UK 2022 - Part 1: Norfolk

 UK 2022 - Part 1: Norfolk (1)

It's always exciting to be traveling internationally - especially after the hiatus of the Pandemic. We were delighted to be flying over 'the pond' to visit family and friends in England, whom we hadn't seen since 2017. We were also looking forward to some sight-seeing in Cornwall, as Mark had never been to that part of the country. 

Those of you who have been following our adventures will have noticed that we are not in the habit of traveling lightly! This trip, however, was going to be different as we wanted to prove to ourselves that we could manage with two carry-ons and a couple of backpacks, thus circumventing the need to wait for baggage pickup on the journey. 

Dear friends dropped us off at Sudbury airport, in Ontario, and we checked in, and waited eagerly for our plane to arrive to take us to Toronto for the first leg of our journey.  

After a layover in Toronto, we boarded the flight for Heathrow and were well and truly on our way. 

Arrival in London turned out to be one of the easiest and most efficient experiences we've ever had, with just 20 minutes from deplaning to stepping on to the train that would take us to our connection in the City to our destination in Norfolk. 

We had rented a Vauxhall Corsa from Enterprise, in King's Lynn, and they picked us up from the railway station, and thus began the adventure of driving on the left side of the road. (Since I learned to drive in Canada and, although I had driven twice on previous visits back home, I still had a certain amount of trepidation, but that disappeared with practice and familiarity - though I will always be grateful for the guidance of my brother-in-law, Dave, whose patience was exemplary).

Our Vauxhall Corsa

Arrival at my sister's beautiful home allowed us to give expression to a joyful reunion that had been 5 years in coming. There were hugs all round, followed by a 'nice cup of tea', and we immediately felt at home.

We were introduced to little Bella, whom we had only seen on cam sessions over the last year. She was gorgeous and she stole our hearts within minutes!

Beautiful Bella

Our first meal out was at a lovely restaurant, called Jack's. With its rural setting in Woodlakes Park, not far from Downham, the ambience of eating outdoors in a semi-covered wooden building had a charm all of its own - plus, it was dog-friendly, so Bella could tag along, too!

Bella, checking on my driving!

                              

The next evening, Mark and I decided to take a walk down 'the drove', behind the house, and come back through the town. Although I had spent so much of my early adult years visiting Downham Market, I noticed that my appreciation of the architecture and sheer beauty of the carefully cultivated gardens had grown immensely with this visit. 

These chimneys are fantastic!

The iconic Downham Town Clock

St. Edmund's Anglican Church dominates the hill at the top of the town

The 'Drove' - behind our family's home

Poppies were evident wherever we went

Norfolk is renowned for its individual town signs 

We even saw, in the outskirts of town, a different species of deer, which Dave informed us that it was a Muntjac Deer, not native to the UK, but introduced at the start of the 20th Century. They are now quite common in parts of the country. 

Our first sighting of a Muntjac Deer - we had no idea what is was when we first saw it

Jess and Dave have always found delightful places for us to visit, each time we have been with them. The village of Blakeney, on the coast, was no exception. Officially designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and part of the North Norfolk Heritage Coast, it has a long history stretching back to the Domesday Book. Once a commercial seaport, the harbour is now silted up and the open sea is only accessible by small boats past Blakeney Point. However, there is a fantastic circular walking trail that led to the sea wall and so, while our hosts relaxed in the sunshine, we made our way out along the trail for just over an hour, thoroughly enjoying the open sky, fresh air, and the friendly greetings and exchanges with other hikers. 

The village of Cley in the distance, with its windmill

My sister and I at the Blakeley Manor Hotel, where they had previously stayed

After a sandwich lunch, we had to enjoy a dessert of the famous, 99 Flake ice cream - without which no visit to the UK would be complete!!

One of the reasons why we chose to begin our visit to the UK in mid-may was because, on the 18th, it was Jess and Dave's 65th wedding anniversary!!! We were able to celebrate with them and enjoyed a meal at Marriott's Warehouse - a restaurant on the waterfront of the River Ouse, in King's Lynn, Norfolk. A great time was had by all - delicious meal, wonderful company, and lots of laughs. 

