The weather forecasters tell us of rain and flooding across
the UK and we have had dramatic changes from rain that bounces off the ground
to sun bathing warmth to winter north winds. (All of this in one day!) The
weather has not stopped us swimming in the sea or exploring the Norfolk countryside.
We have visited churches with thatched roofs and flint
porches. We have climbed church towers and surveyed the flat lands and the
dramatic weather changes.
We have stood on the sand dune that protects our cottage
from the North Sea and watched sunsets silhouetting the distant lighthouse. We
have seen the sea change to pink as the churning evening tide froths and foams
in the dimming light.
In the mornings, we have placed the first footprints on the
washed sands and found the treasures left by the turning tide. We have run on
the golden white beaches and swum in the grey blue sea – often observed by a
curious seal. She lifts her head above the waves to see who is making all the
noise.
The Curate and I feel very comfortable and at home in East
Anglia. We love the wide, ever changing skies and flat lands with their ancient
broads cutting into the landscape and fields that seem to stretch to the edge
of the world, and horizons broken by church towers and towering poplar trees
rising up into the skies .The contrast to Dartmoor is refreshing and
energising.
Today has a far more British feel to it, we have lost the Mediterranean heat that made the road surfaces shimmer even at 8 o'clock in the morning. The burst of welcome continental heat broke the wet weather that was draining away our summer but it has now lost its intensity. The farmers have taken advantage of this break in the weather and been frantically harvesting hay crops and ripened wheat and barley fields. We have heard the tractors working late into the night.
We have just returned from a two week holiday in Norfolk where there is the largest concentration of medieval churches in the world. Norfolk is a very flat county and the church towers stand out. We could count six churches when we stood on the sand dunes near to where we were staying. We visited many of these churches and climbed Ranworth and Happisburgh church towers. While the climbs seemed a little perilous( the towers were narrow and the steps plentiful!) both climbs were worth it for the view. At Ranworth you can get a proper understanding of the Norfolk Broads and a sense of their size. At Happisburgh (which we visited just before a thunderstorm) you can appreciate how flat Norfolk is and see the effects of coastal erosion and coastal tourism.
