In which Sid and Doris discover that Stalham to Acle is a Very Long Way.
Having observed last night that The Harnser had a lot of pictures of grey herons, Doris asked Mr Google what was going on. So not only can we now tell you that a Harnser is the Norfolk term for a grey heron, we can also tell you that Hamlet’s assertion that “I can tell a hawk from a handsaw” makes slightly more sense if you soften off your pronunciation slightly and say “I can tell a hawk from a harnser”. [Unless of course you accept the WordPress autocorrect options in which case Hamlet said “I can tell a shawm from a harnesser.” ….sigh. D.]
The determined duo set off into a day which is chilly and grey, the damp air proving more effective in taking heat away from head and hands than the last two days’ frosty mornings.
The new mantra is “MOWN – Mud Only When Necessary”. We are looking out for small quiet roads offering a splendidly fast alternative to a slithery field-edge mud-bath. NO! DON”T GO DOWN THERE!
We finally get our first sighting of one of the Famous Broads which appears a tad neglected, despite the sign proclaiming that Whispering Reeds hire Luxury Cruisers. The Morris LD camper van (likely a converted ambulance) is from 1966 and quite well cared for in comparison with some of the boats and sheds.
…although after that we do see more of the short-grass close-waterline scenes that epitomise the Broads by the villages but not out in the reedy wilds.
Generally the day is very, very hard work. There are long passages through reed beds with no views and awfully squelchy underfoot which knocks speed down to 1 mph at one point, so the rest of the day we are chasing the sun.
Here we see a hide, from which we see swans a-swimming, geese a-flying and pochards. Too far away to catch but reddish brown heads, black breast and pale grey body. Maybe Doris can find an RSPB picture. We are members, so that’s OK.
Reed beds would be fine and indeed dandy if swarming with reed buntings or pretty much anything. Sid is not in favour of slithering about for no reward.
We slither slowly on to paths along the awfully cute riverside which unfortunately is lined with awfully cute riverside houses, which means that sightseeing opportunities are somewhat limited. Sid looks through one house to see their view (and their anti-macassars). Here you can see the brief luxury of walking in the concrete drainage channels of the Ickes houses.
We offer several pictures of mills, which were not for milling but for pumping water back out towards the sea. We hear a lot about global warming and The Maldives. Norfolk has built the dykes already but if we had to value their respective tourist industries… or is that not the point?
At the last mill of the day we chatted with a very nice Drone Dude who was a semi-pro-photographer. There is an astonishing amount of technology in a quad copter weighing exactly 249 grammes (we now know that 250g is a regulatory cut-off point) and costing about £450 with two hours of batteries. We watched his demonstration of aerial accuracy and particularly thrilled to ‘drone staying where last instructed like a border-collie’, while we scarfed our entire lunch in 9 minutes flat while the heat was already going out of the day.
The mills seemed to be lifting water using a wheel rather than a pump. Here is Conveyance of the Day: an Archimedes screw pumping engine.
And finally some Artistic Shots from Doris finishing with a boat with vertically-mounted solar panels which feels entirely appropriate for the afternoon sun this far north.
Tonight we are in a Travel Lodge, a budget budget chain which gives us a view over the BP station, a garage-station M&S footstore and a Starbucks. We have a large room with a bath that is shallow, short and luxurious. It is very good value.
We are very foot sore and can barely walk into ‘town’ but the King’s Head (Henry Vlll, on this occasion) is happy for us to have a take out curry in their bar while they rebuild the accommodation and kitchen. Now we only have to walk home … and only thirteen miles tomorrow. WASP and MOWN but not so much as to lose the essence of the epic adventure.