby chalet site and up to the general store, however that proved to be a big mistake. It was quite a distance to walk and I'd only got halfway there when the sky went black and the heavens opened; I sheltered under the canopy of the local hair salon for a while but there was no sign of the downpour stopping and no point going any further so I had no choice but to make my way back to the van.

Needless to say, by the time I got back there I was literally soaked right through to the skin and shivering, and the dogs looked like two little drowned rats - and that was when, for the first time ever, I really felt like giving up and coming home early. If I could have got a refund on my pitch fee I would have done, but having paid more than I'd expected in the first place I decided to stick it out and stay. After a good towelling down the dogs soon dried out and fortunately I'd packed my hair dryer, so with a change of clothes, the fan heater on and my hair dry again I felt a bit more human and I settled into the van for the rest of the day and evening, only going out again once during a brief fine spell for a quick pre-bedtime dog walk.

Tuesday September 12th 2017 - St. Benet's Abbey, Horning & Potter Heigham

I woke a bit later than usual that morning to blue sky, sunshine and a very light breeze which all made for a very pleasant walk through the heath with the dogs. When I got down onto the beach I could see from the foot and paw prints that for once I wasn't the first dog walker down there but I was the only one there just then so it was lovely having the place to myself.

Over breakfast I planned my day out to get some photos but when it came to leaving the pitch I found I wasn't going anywhere. After returning from my drive to the shop the previous day I'd wound the van window down to pass the hook-up cable through but forgotten to turn off the ignition when I wound the window up again and the battery was now completely dead. Cursing my own carelessness I phoned the AA and less than an hour later a very nice patrol man arrived and soon got the van started for me.

After leaving the engine running for a while I set off on the first part of my day, a visit to St. Benet's Abbey close to the River Bure. I'd been there last year after finding out how to get to it by road (in my previous non-camping years I'd only ever seen it from a boat) though it was only after I'd got home from that holiday I found out that there was a good panoramic view from the cross situated across the field from the main ruins. I had to watch my step walking across the field as it's regularly used by grazing cattle but I managed to reach the cross without putting my feet or the dogs' paws in anything nasty. The views from there were certainly expansive and far reaching, looking across open fields towards Thurne in one direction and towards Ludham bridge and beyond in the other, with a few glimpses of the nearby river thrown in.

Back at the main ruins I spent several minutes wandering round inside the windmill, reading the various bits of graffiti scratched into the stone wall and archway running through the centre of it. It was still possible to see certain figures carved above the ancient archway and while the one on the left, which I photographed last year, looked like a soldier with a rifle I couldn't make out the one on the right - horse, dragon or lion, I couldn't really tell. From the ruins I took a short walk along the riverside to snap a few photos then I returned to the van and set off to my next port of call.

The attractive village of Horning was only a relatively short drive from St. Benet's Abbey but by the time I got there the blue sky was well on its way to being obliterated by grey clouds. The free car park was a few minutes walk up the hill from the village and I didn't want to park there if it was going to start raining while I was exploring so I didn't stop; instead I went to Horning Ferry Marina and parked in the Ferry Inn car park close to the river. It was supposed to be for customers only but there were so many people around I don't think anyone would have known that I wasn't one.

As soon as I got onto the riverside I was approached by mother swan and her four almost-grown-up cygnets who followed me along for quite a distance. Every time I stopped to line up a shot they stopped too, looking at me expectantly, but of course I had nothing to give them - and if ever any creature was able to make me feel guilty then those five certainly did. On my way back to the van I passed a post with a laminated notice pinned to it, it was a list of charges for the foot ferry and the last couple of lines amused me enough to take a photo of it.

From there I drove back past the turning for St. Benet's Abbey, through Ludham village and along to Potter Heigham, parking in the car park at Latham's store. No camping trip to California is complete without at least one look round Latham's and I managed to pick up a few bargains including some 10mtr rolls of good quality Christmas wrapping paper for just 99p per roll. With my goodies stashed in the van I had a short walk round near the bridge then set off to visit my friends Eileen and Ron at Clippesby, just a short drive away.

It was good to catch up with them both again, though sadly Eileen's eyesight is failing and she's now registered as partially sighted. There was also one family member missing - Joe, the Border Collie who always greeted me as soon as I arrived, and I was told that he'd died unexpectedly one night back in May. They are both great animal lovers, Eileen especially, and she really misses Joe so I don't think it will be long before they have a new family member. 

After a brew and a good chat it was eventually time for me to go so with a promise to visit again before my holiday ended I said my goodbyes and headed back to the camp site. It had been a good day all round, and as I settled into the van for the evening I was already planning where I would go for my next day out.