Jane’s Walk 2023 – Day 5

Another pleasant evening with supporters. The mist has lifted today, and visibility is much improved.

Back to Thornham, where the coastal path takes us away from the actual coast and out into the countryside for 3 miles in a circuitous route to Brancaster. Here we have to negotiate road works down a narrow road, with no traffic control in place, so cars have to pass each other with difficulty, with pedestrians having to make progress when they can.

Off this road is the coastal path, but several signs say that it is closed for duckboard repairs. This is a 2-mile stretch, and the proposed detour is not appealing. We meet a couple coming the other way who assure us it is passable, although the duckboards are broken in places. They informed us that the notice has been up since 2022, and there is no sign of work being done on it to date. We take their advice and ignore the signs. Someone has removed the metal barrier across the path, and we set off.

The path is certainly in poor condition, and the boarding is pretty rotten, but clearly, the locals have given up waiting for any repairs to be done and we pass several people coming the other way. The sign at the other end states that work started in December 2022, re-instated to begin in April this year and that the notice should be removed in August 2023! Not a very impressive local council or whoever is in charge of the Norfolk coastal path in this area

We lunch in Burnham Deepdale, a busy sailing harbour and then out on to a beautiful stretch of salt marshes along the sea wall. It is a perfect afternoon. Although warm, a gentle sea breeze keeps us from overheating. There is something very special about the light in this part of the world, and you can understand why it is frequented by so many artists over the years. There are lots of egrets and gulls whirling around, and we see three small deer with large round ears, which we learn later are Chinese Water Deer. Escaped initially from deer parks and have made their home on the Norfolk salt marshes.

We both thoroughly enjoy our afternoon and meet Richard beside a beautifully restored windmill owned by the National Trust.