Marriott's Warehouse Restaurant, King's Lynn

The River Ouse

Our next adventure took us for a drive to the Georgian town of Holt, where we parked the car at the heritage station, which was the starting off point for our trip on the North Norfolk Railway (the Poppy Line), which runs through some stunning coastal scenery to the Victorian seaside resort of Sheringham. It is operated totally by volunteers.

We just missed the steam train as it left as we arrived. However, the time between that and the next train gave us the opportunity for a snack before the journey. (We actually ended up on a diesel train for the outward journey, but managed to catch the steam train back). 

Holt Heritage Railway Station

Having had  a fascination for trains and railways since my youth and, in fact, it was my dream to be a train driver when I was growing up. Maybe that would explain why I found it was a sheer joy to be able to see the engineers at work in the cabin and to see the railroad stretching out before us. Had we traveled by steam train both ways, which was our original plan, we would not have been able to have that experience so, as usual, everything worked out well for us. 

This may be the only time that Mark has traveled First Class!

A view of the North Sea and Coast, from the train

We had a few hours to spend in Sheringham so, while Jess and Dave spent some time in the town, itself, Mark and I took a quick stroll down to the seafront, and hiked up to the top of the Beeston Bump, just east of the town. It afforded us some great views of the North Sea from a gradual climb of 207 ft (63 m). Before leaving Canada, we had watched a YouTube video of a guy doing that hike and it whet our appetites to follow in his footsteps. 

On the movie clip we had watched, the guy pointed out a small building that had once been a public convenience. It had been bought and renovated as a place to stay - aptly named, The Wee Retreat!!! Mind you, it cost 950 GBP for one week!

A converted public washroom!

You can still see the words, 'Men', and 'Gents', very faintly!

During the first 3 weeks of our time in the U.K., we had continual reminders of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations - preparations which were evident everywhere we went - including this store display in WHS, Sheringham: 

Signs of the upcoming Platinum Jubilee were everywhere to be seen

art of the fascination I had for trains when growing up was the rhythmic sound of the wheels as they passed over the spaces between each rail section... as well as the smell of the steam as the train chugged its way along the line. I was able to capture both of these on our return journey. 

Our first few days in the UK were filled with successive moments of exhilaration at seeing our loved ones again, and the beautiful scenery we witnessed on our travels within Norfolk. Thanks to Jess and Dave for making it all possible! We will also always be full of gratitude for the array of meals and goodies which Jess provided for us - always tasty, always welcome, and always very 'more-ish'!!

Our Brother-in-Law and Sister! So glad to have had this time with them.

Staying Positive When the Unexpected Happens!

 Staying Positive When the Unexpected Happens!

'The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.' (Robbie Burns)

'It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.' (Epictetus)

When we turned our faces eastward for our journey back home, we agreed that we would keep an eye upon weather conditions and adjust our plans accordingly. Our main concern was the journey through the Rocky Mountains and the Prairies, which can be challenging at this time of year. However, Mother Nature smiled upon us for the duration of our adventures in the mountains, and for the first part of our journey across the plains to Winnipeg, Manitoba. 

When we rose at 5:00 a.m. to leave Winnipeg for Thunder Bay (Ontario) the other morning, we knew that there had been snowstorm warnings for our destination; and as we progressed, we kept an eye upon the developing storm, encountering a few flurries on our way. Seeing how things were unfolding, we changed our plans and thought we might make it to Dryden, Ontario. However, at last, we decided to break our journey just inside Ontario at a favourite town of ours - Kenora. Safety trumps everything, so we knew that it was in our interest to hunker down for a couple of days until conditions for travel improved. 

Arriving at 9:00 a.m. at a motel in which we had stayed during previous visits, we were delighted that - thanks to a cancellation from the night before - we were allowed to occupy a room ahead of the regular mid-afternoon check-in time, (at no extra cost). In fact, we were even in time for breakfast! 

