A drive up to Cromer

Not only are our hosts at The Warren Guest House very friendly and hospitable Neville is an amazing chef. To simply call him a cook would be doing him an injustice. We had a fantastic meal last night prepared specially for us, and followed by a chocolate desert to just die for. I cannot wait to see what he has in mind for us tonight. It is wonderful to not have to think about food preparation.

The Man and I could get well used to the cooked brekky, and very nicely done it was too.

So after a very enjoyable breakfast I set Mr Nav-Man to take us via the circuitous route to Cromer. First stop along the the way was at Horsey Pump mill.

The land is so very flat it is no wonder that the land needed draining to make it more productive. We scaled the very steep internal steps right to the top and braved the strong breeze for a few brief minutes to admire the view.

Norfolk, being a coastal county has links to smuggling, and the mill has an interesting history, It is said that if the sails were stopped at at particular position it meant that he excise men where on their way to do a search, giving the smugglers time to hide the contraband. Another position would indicate the all clear.

If there was no wind to move the sails, the poor apprentice would be sent up a ladder to add his weight to the sails to move them into the desired position. Is it true, possibly.The Mill is also said to be haunted by an unfortunate night-watchman who on a very stormy night got his coat caught in the machinery and was battered to death.

Warmed by a nice hot milky coffee and a toasted teacake each we got back in the car and Mr Nav man took us to the little seaside town of Happisburg. 

Did we walk on the beach? No we did not. Not because it was too cold, which it was, but because even in a tiny place like this you still have to pay for parking and at £1 per hour we weren't that desperate to get sand in our shoes.

In our usual fashion we ignored Mr Nav Man and took a narrow unsealed road that took us past old farm buildings and around huge muddy puddles, and then through a seaside town of rickety batches interspersed with the occasional more substantial brick bungalow. A bit further on we found a no pay beach where I let The Man go walking on the sand alone as it was a wee bit too chilly for me.

Cromer wasn't very far away and it was there that we stopped for lunch in a seaside chippy to top our tanks up with cod and chips.

As we drove along we were quite surprised to see so many quite substantial churches in very small country towns, most looking as though they were still in use.

We also saw a lot of building made of small rounded stones instead of the more familiar shaped pieces of flint..