Author: Back on the Road Again Blog

We were lucky! February was a fairly dry month in 2023 and this helped us make the most of our week on the North Yorkshire coast in our campervan. Without wind and rain to hide from we were able to spend our days being relaxed, exploring the coastal towns and villages and walking on the coastal paths.

Knaresborough

We reached the coast after breaking our journey in Knaresborough. The sun was shining so we took the opportunity to walk through the woodland by the River Nidd into the town and strolled along Knaresborough’s riverside under the soaring arches of the railway bridge. We had drinks in The Blind Jack, an atmospheric pub with wooden floors soaked with years of beer and jolly lanterns strung around the ceiling.  It was still February but walking back at sundown blackbirds sang loudly from the trees heralding spring was in sight and really only just around the corner.

Robin Hood’s Bay

Reaching the North Yorkshire coast, we stopped at Crook Nest car park north of Scarborough and followed the cliff path. Waves whispered below us, the yellow gorse was flowering and Scarborough Castle was visible in the distance.  We returned on the Cinder Track cycle route, an old railway line that links Whitby with Scarborough.  

Middlewood Farm Holiday Park isn’t a perfect campsite for facilities but it is well located for exploring the coast around Robin Hood’s Bay. There is a regular bus service and we used this one day to get to Whitby and walk back. On another day we put together a circular walk to Ravenscar.

The coastal path from Whitby to Robin Hood’s Bay is around 11kms that begins with a lung-busting climb up the steep steps to the abbey. After taking in the views over the town and harbour while I got my breath back we took the easy-to-follow undulating path along the cliffs. Oystercatchers searched for food on the shore below us and fulmars huddled on ledges. The path meandered around the white buildings of Whitby High Lighthouse that have an uninterupted sea view.

Robin Hood’s Bay is an attractive jumble of houses that tumble down facing slopes. Strolling between the huddle of buildings you reach the sea. On the way you pass a number of pubs and cafes and we were drawn into The Laurel Inn by the promise of Old Peculier. We stumbled into a cosy room that could have been a set for a 1950s film. The room was heavy with coal smoke; a family were playing card games opposite the corner bar and Johnny B Goode played on the music system.

Like all visitors to Robin Hood’s Bay we wandered through the narrow streets, peeking into quiet corners and dead ends finding picturesque cottages on every junction.  We did some window shopping and had morning coffee leaning on sunny railings looking over the beach and the North Sea.

More undulating coastal walking along the Cleveland Way took us to Ravenscar.  The descent to Boggle Hole and back up the steps to the clifftops was particularly arduous.  No matter how far we walked, the picturesque red roofs of Robin Hood’s Bay were always visible behind us. In front was the prominent headland of Ravenscar. Climbing up to the headland we walked around the castellated gardens of Raven Hall Hotel and, thanks to a more observant couple, watched the large group of seals hauled up on the rocks below.  In the hotel we ordered tea and their homemade shortbread biscuits.  These were heart-shaped for Valentine’s Day! The Cinder Track made for an easy walk back to the campsite.

Bridlington

Moving on, we drove south to Bridlington, diverting inland to Burton Agnes Hall for a favourite February treat, carpets of snowdrops. The woodland garden here has waves of small white flowers with their glossy-green leaves. At Bempton Cliffs RSPB reserve we walked to the viewing platforms and watched guillemots, gannets and fulmars getting their crowded nests ready and claiming territory.  This sign of spring was both riotous and joyful. 

Once again the bus was helpful with linear coastal walking. From the Caravan and Motorhome Club’s Bridlington site we caught the bus to North Landing and walked around Flamborough Head back to the ‘van for about 13kms.  Ahead of the sunshine, a faint mist cloaked the lighthouse and the fog horn moaned. Steep sections of the path were sticky with mud and our boots were soon messy but the nesting birds on the cliffs and seals on the shore made this a fabulous walk. Standing above one remote cove we listened to the melancholic seal songs echoing around the rocks.

We had chosen a pitch on the edge of the campsite. This means a longer walk to the facilities but has other rewards. From the Blue Bus bird hide we spotted deer making their way through the woodland and long tailed tits on the trees.

