Cromer 2023

Sunday 8^th October. After our previous abortive trip to the West Country, we are off to Cromer today. Margaret has been diagnosed with a dodgy right hip (not a medical term!) which at some stage will need to be replaced but at the moment she is trying to manage the pain with pain killers and hopefully a planned trip to a physio will also help. The beauty of where we are going is that we have the choice to walk or to catch the bus so hopefully that will reduce the impact on the hip.

We tried to be a bit more relaxed about our setting off process by not setting the alarm at silly o’clock. It seemed to work as were still away before 11.00am. It’s quite a long drive, well 140 miles seems long to me! It was, at least,  over a familiar route. At long last the go ahead has been given to the Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet dual carriageway which is the last remaining section of two-way road between MK and Norwich. Unfortunately, it won’t be ready until 2027. It would have been a year earlier without those pesky complainers had not delayed the approval.

On the south bound A11 we have discovered quite a good service area which we have used a couple of times. Looking at Google Earth we noticed one on the north bound carriageway thinking it would be just as good. How wrong could we be. Other than outside the shop, perhaps half a dozen spaces and no good for motorhomes and caravanners there were double yellow lines everywhere. There were four  spaces for HGV’s. We did find a spot but were uncomfortable as we were not sure we should be there!

We arrive at Seacroft, the CMC site at Cromer, at about 2.30pm. Given the price for a serviced pitch, over £40 in October, we decided just to have a standard pitch. We had a choice of two, so almost Hobson’s Choice! Other than the grass pitches which are mainly out of use at this time of year the site seems to be fully booked.

Monday 9^th October. The good weather continues although, perhaps, not so hot in this corner of Norfolk because of the sea breeze but very pleasant none the less, especially for the middle of October. We needed a shortish walk today to test out the old limbs! Last time we were here we walked to West Runton which wasn’t too far. Perhaps the only downside, it meant walking along the main road path. This time we noticed a gate, almost opposite the campsite, signed for the Norfolk Coast Path, so we went that way instead. The path emerges on the access road to a couple of static caravan parks. At least you are out of the way of the traffic and it’s interesting to see the static vans although according to a for sale notice they are not cheap, £50000 seemingly the going rate. The path brings you out at the start of West Runton village where you take a right down to the beach. I left Margaret to sit on a bench whilst I went down the ramp to the beach. There were a few fishing boats out of the water but interesting to see there is still fishing going on. Not sure what they catch, perhaps Cromer Crabs? The beach looked very nice and you can see Cromer in the distance and a reasonably easy walk from here. I found climbing back up the ramp quite a challenge and needed some recovery time to catch my breath!

There appears to be a coffee shop on the main road but unfortunately it was closed today! We had a wander around the West Runton Stores which is a bit of an Aladin’s cave. We took the same route back. At the rear of one of the statics there was a massive Sunflower seed head which I am sure the birds will enjoy.

The site continues to be quite full which tends to acknowledge its popularity. We like it because of its location with its easy transport links. However, just recently, there seem to be an increasing number of negative reviews. Although we don’t use the toilet block, this has been where most of the  negativity has been aimed. I think there is also some question marks about the size and spacing of some pitches on the original part of the site. Without knowing what is in the club’s mind it is difficult to work out but the site does seem in need of a major refurbishment?

Tuesday 10^th October. Weather still nice and unseasonably warm for the time of year. Before we came away it looked as if the whole week would be the same but it seems that from tomorrow on until Saturday it will be raining! Any hope they have got that wrong?

Bit of a late start today, still recovering from the Grand Prix on Sunday when Channel 4’s coverage ended well after midnight! Anyway, once we were up, we decided to take the bus into Sheringham. We like Sheringham as it seems to have a feeling all to itself and different from other seaside resorts in Norfolk. Some might think I am being a bit snobbish, but that is fine for me as I like a place with some je ne sais quoi. Although there are nods to being a seaside resort there are more hints of it being a bit more special. The shops tend to give it away a bit where there is a good mix between the two. First off, we had a look around the platform on the North Norfolk Steam Railway. No steam today but a rather nice-looking diesel rail car was waiting at the platform to carry today’s enthusiasts on their journey. Margaret wanted to find the strange old book shop we found last time we were here and it’s just down from the station. From there we started to look for our favourite coffee shop in Sheringham which is in the Arcade which meant we had to double back up the main street. Refreshed we wandered down to the seafront where we sat for a while. Because of her hip problem Margaret has started to use a walking stick. She says it helps. This issue has come on quite suddenly, well at least in the last three months.

