Trip 2: March 2024
Deepdale Backpackers, Brancaster Staithe.
Another regular trip to North Norfolk. We stay at Deepdale Backpackers site which has everything you need close at hand. Two pubs, fresh fish shop, artisan outlets, a garage and a shop.
The main reasons for staying here are the walking routes which vary from coastal paths, beach and common land behind the site and then ofcourse the fresh mussels either available in the Crab Shack or from either of the pubs. We usually go to the Jolly Sailors for ours.
This time we arrived at lunchtime in the middle of a rain storm. We set up quickly and settled down with a bite to eat until the weather brightened up, then we took the coastal path to the marina.
On the way we came across a Muntjac deer in one of the gardens before watching the wildlife on the mudflats. We then headed inland to the Pub for a quick pint where we were entertained by other customers discussing Volkswagon camper vans.
We walked home following the main road through the village until we arrived at the campsite. Tonight we are having Lidl’s version of Southern Fried Chicken.
Day 2:
Today we left Iona and headed inland. Following a lane up to the heathland. We walked onto Barrow Common and followed various footpaths.
We had to stop a couple of times to remove layers of clothing because although it was windy it was warm.
We would normally walk to the old WW2 radar station but today we left the common and followed a path towards Brancaster village. We left the marked footpath and followed human and dog footprints along some field headlands.
We interrupted four fallow deer. Once they had seen us they moved to the middle of the field and watched us.
Eventually we reached the common lane and walked down to the village. The lane took us beside the Jolly Sailor pub. We had planned this because we wanted to have a lunch of Brancaster Mussels accompanied by home cut chips and fresh bread, washed down with some local beer.
After lunch we headed back to Iona and once we were settled heavy eyelids encouraged a quick nap.😴
Day 3:
We headed to the harbour this morning. The tide was still fairly high although it was going out.
We were hoping to follow the coastal path but it was closed because they were replacing the board-walks. We followed the footpath next to the main road until we reached Brancaster and the we followed the diversions until we reached the path to the beach.
We walked along the beach with all the dog walkers until we were far enough from the golf club to be alone. We found somewhere to sit and have a coffee before retracing our steps.
We were soon back on the footpath beside the main road. We passed the mile marker for Kings Lyn.
The next stop was the Jolly Sailors pub. We arrived at 14.15, found a place to sit and ordered a drink, this was followed by a pizza each at a 2 for 1 deal. The pizzas are made from scratch and are fabulous, we chose the basic three cheese versions.
After the food and another drink we headed back to Iona. We had walked 9 miles but that was forgotten after the lunch stop at the JS.
Tomorrow we pack up and head home. Our next outing is to Beverley for a few nights.
Iona’s Travels 