On a windy [but still dry] day seafront paths took us into the seaside resort of Bridlington. Living in Morecambe we compare every seaside resort to our home town. Like many of the north of England’s seaside towns, Bridlington doesn’t ooze wealth but we found lively and attractive corners. After coffee in the faded opulence of The Pavillion we caught the train to Filey, another resort where the buildings tell stories of former fortunes. Filey Brigg, a rocky and narrow sandstone promontory on the edge of the town was bracing in the breeze but gave us our last views along the wonderful North Yorkshire coast until next time.

The pictures below show public art in Bridlington, a guillemott at Bempton Cliffs and Robin Hood’s Bay.

It isn’t surprising that I like guidebooks. On our trip around Suffolk and Norfolk we had the pleasure of being accompanied by a pair of tattered 1940s Penguin guides. These dated companions steered us through East Anglia, pointing out the must-see sights of 80 years ago. So much has changed since the post-war period I felt like a time traveller but when we pulled up at Burgh Castle I was also confused as this featured in our Suffolk guidebook but is now in Norfolk.

Whichever county it is in, the scale of the Roman ruins at Burgh Castle are the big story. The rough stone walls and round corner tower soar to over 4m high and I wondered why this building hasn’t been on my wish list for some years. It was only chance that I had chosen it from the out-of-date guidebook. And it is free to visit! I have paid £££s to visit Roman ruins that are pretty much just an ankle-height floor plan in stone, Burgh Castle has scale and presence.

After wandering around the large site I walked down to the banks of the nearby River Yare. The East Anglian coastline has changed in the last 2,000 years and the ruins would originally have guarded a ‘Great Estuary’ that flowed over the rooftops of Great Yarmouth. In those days ships would have docked below the castle.

According to our 1940s guide Great Yarmouth, ‘is sometimes called the Venice of East Anglia.’ I don’t know if anyone still makes that particular comparison! The short stretch of town walls are a reminder of an older Great Yarmouth but I was more interested in the modern Banksy painted on a brick gable end. The artist has cleverly positioned a couple so that they appear to be dancing on the roof of an adjacent bus shelter while an accordion player sits casually on the corner. Later we walked along the prom and gave ourselves a sugar rush with donuts and ice-cream.

We have visited some of the Norfolk coast before but the Norfolk Broads were new territory. From the Caravan and Motorhome Club site we caught the bus to Wroxham and Hoveton on a drizzly day. These two villages merge around a bridge over the River Bure that funnels the never-ending stream of trafic. Cars were less in your face in the 1940s but the local institution, Roys, was already here. Known as the biggest village shop, there are actually many shops; a Roys department store; a food hall; a garden centre and a DIY shop; this isn’t quite a one-shop village but they give it a good try.

Despite the abundant motorcars, the villages are dedicated to boating. This is the place to hire boats, visit boat yards and do other boating things. On the bus we fell into conversation with a man who described himself as a ‘water gypsy.’ No one else would talk to him so he told us he had received no schooling from nine years old, his mum had studied psychology at Hull University and he described his life on the move from 24-hour mooring to 24-hour mooring.

From the campsite we walked along a grassy dike that meandered through reed beds, the chugging of boats on the River Ant in the distance.  A marsh harrier flew by, a fish dropped from the talons of a herring gull and was lost in the reeds and a flock of teal rose from a pool in a shudder of wing beats and circled overhead.  Approaching a windmill, cormorants perched along the wooden sails, their wings spread out to catch the weak September sun. 

I was keen to experience the watery nature of the broads and we were booked on the morning electric boat trip from Toad Hole Cottage. Waiting for our guide we sat drinking coffee on a bench, lazily watching a sailor polishing the already gleaming wood on a handsome wooden wherry.

It turned out we were the only people who wanted to explore the Broads in a quiet electric boat that morning and we had the luxury of spreading out on the small craft. After a short distance on the main river we turned left into a channel where the reeds leaned in against the boat.  As the thrum of the river boats melted away I found myself in the backwater world of Swallows and Amazons.

Later we had our lunch in a hide, thrilled to see a kingfisher fly back and forth.  We explored How Hill House’s verdant and dripping secret garden before taking the paths to the village of Ludham and joining the river again by the ruins of St Benet’s Abbey.

