Iona goes to the Norfolk Coast

We had booked a standard pitch with electric because the sun is very low at this time of year and the solar panel is limited to the power it produces.

We have the same pitch as last year and we faced into the wind which was slightly uphill but it made the van perfectly level. The sun is out but the winds are in the high 40mph and will be here all night according to the BBC.

After lunch we went for a short walk to the harbour. There were a few others walking the coastal path but it was cold.

We stopped off at a bench for a rest and to adjust an uncomfortable sock. We continued onto the harbour where this year there were a couple of extra boats, but apart from three fishermen it was deserted.

The wind is bitterly cold with a high windchill factor and then on our way back it started to rain but thankfully it was only a shower. The sun returned as we made our way home.

Day2:
We awoke to a bright sunny morning, although the wind is still very strong. This morning we are going to walk to the beach and take a packed lunch. Sue bought some insulated travel mugs, so they will be tested with Tea and Coffee to see if they stay hot for the 5 hours it says on the box.

We set off at 11.00am and walked along the main road until we reached the road down to the Yacht Club. Here we joined the coastal path that is made of a wooden walkway which is much easier than the muddy path from the yacht club to the campsite.

We passed a few walkers as we made our way to the road that led to the Golfcourse and beach.

We passed the Roman Camp and continued to the road where the footpath continues on the flood bank to the beach carpark.

The wind is still strong but we reached the beach without getting too cold. One of the gates to the golfcourse is a memorial to all the club members that lost their lives during both world wars.

We followed the beach for about a mile and then headed up into the dunes, looking for somewhere to eat lunch. At the top of the dunes we could see some beach huts on the golf course side of the dunes and this where we sat down to eat our sandwiches and have a hot drink.

After our lunch break we headed back along the beach but this time we were walking into the wind which made it hard work.We followed the same route home and made a detour into the Nisa store to get some paracetamol, so I also grabbed a bottle of beer from a local brewery.

By the time we got back to Iona our legs were beginning to ache from the walk. We had covered 8.5 miles or 15000 steps if you have a Fitbit.

We had decided to have lunch at a pub so we made our way to The Jolly Sailors which is about a fifteen minute walk from the campsite. We got a drink and sat down to look at the menu but we had already decided to go for Brancaster Mussels.

They duly arrived in the individual pans that they were cooked in, with a lid that could be used for the discarded shells. The mussels were accompanied with bread and we also had a portion of chips between us.After the mussels we were bloated and could not manage a sweet although I tried a half pint of a different beer to finish off with.

We started our walk back but called in at a fish shop where we bought some dressed crabs. unfortunately they were not very big but it was all they had. There were cooked Lobsters but they were £35 each.

Back at Iona there were the standard jobs to do and then we spent the afternoon reading, still too full to do anything strenuous.

Trip 1: 157 miles, 4hr.16m travel,27.1mpg, 36mph