Trip 18: Sandringham, Norfolk.
The great storm is over, the land is still soaked and in places the flood water refuses to recede. What a great time to go camping. Well, we are headed to Norfolk which got away fairly lightly so we should be ok, although our route through the fens could be slow going.
Despite the forecast of fine weather it rained all day. We got a pitch on a slope but got the van fairly level. Wi-Fi is good and the TV signal is strong enough for two TVs, even though we are surrounded by trees.
It stopped raining so we went for a walk around the campsite but we ended up walking in a circle around one of the woods and then back to the van. We both hit our 10000 steps for the day.
Tea was from the reduced food, yellow label, in ASDA which comprised of onion rice, tikka masala chicken with an onion bhaji crumb, and Korean chicken nuggets with a spicy chilli dip. A great meal reduced from £14 to £5.40. It was amazing.
Day 2:
Today is dry and overcast so once the normal jobs were done we started our walk. We headed for one of the the main cycle/ footpaths which took us towards a viewing point. However it was still very Misty so there was no real view.
We carried on along Princess Drive which meanders through the forest until you come to the open space around the Sandringham visitor centre. Today with half term there was some fair ground rides for the children, and the occasional adult joined in.
Sue had a look in the visitor shop but as you would expect the prices reflected where we were. We left the centre and followed a path through the forest to join Princess Drive. There were a lot of people about so we diverted into the woods and followed a forestry track downhill until it veered towards a main road.
We then followed a deer trail through the bracken and rhododendrons for some time, looking for a trail that headed up the hill. Eventually we found a trail that was not used a lot and on several occasions we had to duck under shrubs. The trail got steeper and steeper to the point that even the deer tracks looked as if it was difficult for them to climb.
We eventually emerged by the viewing point that we had visited earlier only to find people looking out over the valley that we had just emerged from.
We continued back towards the campsite and Iona. What a relief to be able to sit down, rest and eat our lunch.
Tonight we settled down for tea, it was what Sue calls Pesto Fish Bake.
Day 3:
It started raining at 9.00am which basically stopped us doing anything outside until it slowed down. Our neighbours are leaving today and they looked soaked. They have been packing up for 2 hours.
The rain stopped after lunch so we went for a short walk through the woods to the Caravan & Motorhome campsite. It is smaller than our site but every pitch is hardstanding and huge, car,caravan & awning all on the gravel. However it all looks a bit man made whereas our site has plenty of trees and natural features.
After walking around the site we retraced our steps to the wood and followed a path that eventually came to our campsite. I stopped to talk to a steward about camping in Norfolk next year because the council have stopped camping near SSSI sites this year. Apparently everyone is waiting for the Norfolk council to make a decision for next year.
Tonight we had stuffed chicken breasts for tea and then settled down to watch TV. Tomorrow we head home.
Iona’s Travels 