In Cromer I led Anthony along the beach to find another Banksy on the sea wall. ‘Luxury Rentals Only,’ a comment on our broken housing market, is out in all weathers and fading. I liked Cromer with its prom and pier, its beach dotted with colourful pebbles and tall breakwaters crossed by metal steps dripping with black seaweed. Our 1940s guidebook ignores the pier but was right about the ‘excellent beach.’ 

Another showery September day was ideal for taking the train to Norwich. Here we visited the cathedral and I walked round and round the font that is made from two polished copper bowls. These were given to the Cathedral when the Rowntree Mackintosh Norwich chocolate factory closed in 1994.  Colourful modern stained glass gave a vibrant glow to otherwise gloomy corners of the cathedral and the cloisters radiated peace and light.  We did wander some of Norwich’s pretty streets but, as the rain got heavier, we lost the desire to explore and probably didn’t do it justice.

Sitting outside at the Priory Maze café near Sheringham the waitress moved between the tables gathering up all the sachets of mayonnaise.  ‘The rooks take them away and eat the contents,’ she told us, leaving the salad cream which apparently is less appealing to these connoisseur rooks! From the campsite we had hiked to the top of Norfolk (if there is a hill we will find it). Cromer Ridge is just inland and reaches the dizzy heights of 102m so it wasn’t a tough ascent!  Our route passed a village green with a pebble-built house before climbing through woodland where we stepped carefully over tree roots.  We descended through heathland and skirted the fields of a horse sanctuary before reaching Priory Maze and Gardens.

Copper beech and hornbeam have been planted using the layout of the ruined priory as the basis for the maze.  We began in a disciplined way, alternating who chose which direction to turn to find a way to the centre. Very soon we were lost and our choices became random and haphazard and it was only luck that eventually led us to the central viewing platform.

The maze and gardens were fun but couldn’t beat the walk along the beach from Sheringham to East Runton. The soft sandy cliffs that are basically a giant sandcastle erode easily and attempts have been made to protect these from the sea. The futile remains of wooden revetments littered the beach and we wound our way around vertical posts and under buttresses of grey weathered wood studded with rust-red nails.

I had been looking forward to Blakeney Point and it was a memorable day but not for the reasons I was expecting. Our Penguin guide noted that this four-mile long shingle ridge backed with salt marshes was given to the National Trust in 1912. We parked at Cley Beach and turning to make coffee in the back of the ‘van I was floored by a hot pain that shot from my spine to the back of my legs. I assumed it would wear off and, after drinks, carefully put on my waterproofs.

The squally wind and the deep pebbles along the ridge made walking agony and I shuffled down the slope to meander on the sand by the crashing waves, where the going was a little easier. At the old Watch House or Halfway House we scrambled back to the shingle bank to look over the salt marshes and the remote building. Exhausted, I sat down and as we ate our picnic lunch we made the decision to head back. Walking was easier with a tailwind.  We collected a few bits of litter and admired some of the multitude of shells.  Seals popped their heads above the waves and a group of Brent geese flapped low over the sea. 

Dosed up on ibuprofen I could manage to walk around Wells-next-the-Sea for the next couple of days. The sun returned and watching it set from the beach was as idyllic as I could have hoped. Waking up to the joyful honking of geese as they flew over our campervan was special too. Our 1940s guide doesn’t mention the beach huts that are now a Wells-next-the-Sea icon and also doesn’t firmly place the town on the coast, it is just called Wells.

Striding out to Holkham Hall it seemed that I was okay walking upright. I just needed to avoid bending, easier said than done in a small campervan!    Our guidebook told us that visitors were welcomed at Holkham Hall 80 years ago and they still are. We took paths and tracks around the house and through the estate and ate our lunch on a bench overlooking Well’s harbour.  Our guide told us that in 1940s Wells ‘… you will find no piers or funfairs …’ but ’if you are in search of ‘local colour’ drop in at the Shipwrights’ Arms one evening.’  Unfortunately, this pub is now closed so we sought out local colour in the many quaint corners.

Opening the blinds on our final day in Norfolk it was a pleasure to see blue sky. We arrived at Titchwell RSPB reserve as the staff were holding an outdoor team meeting and we spent a fabulous hour walking by the pools to the dunes and the sandy beach.  The blue sea met the blue sky on the horizon and the space felt phenomenal. 

