Cromer 2022

Sunday 9^th October. The year marches on and its nearly mid-October. Today we are heading for the CMC site at Cromer called Seacroft. It seems to have become a bit of a regular because of the easy transport options. The alarm was set for 7.30pm. Not quite early enough to hear the commentary on the Grand Prix in Japan although we did manage to hear some whilst eating breakfast. It seemed a very wet race and the outcome would have to wait!

By just after 10.00am we were ready to leave. A different route this time via Peterborough and Wisbech. Probably not the shortest route and probably not one we would do on the return journey? We stopped at a Tesco in Wisbech for a coffee and something the eat before continuing our journey via Kings Lynn and Fakenham. We arrived at the site just before 2.00pm so approaching four hours from home! We have booked a service pitch at the grand sum of £258 for seven nights as a treat. We decided to have a takeaway from the onsite restaurant. I think we sometimes forget how large meals can be

Monday 10^th October. Had some heavy rain overnight but from quite early on it has been a gorgeous day weather wise with clear blue skies. Mind you the wind was quite bitter if you happened to be in the shade! We had a look in the information hut and notice an A Class motorhome emptying its waste water next door. That was not what caught our notice but the cat in the cab. We had a nice chat to the lady owner who told us she had a second cat further into the van. He was a Maine Coon so a pretty big fellow!

We walked into Cromer today cutting across the cliff top car park and then wending our way down to the Pier. We did venture onto the Pier but with the wind being so brisk it was not a place to linger. From the Pier we could see small fishing boats, apparently speeding towards the shore. What we latter discovered was that these boats had catamaran hulls and I assume the twin hulls make it easier for the tractors to drag them up onto the beach? Having satisfied ourselves that the boats weren’t enacting some suicidal assault on the beach we wondered over to the Café above the RNLI which we had use several times before. It is always busy and has some grand views from its windows. Refreshed we made our way onto the High Street. Good to see that Jarrold of Norwich still maintain a shop here. As tempted as  I was, I wasn’t allowed to purchase anything from the lovely butchers! Passing the famous Crab shop I took a double take at the price for a dressed crab, £6 now! Time to find the bus station and the bus back to the site. Fortunately, they are pretty regular but still crowded which did cause a little concern but we always have our masks to hand.

Tuesday 11^th October. Another nice day today with a bit of cloud but the wind has gone down so it feels a bit warmer. We took the bus into Sheringham. I do have a bit of a soft spot for the town. A bit more refined than Cromer with some interesting shops. Always in my element in Blyth and Wright Hardware store, it’s an absolute Aladdin’s Cave of a shop. After a coffee we made our way down to the seafront and decided to visit the Sheringham Museum, or “The Mo” for short. Apparently, the short form name comes from the lady that used to live in the cottage where the Museum now stands. There are three floors, each one dedicated to a different subject of Sheringham’s history. The ground floor explains the history of lifeboats operating out of the town. There are three examples from rowing version upwards. The second floor is more about the history of the town and how it developed. It was the railways that really saw the pace of development accelerate. It was just over three hours from London which saw a massive increase in the holiday trade. Nearby was also a “Station Y” which were the listening stations for Bletchley Park in Milton Keynes. They were staffed by German speaking WRENS. It was mentioned that the details of what they did were not made public for 30 years after the war. If you have the energy, you can also climb up the viewing platform which gives a good view out to sea and the Wind Farms, more details of how they work are just one floor down.

After an entertaining and interesting time in the Museum we decided to make our way back to the top of the town as we wanted a bit of shopping in the Tesco store. Even they seem to be having problems keeping their shelves full, obviously a nationwide problem? We had a bit of a wait for the bus as we just missed the previous one.

Wednesday 12^th October. After two days of quite hectic, for us, adventures we decided to have a lazy day. Weather not so bright but it has been dry, with some sunshine. We wandered down to the information hut as we had some books to deposit. Since the start of COVID Margaret seems to have accumulated a whole library of books. So, every time we go to a campsite, we always tend to leave more than she takes. I wonder how many do the same? Not many by the look of what we generally find! Perhaps others dispose of read books in different way. You will always find a decent detective story after we have been to the site!  After the Information Hut we took a turn around the site. All the grass pitches are out of action and it looks as if most have been reseeded. The site is reasonably full but there are empty pitches. One other thing we noticed being on site is the noise of, clearly, military planes overhead. I think we can all imagine why that might be?

Thursday 13^th October. It started off a bit dull today but got progressively brighter as the day went on. We took the bus into Cromer today as we needed some shopping. However, our first stop was a shop selling thimbles. Margaret has been collecting them for years and we try and buy them in all the places we visit. Unfortunately, it is becoming increasingly difficult to do so as they appear to have gone out of fashion. We have purchased then in Europe as well and in Creglingen in Germany there is even a Thimble Museum which we once visited. Margaret sometimes gets donations from places around the world and probably the one that has travelled the furthest is from São Paulo in Brazil! We also notice the shop sold equally difficult to find thimble stands.

Moving on from the thimble hunt we made our way to Morrisons which is next door to the Railway Station. We thought we would have a coffee and something to eat. The problem was that both coffee machines were out of order and we had to use the other coffee maker by the entrance. I had a crash course in how these machines work. Because of overuse it was only showing hot water as being available! Someone managed to find another member of staff who could sort it out. First the coffee dregs were full which prevent the machine offering coffee, once clear there was no milk so that had to be replaced. Eventually I managed to make two cups of coffee. Shopping done we made our way back to the bus station. I notice yet another “old master” on the wall, there are several around the town. Obviously not the original but a photographic copy, this time a Van Gogh. I have noticed several of these around the town.

Friday 14^th October. Quite bright earlier on but becoming duller as  the day went on. Took the bus back into Sheringham today. Had a look at the Station of the North Norfolk Railway. Decided to have a look around the back streets of the town. Many former grand buildings from the town in its heyday. Since then, many of them converted to flats or even Care Homes. There was a funeral at the local church with a large attendance. Further along a War Memorial. We happened upon a second-hand bookshop with all books, at least those on the outside, were neatly arranged by author. Back into the town centre for a coffee and some shopping before return for the bus back to the site.

Saturday 15^th October. Our last day at Cromer so decided to have a pretty lazy day. Nice and sunny, and quite warm today. Threat of high winds later tonight! Despite being the weekend, very few children in evidence. From our pitch we have a clear view out to sea. This is our third or fourth visit to the Seacroft Site and as with our last visit we paid the extra for a serviced pitch which is very convenient. Some might smart at the cost of £258 for the seven-night stay but it just makes it all the more relaxing. The beauty of the site, from a motorhomers point of view was the regular bus services from the site makes it an ideal base. Just a shame there were not more sites like this!

Sunday 16^th October. Another nice sunny day for out journey home. Having nearly had an argument with a bus at West Runton when going over the railway bridge I decided to exit via Cromer and joining A148 towards Holt and Fakenham by the Morrisons in the town. From Fakenham we followed the A1065 via Swaffham to Mundford where we took the A134  across to the A11 at Thetford. We discovered a nice little service area on the A11 which has a decent amount of parking for larger vehicles. An otherwise an uneventful journey back to MK with the usual stop for fuel just before we got home.