Having sat for a while we made our way up through the town to the Tesco supermarket next to the railway station. Rumour has it that the locals would have preferred a Waitrose but obviously Tesco won the day! Shopping done we made our way to the bus stop and back to the campsite for a late lunch. Have to say the buses both ways were pretty busy.

Wednesday 11^th October. Well, the threatened rain has arrived although it did have the decency to hold off until about lunchtime. Not that we were going anywhere as we are both a bit bushed from the last two days excursions. Easy to forget that as you get older you tend to get more sedentary and going away in the van ups the activity levels two or three-fold. One could say that is one of the benefits of motorhomes and caravans? At least a dry morning allowed me the opportunity to empty and fill with water, and the loo of course!

Thursday 12^th October. At least the rain has stopped, even if it has left us with grey skies! No excuse for sitting around today! We caught the bus into Cromer. Previously we might have walked both ways but Margaret’s hip is causing enough pain to limit walking to the town. Once in the town we made our way to the Pier which is, I suppose the centre piece. In a strange way, it being dull, it is easier to look back towards the town as the view is often obscured by the sun! They have manged to keep the tat off the Pier which makes it a nicer destination compared to many. It is, of course the home of the famous “end of the Pier Theatre” it’s Christmas Show being particularly popular. Cromer is synonymous with crabs and I expect many a youngster has cut their fishing experience with crabbing from Cromer Pier. To that end there are useful notices on the pier with how you should go about it and also be kind to the crabs.

Along the promenade there are inserts with miscellaneous information. I noticed in one that in 1885 a certain Winston Churchill visited Cromer but seemed not to be enjoying himself! We headed for our usual coffee stop, the The Rocket, which is above the Henry Blogg Lifeboat Museum. It’s a nice cafe with lovely views along the beach and the food and coffee are not bad either! When leaving we have to remember to take the lift to the highest level as this saves a bit of a climb into the town. The High Street is dominated by the massive Cromer Church, St Peter and St Paul. The tower can be seen for miles around. There seem to be a few new shops and cafes compared to a year or two ago. Perhaps an effort to up the image of the town? Our final destination was Morrisons for a bit more shopping and back on the bus that luckily arrive about 30 seconds after us!

Friday 13^th October. We fully expected a wet and wild night but it didn’t seem to happen as predicted. Certainly, the wind came up but the rain was not as heavy as predicted. Likewise, up until lunchtime whilst still windy it was dry and quite warm. This allowed me to fill up and empty whilst it was dry. We also took the opportunity to wander down to the Information Hut and deposit a dozen or so of Margaret’s read books. All good stuff compared to the pretty poor selection of books already there. Perhaps everyone reads books on their e-reader now? Most sites operate  a pound to take a book or fifty pence to swap, trouble is that site receptions closed much of the time it’s not always convenient to arrange payment? We don’t usually feel bad about that as we usually leave more books than we take!

Saturday 14^th October. The rain has gone but it’s still breezy but also lovely and sunny but also much colder. Not done a lot today other than a walk around the site, but we did call into the site restaurant for a coffee. I was surprised at how many empty pitches there were on a Saturday but later in the day they did fill up again. Having been here for a week it has been interesting to note the number of leavers on particular days. I had always imagined that Sunday would always be a good arrival day as many seem to leave after the weekend but when we arrived, on Sunday, there were very few pitches free. It seems Wednesday might be a good choice?

Sunday 15^th October. Going home today. Our route home was just a reversal of the route here a week ago. Usual stop at the Thetford Services. Such a contrast to the services on the other side of the road. Plenty of parking for caravans and motorhomes. I notice an area of trees had been cleared and according to the girl in the shop it was going to be a restaurant. What variety she was not sure but do we assume it will be of the fast food type? Not a particular warm day today but it was mainly sunny and we arrived home in good time. So far this year we have been away for 33 nights, which is fairly low for us. Not sure if this will be our last trip this year or whether we will get away for a few more nights?