By the time we reached Castle Rising the weather had changed to misty and chilly autumnal weather.  The castle has a circular ditch or moat to cross to the gatehouse and a well-preserved stone keep. We climbed up to the different floors finding details that have survived the centuries. 

After sitting for even an hour in the ‘van I would unravel myself from the seat in a shambles of bent and staggering bones. This acute pain lasted just a short time and once everything had loosened up I could stand and walk normally. I was grateful we weren’t making the long journey back to Lancashire in one run and had Derbyshire friends to stay with on the way.

The Suffolk half of our trip is in a previous post.

Footnote on the pain I was experiencing. This became sciatic pain in my right leg. I had lots of physio through October and November 2022 and eventually visited my GP and started taking amitriptyline which meant I could sleep peacefully all night. By January 2023 I was more or less pain free.

Where we stayed

We used two Caravan and Motorhome Club Sites, Norfolk Broads and Seacroft near Cromer. We liked the former, it was a well-run site with a bus service into Norwich and a walk along the River Ant and to St Benet’s Abbey from the site. Seacroft is an excellent location for Cromer and Sheringham but is in need of an upgrade.

We also stayed at Pinewoods at Wells-next-the-Sea, an expensive site with a fantastic location. For the money I would have liked heating in the facilities at the end of September but our pitch in the reeds was heavenly.

Shingle beaches that stretch to the horizon, coastal villages packed with cottages and ancient flint churches were what drew me to Suffolk. This was our first visit to this county and I was delighted to find all these things and more on our autumn trip. We rolled into Suffolk at Bury St Edmunds in our Blue Bus and stayed firstly near Ipswich before following the coast eastward.

Beaches

In the couple of weeks we were in Suffolk we walked miles along shingle beaches deep with pebbles and soon learnt how tiring wading through this is. We also found sandy beaches that were made for buckets and spades. In Orford we took the boat to Orford Ness and were spell-bound by the combination of post-war military structures and hardy plants. You couldn’t miss the power of nature. Between Minsmere and Dunwich seal pups sat in the surf as we meandered between the clumps of sea kale that breaks up the shingle and climbed up to the heath-covered cliffs.

In Southwold we kicked along the soft sand below rows of colourful beach huts, each one individually decorated, and stood under the pier watching the tide crashing against the complicated lattice of pier struts. Later we sampled a glass of Adnams, the local beer, in a pub off the seafront.

Villages

While Thorpeness seems hardly real with its holiday villas that are straight from Disney, the weatherboard houses of Aldeburgh felt real and charming. The brick and stone Martello Tower is solid and dense in comparison to the village. This is now a Landmark Trust property you can rent and what a treat it would be to stay there. If you’re interested in unusual places to stay in, the famous House in the Clouds old watertower in Thorpeness is also available as a holiday rent.

At Aldeburgh we gazed across the sea, guessing there was nothing between us and the Netherlands.  From the edge of the village, the dyke path took us on a lovely green route around Aldeburgh passing productive allotments. Leaving the houses we picked up a path through a nature reserve where trees arched above the sandy path, sunshine dappled through the foliage and blackberries glistened by the path and we picked ripe ones as we walked.   

Lavenham is hard to beat in the charming village awards. Over 300 buildings are listed in this well-preserved medieval village that was once a wealthy wool town and walking the narrow streets and lanes to the market place is like undertaking a crash course in timber-framed building designs.

Towns & Cities

We were initiated into the sights of Suffolk in Bury St Edmunds and it was the perfect introduction to the county for two Suffolk newbies. We began in the park of this small town, wandering around the abbey ruins to the monumental and richly-decorated stone gatehouse. Later we visited the cathedral, spent a fascinating hour or so in the Moyse’s Hall Museum and finished off our trip in a sunny square with coffee and cake.

From our campsite near Ipwich we visited Ipwich and Felixstowe. The bus to Felixstowe took the slow road and we sat on the top deck until the end of the line at Landguard Fort.  You can visit the fort but we were keen to walk and after watching the huge cranes picking up the containers and placing them on the ship like a giant tetras game we set off along the seafront.  The sea defences were easy to follow back to Felixstowe with views to the pier and more ships out at sea.

