East Anglia

We won't be on the train long - not far beyond the outer conurbations of London.  Our first stop is Chelmsford, where a minibus awaits to transfer us to the town of Maldon.  Maldon is renowned for its sea salt, but what attracts our attention is a line of old sailing boats with reddish brown sails sitting by the quay, and a large mine with a coin slot for donations.  A short hop beyond we head to Heybridge Basin for a spot of lunch at one of the two pubs, best eaten outside where we watch a man rowing a boat across deep gloopy mud to reach his moored yacht.

Rather than heading back to Chelmsford, our minibus takes us on to Colchester for a look around the flint walled castle with its beautiful rose gardens.  We don't have long though as the next train awaits...

We could carry on along the river bank and across a field of cows to another of Constable's paintings, but instead we turn the other way to see the intriguing twin towers at Mistly, and perhaps the beach huts on the estuary shore at Wrabness.  Its all rather muddy though and a sticky clay mud at that, so time to retreat to the train and head further North to Norwich.

Back to Norwich, and then a train North to Cromer and Sheringham, and then from there a coastal bus service takes us along through Cley and on to Wells Next The Sea.  After a break for lunch at a coffee shop overlooking the harbour we take a hike.  Its about a mile walk to the sea, following the straightened channel through the 'marshes'.  And that's where we discover the beach huts.  They are all different and at different heights.  Many are on stilts vying for dominance over the sands, but its the pines behind that win.

Beyond the huts the beach is broad and empty with big skies. Great for a large painting, but for now I have just a pastel sketch, and that risks a good drenching by a shower that quickly grows to dominate that big sky. We carry on, picking up a trail back to the road.  There are people here with binoculars and cameras on tripods with big lenses.  The twitchers are out looking for something, but its nothing we can spot.  At the end of the path we come to a cluster of buidings, and behind them the bus stop for the coastal bus to Hunstanton, with a connection to Kings Lynn.

Kings Lynn is an odd sort of place.  Its quite a big place, with a scattering of historic buildings and a bustling shopping street - except its not bustling.  We see very few people, and absolutely no-one along the old quay side (now partly redeveloped).  And no, this was a couple of decades before any mention of lockdowns.

So its on by train to Cambridge, and so many options.  For a rainy day I can highly recommend the Fitzwilliam Museum with its superb collection of impressionist paintings.  But its a sunny day, so we could relax in the extensive botanical gardens, or most likely take a walk through the parks and along the river bank watching tourists getting in a pickle as they try punting.  Further downstream we come to the university boat houses and teams rowing on the river shouted on by a trainer on a bike wobbling along the footpath with a loudspeaker.  Just a little further and we come to a nice pub by the river.  That's the afternoon sorted then.

And sadly that's the end of this journey, as we'll be returning to London Kings Cross.  You can find a longer version as a draft chapter for the book I'm writing on my buymeacoffee page - its free to read.  If you are staying with us, why not try another from the selection below - just click or tap where you want to go...