Unpacking our stuff, we settled in for the rest of the day as we watched the precipitation change from sleet to thick snowfall, which continued overnight. 

Several of our friends on social media, who had been following our journey over the last few months, expressed their relief that we had decided to stay over and put safety first. 

One of our dear friends, for whom we had house/pet sit a couple of years ago, posted this kind message to us: 

For the rest of the day, we relaxed, caught up with e-mails etc., and watched a couple of things on Netflix, finally turning in early as we were both tired after our early start. 

This morning, the skies were overcast, but the snowfall had abated. We always like to get outside at every opportunity, so we resolved to brave the -8 C temperature and take a walk downtown. After being spoiled by more moderate temperatures during our time out west, it was a neat reminder that we were back in our own province, and we were glad that we had packed clothing for all eventualities when we left Ontario in September, last year. 

Donning our boots, coats, and gloves, we ventured outside expecting to see 6 inches of the white stuff over the cars in the parking lot - only to find that that there was just a little ice on the windshields! 

Previously, we had only stayed in Kenora in the summer or fall, and so were glad to experience it in its wintry clothing. We are fairly familiar with the layout of the town, so we set off to walk around the lake, towards the downtown core. The Lake of the Woods, upon which the town is built, was frozen over, though there were some patches of open water to be seen. 

A couple of years ago, when we were here, Dave - our brother-in-law - told us about a huge fish 'statue' in a park in town, and we found out it was called, 'Husky, the Muskie'. Since one of my nicknames for Mark is 'Muskrat Marky' (shortened to 'Muskie), it was inevitable that we would stop there again for the typical photograph! (The story of how this nickname came into being will have to wait for another time!)

A little way after this, we stopped at the lakeside where we had enjoyed a picnic on the lawn the previous September, on our way out west. We laughed and said that the picnic blanket (that our friends, Julie and Chris, had given us), would have frozen to the ground in this temperature!

Moving on to the main street, we were struck by the number of murals on the sides of buildings. 

One, in particular, told of how the First Nations People called this area 'Rat Portage' for the many muskrats that inhabited the waters - another connection with Mark's nickname!

Some of the architecture is rather splendid, and we enjoyed walking along the main streets that intersect each other. 

The City Hall and Library, with Notre Dame Church in the background

On the pier, looking along the main street

St. Alban's Anglican Cathedral - a beautiful stone edifice

At some point, we both agreed that a nice warm latte would be in order. So we stopped at a neat little coffee shop called, Iron and Clay. As soon as we stepped inside, we were so impressed with the ambience that had been created...and by the huge welcome smile of Krystal, the owner of the shop.

We were particularly impressed with the little sign on the counter, which reminded us of our motto in life - Appreciation and Gratitude.

Krystal made us feel welcome, with her huge smile!

Everything in the shop was arranged for the comfort of its patrons, and the range of coffees available was extensive. Being a Thursday morning, there were just five other customers on the premises, so it was easy to find a table where we could sit and enjoy the experience, while maintaining social distance. 

When we went back outside, we were surprised to be greeted by sunshine, which counteracted some of the wind chill we had experienced on our walk into town. It was good to see the shimmering on the patches of open water - and we stopped to watch an otter, who was happily sitting beside a gap in the ice. At one point, he dove in, but reappeared shortly afterwards. 

We loved the sculpture of the fish that had recycled cans in its 'stomach'!

Returning to the motel, we noticed that our car was once more clean, after it had been covered in dust and mud a couple of days earlier during our visit to Grasslands National Park, in Saskatchewan - another benefit of snow and wind!

Although we are looking forward to getting home to be in our own bed after so long, and to be amongst our dear friends again, it was a nice, unexpected detour in our plans. The truth in Epicetus' quote, along with Heather's kind observation, became a reality for us, once again. Making the best of every situation certainly improves our enjoyment of life. 

If you would like to know more about the Iron and Clay coffee shop, here's the link to their website: 

https://www.ironandclaycoffee.com/