In Ipswich we began with the waterfront, a marina surrounded by old warehouses, the Custom’s House and some shiny new buildings.  We had coffee and watched students learning filming techniques with the boats as a backdrop. We wandered through the city centre, passing all the shops you would expect, to Christchurch Park, a large green space with grass, woodland and a pond. Christchurch Mansion is a free museum with a collection of paintings from local artists Constable and Gainsborough.

In Lowestoft we found our way around a sprawling Bird’s Eye factory, no doubt pumping out boxes and boxes of fish fingers, to find England’s most easterly point.  I expected a bit more of an attraction here but the orientation circle in the concrete promenade was informative. Checking out the distances we realised we were closer to mainland Europe than we were to Lancashire! Walking along the promenade we could see a lower prom had been washed away by the sea, so I guess Europe is getting further away. Inland we climbed one of Lowestoft’s scores, narrow steep alleys, to the High Street, an old shopping street with some historic buildings and quirky shops

Sitting by the River Waveney between Beccles and Lowestoft a kingfisher flew low over the water and minutes later a swan landed perfectly in front of us and harrumphed occasionally and gently until its partner negotiated an equally skilful landing and they slipped away together.  A buzzard emerged from the trees opposite, circled the field and flew away as a group of geese passed overhead.  Beside us were bushes decorated with bright-green hop fruits that look too exotic to be British. We had caught the bus to Beccles and after coffee and cake in a cosy but wildly expensive café we followed the Angles Path along the Waveney, a watery highway busy with boats but few other walkers.  The weather was quiet, with no wind and the cloud hung in the sky like a billowing duvet. In the wet meadows alongside the river we spotted plenty of Chinese water deer with their teddy bear ears and strange hare-like run.  

Churches & Abbeys

I had read about Blythburgh Church but that didn’t prepare me for the loveliness of this medieval church.  The exterior flint has been worked and arranged to look like chequer-board tiling.  Inside the wonky tiled floor held stories from thousands of feet and I stepped up to the high medieval font.  We had come to see the painted angels on the wooden ceiling who peered down on mortals in the nave, their magnificent wings outstretched.  While I admired the carved wooden pew ends, Anthony found an information panel about JF Kennedy’s brother, Joe, who died in a Second World War plane explosion nearby. 

Leiston Abbey, a ruined abbey not far from Sizewell, today suffers from metal-fence-itis. Ugly temporary fencing circled every part of the ruins that presumably are unsafe.  Nevertheless, beyond the fencing we could appreciate the structures, the 14th century arches and windows and the cloisters that retained their sense of peaceful space.

In Pakefield on the edge of Lowestoft, we walked around All Saints and St Margaret’s Church on the seafront. Technically two churches built next to each other, you will notice the tower is attached to one half of the M-shaped roof. These churches were once some distance inland but coastal erosion has led to the loss of many houses here as the sea has nibbled at the land. In the Second World War the buildings took a direct hit and were rebuilt.

Southwold‘s parish church was another church we took the time to visit. This church is fascinating for its Jack. This is a wooden statue dressed in armour, and holds a sword and an axe, which can be used to ring the bell at the start of a service. The Jack has been in the church since the 15th century and it is thought it was originally made to strike the hour for a clock and was repurposed.

Byways

Off the main roads, Suffolk seemed to be characterised by narrow lanes, plenty of them going nowhere but to a small coastal village. We took the Blue Bus to the end of the road at Orford and caught the National Trust boat to Orford Ness (see above). Driving to the RSPB reserve at Minsmere the lanes became narrow and then even narrower as we got closer to the sea. The lanes wound around fields and woodland until I had no idea which way was north and whether we were heading in the right direction or not. The only thing you can do is trust the RSPB signs! After our walk we had to follow the same byways in the opposite direction.

Sizewell was an exception. We immediately noticed what a good road it was to Sizewell, presumably for the traffic to the nuclear power station.

Where we stayed

We stayed at some Caravan and Motorhome Club sites on the way down [Grafham Water] for one night and at White House Beach which was handy for Lowestoft. These were both the usual standard.

For Ipswich we stayed at Little Sage Hill, Copenhagen Cottage Caravan and Camping Club Certified Site. I reviewed this site here.

Beach View Holiday Park at Sizewell is a large independent site that was okay for a couple of night and was well situated for walks to Thorpeness and Aldeburgh.