For the second year in a row, our trip to the Norfolk coast coincided with a heat wave in the south east, so we were delighted to hear reports from the early arrivals that Great Yarmouth was positively chilly in the evening. The town was clearly struggling economically but has a rich maritime history and those who managed to visit the Time and Tide museum were impressed. On the first evening most of the group gathered in the Alexandra restaurant for an excellent meal.
The next morning was hot as forecast, but we need not have feared as sea breezes came tumbling over us as we stepped onto Happisburgh beach. The cloudless sky had turned the sea a Mediterranean blue. A vast, white swathe of firm sands, damp from the retreating tide, made the going easy as we strode out to the sound of the waves. Continue reading Norfolk Coast Path: Happisburgh to Hopton on Sea 26-28 June 2026→
14 Polyramblers and a guest set off for our walk, on a sunny Sunday morning. We crossed Hammersmith Bridge to walk along the River Thames via the towpath towards Barnes, we walked through the Leg of Mutton nature reserve and spotted a couple of herons patiently fishing. Just before our lunch stop we saw a family of Egyptian Geese, mum, dad and at least 10 very young goslings who were feeding and paddling on the foreshore under the watchful eyes of their parents.
Ten of us met at Hadley Wood train station and thought of Geoffrey when I pointed out the memorial plaque to Sir Nigel Gresley, designer of the famous ‘Flying Scotsman’ and ‘Mallard’ locomotives who used to live in Hadley Wood.
An elite team of 4 walkers arrived at Bentley station with no problems on the line, which was an unusual & auspicious start to the day. It was hot, 1 degree under the recommended ‘Cancel-the Walk’ temperature, but as we were going to be mostly in woodland, it was actually very pleasant.
A select group of five Poly Ramblers met at Berwick Station to begin our final stages of the Vanguard Way. We crossed fields following the line of a Roman Rd, passing through the village of Berwick we entered the South Downs national Park. We stopped at Berwick Church to admire the Bloomsbury group paintings by artists Duncan Grant, Vanessa Bell, and Quentin Bell. The murals were commissioned in the hope that there would be a golden age for painted churches. Continue reading Berwick to New Haven 13 miles Section 9/10 of the Vanguard Way – 6 June 2026→
