In the sweet by-and-by.....
We've been spoiled. Who needs sun-burnt mirth? Who needs a beaker full of the warm south? When we, here on the north Norfolk coast, have our own Helios, our very own Phoebus-Apollo, born at the foot of Mount Cynthus on the island of Delos, but happily driving his chariot across our skies.....
Yes we may have clouds, and breezes, but this summer has been exceptional, and the coast from the Wash to Wells-next-the-Sea has equalled, if not surpassed, many popular holiday destinations that have been fringed by forest fires, or at the least burnt by the baking sun. We have been swimming for a couple of months now. The water may be cool, but along the north coast, it is clean and refreshing, and vast stretches of sandy beaches are free for you to spread your wings and breathe the untainted air.
The land here is designated by Natural England as National Character Area 76, and the name ‘Good Sands’, often applied to the eastern half of this area, derives from the fertility of the versatile light soils which distinguish the area from the low-fertility sands of Breckland to the south. Many of the villages are centred on greens or ponds and built from local vernacular materials – carstone and chalk in the west with flint becoming characteristic further east, reflecting the underlying geology [from the Natural England website].
The coastline, however, is designated National Character Area 77, the North Norfolk Coast, and almost the whole area is a Special Area of Conservation under the Habitats Directive, a Special Protection Area under the Birds Directive and a Ramsar site, and there are eight Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Much of the coastline is owned or managed by conservation organisations, with the majority of sites being National Nature Reserves..... The exceptional beauty, tranquillity and wildness of the coast are reflected in its designation as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and definition as a Heritage Coast. [Natural England website]
Summer is only a part of the story. As I look out today it is grey and windy and swimming is not on the agenda, for me at least, and I wonder if the sun will shine again..... so I think about the seasons and the variety of attractions we have here. Many people come here for the bird life. At Snettisham RSPB you can see amazing flocks of waders, mainly knot, but others get whirled up in the melee - dunlin, oystercatchers, plovers, sanderlings, godwits et al:
Tens of thousands of birds take off from the mudflats of the Wash as the tide rises, their wingbeats uniting in reverberations as they hurry overhead to roost on the islands in the lagoons created by the shingle extractions for the airfield runways in Lincolnshire in WWII.
At Snettisham, in the winter, you can also see straggling skeins of pink-footed geese heading inland at dawn or back to roost on the Wash at dusk. Their winking calls alert you to them even in the dark or cloudy skies, as tens of thousands of them fly high overhead:
And sometimes, at the end of the day, there are spectacular sunsets over the Wash. It is the only place in Eastern England where you can see the sun going down over the sea, and it can take your breath away as you wait for the green flash.....
Even at low tide, or under grey skies, this coastline is beautiful, the unpolluted light a gentle setting for the aerial wildlife:
While grounded creatures may leave their tracks in the - admittedly quite rare - snow:
At Hunstanton, under the chalk and carstone cliffs, at low tide you can find the remains of the SS Sheraton which drifted ashore in a storm in 1947.
And then the cliffs decline beyond the old lighthouse towards the sands of Old Hunstanton Beach which lead on towards Holme-next-the-Sea:
And along the coast concrete remains of military buildings from wartime sit empty amongst the grasses:
Near swathes of sea thrift, one of the many beautiful plants that thrive here:
While out at sea the windmills of the wind farm off Skegness wave at the Don Quixote in me:
The sea is alive here, and after rough weather sometimes there are masses of razor clam shells on the beach.
At other times it may be baby clams or crabs or starfish, and sometimes, as just recently, a Sowerby's beaked whale, or a dolphin, or a grey seal, as these breed along this part of the coast:
I love the variety here. Swallows in late spring and summer:
Sea Buckthorn in the early autumn:
Snow bunting over-winter here:
And there's always a sense of space. Brent geese here skim the deserted beach at Brancaster, near the Royal West Norfolk Golf Club:
Which looks even more isolated at sunset:
Also at Brancaster Staithe (a word of Scandinavian origin, in Norfolk usually used for a wharf, often associated with coal shipments) there are a few fishing boats (though there are many more recreational craft):
And at Thornham Staithe there is the old Coal Barn, here awash at a spring tide, where coals from the north were off-loaded for distribution to the villages:
And also submerged here are the ancient stakes of a grain wharf:
Just offshore here lies the jewel in this coast's crown - Scolt Head Island. Jon Brown will take you across on the high tide from Brancaster Staithe. With a life time's experience of the water and wildlife here he is an excellent guide and a cruise on the Laura May with him is a brilliant way to learn just how wonderful this part of the world can be:
You can also reach the island from Burnham Overy Staithe, on the Island Ferry in summer or the Welcome Ferry all year round.
The Branta Cruises website is a good place to find out something about the island, but Baz Scampion's website is another mine of information:
Although Scolt Head Island is as old as time, it once belonged to the Holkham Estate but it was sold to the National Trust and designated a Nature Reserve in 1923, and it is now a National Nature Reserve leased and managed by Natural England. It is a beautiful, unspoiled, dynamic island, continually evolving as longshore drift piles sand and shingle up in curls on the western end, and salt marshes and creeks fill with natural vegetation.
There are two buildings on the island, one being the warden's hut, the other a Grade 2 listed 1920's hut which is used as a base for scientists and naturalists who come to study the habitats and wildlife here. Apart from that the island is uninhabited.
The island is a sensitive place, and visitors must be respectful.
It is a wonderful oasis of natural beauty where peace and reflection are the ideals. Leave worries behind, and meditate on how balance and harmony are good for the soul...
Sometimes the sea is high, and you can appreciate its force looking east across Burnham Harbour to Gun Hill and beyond.
Further east along the coast there is Holkham National Nature Reserve and Beach. Backed by an extensive stand of pines, the bay is vast, and while it can seem like Goa (without the palm trees) at other times the wind whips the sand around your ankles, flash floods of grains scouring the surface.....
Then, a mile or two further on there is Wells beach, a holiday destination par excellence in the splashy summer warmth:
Although it is blissfully quiet in winter:
Wells-next-the-Sea itself is busy town, with an active harbour, Life Boat and Coast Watch stations. A small fishing fleet operates from the port and many leisure boats make use of the dredged approach.
All in all this part of the English Coast, traversed by the Norfolk Coast Path, which carries on through Wells as far as Hopton-on-Sea, beyond Yarmouth, is a rich area of outstanding natural beauty. Whether swimming on a sunny day, or walking into the bitter winds of winter, it is a wonderful place to be.
So, perhaps,
In the sweet by-and-by
We shall meet on that beautiful shore.
Ira D Sankey
1840 - 1908
