The Hunstanton hostel offered a cooked breakfast option this morning that we took up rather than have to buy food and prepare our own. After picking up a packed lunch at the cafe beside the bus station, we boarded the coast hopper service back to Burnham Deepdale to begin the day's walking.
Following the difficulties I had with my vision last time out, as an added precaution I have deliberately cut down the walking mileage this trip, so for once no twenty milers. Todays' trip should be an easily manageable twelve miles and we hoped to finish it in good time.
Scolt Island reserve is operated by The National Trust and Norfolk Wildlife Trust. The reserve is an important nesting centre for various kinds of tern. It is possible to visit the island by ferry, which leaves from Burnham Overy Staithe. The west side of the island is closed to visitors during the breeding season.
As we were enjoying the solitude of the walk and the open spaces, we took the former option and continued along the edges of the marsh to pass in front of the village (as seen from our path), passing directly past the old mill. Overy Creek and, behind it, Overy Marsh butt up on to the back of the village. With the tide out there were lots of little sailing boats, lying forlornly on their sides, waiting for the waters of the sea to restore them to a state of grace.
The formal Norfolk Coastal Path goes along the bottom edge of the forest (Holkham Meals) just before Well-next-the Sea, for a bit before cutting inland and following the inner edge of the forest to exit just before the lifeboat station on the harbour / promenade. However, with the tide out we kept to the water's edge to go below the creek that lies on West Sands, to come in to the approaches to Wells-next-the-Sea via the High Cape and from there to walk up the river, known as 'The Run', passing by the colourful beach huts that occupy the space between forest and sand.
Before heading for the town we took the time to go off the beach to admire the boating lake that lies behind the pine trees that line the sands. Back on the path, lying under the grey sky we could see the jumble of houses at the harbour. There were numerous, colourful working boats and leisure craft on the mud flats and some equally colourful boat sheds on the riverside. We watched a curlew digging for worms, its' long probiscus piercing the sand with what appeared to be very little effort.