Posts Tagged ‘wildlife’
On Saturday we had the absolute pleasure of experiencing an event organised by The Fairyland Trust, a Norfolk-based charity that aims to inspire youngsters to appreciate the magic of nature through the use of myths, folklore and legends.
Little Man beside sign for The Real Halloween.
‘The Real Halloween’ was basically an outdoor event held at Holt Hall Field Studies Centre in Holt. Fairyland Trust representative Abbie Panks explained to me that the aim was to relate Halloween back to its true origins as a celebration of the change of season, rather than the blood, gore and trick or treating practice that is the modern image of Halloween.
Having never been to Holt Hall before, I was immediately struck by how beautiful the location was – a stunning house set in some 35 hectares of ancient woodland and gardens. With autumn colour in full bloom, the first impression as one approached through the woodland track from the car park area was breathtaking.
Live Music & Stalls at The Real Halloween.
‘Campfires’, wooden toadstool seating, live music, a Halloween-themed cafe and various stalls framed the scene, while oodles of little witches (as well as some big ones), cats, devils, wizards, pirates and vampires regailed in the late October sun. Truly wonderful.
The Real Halloween.
The day, designed for families and children (although, to be honest, Other Half and I agreed, we’d probably have had a superb time had we turned up on our own – live music and spiced cider, outside on arguably one of the sunniest days of the year? Can’t be bad), began at noon and there was plenty to amuse, interest and delight.
Mulled Apple Juice (& Spiced Cider) Stall.
Throughout the day we carved a pumpkin, followed the ‘Rainbow Trail’ of coloured ribbons through the woods (piqued every now and then by a Halloween-themed ‘factoid’ about the particular tree or plant), sampled the mulled apple juice (lovely) and some spooky cupcakes. I also ended up (albeit briefly) serving pies on Bray’s infamous Pork Pie stall. For me I think that was the most terrifying aspect of the whole Halloween day.
Bray's Pork Pie Stall.
We’d pre-booked a ‘Witches Pet’ workshop for Little Man, which took place in a tent and combined storytelling, craft and information to introduce the group of girls and boys to the world of bats. The workshop was carefully planned and enthusiastically delivered, just managing to hold Little Man’s interest for the duration (at two-and-a-half he was perhaps just on the young side). However, the eventual production of a fluffy, googly-eyed bat on a piece of elastic that ‘flew’ was more than reward for Little Man’s patience. Afterwards he ran around with it, delighted, terrifying all who dared cross his path.
Making Witches Pets.
One Happy Lil Wizard (With Flying Bat).
Other activities on offer included a ‘Witches Kitchen’, traditional apple bobbing, storytelling under a giant old oak and lantern making. We left before the lantern procession at dusk (we had wanted to join in, but sometimes its best not to outstay your welcome with a toddler), but expect this was enchanting and a truly magical experience for slightly older children.
Carving Pumpkins.
Instead, having promised that our Little Man would see the moon when it got dark, we drove along the coast to Cromer and ate fish & chips while the sun went down. Typically, it turned out to be an utterly clear, but also utterly moon-less night. No matter, the lights on the pier reflecting into the black North Sea were more than satisfactory.
View From Cromer Pier As Night Falls.
In all, we had a wonderful family day out – a whole afternoon out in the fresh air, exploring and enjoying the natural world of Norfolk at its best. The Fairyland Trust holds several such events throughout the year, and from what I’ve seen they’re getting more and more popular. Not surprising really… ours really was magical.
Never too young for magic...
Next year’s Fairy Fair will be 29th-30th May 2011, Holt Hall, Norfolk.
Few More Pics From The Day…
Witch Carving Pumpkins (you don't see that every day)
Pumpkins! International Symbol Of Halloween.
Spooky Nature Facts Around The 'Rainbow Trail'.
The Fairyland Trust's 'Real Halloween' at Holt Hall.
August Bank Holiday Monday. Weather not bad. So we decided to explore a bit of Norfolk by way of a family ‘walk’. After a little bit of searching on the Internet, we found a route for the circular ‘Tiffey Valley’ walk, which begins and ends at Wymondham Abbey. A short-ish walk of about 1-2 miles, the route promises riverside meadows, views and wildlife. Sounds lovely.
Sign for The Tiffey Valley Walk.
On arriving at Wymondham Station (where we parked the car) we were delighted to see the steam train pulling away. Always a pleasant sight – love a bit of steam train action. And a good start.
The walk itself is fairly rural, but there is a path (not exceptionally wide and quite bumpy, though we did force a three-wheel buggy over the terrain), flanked either side by hedgerows, farmland (complete with cows) and the odd stream. The railway line runs alongside the path (crossing it further up), so we saw the train again as we walked.
Steam train seen on Tiffey Valley Walk.
When we passed blackberry bushes laden with fruit our inner foragers decided it would be rude not to pick a few. Little Man decided it would be rude not to use his tummy as a container and managed to cover himself in blackberry juice while not-particularly-selectively eating handfuls of berries. All good, healthy fun though.
Natural non-selection... Little Man samples the blackberries.
The track encompasses a few wooden bridges, where we introduced Little Man to the delights of the game ‘Pooh Sticks’. Very wholesome entertainment.
Pooh Sticks!
At Chapel Bridge there is a picnic spot where we sat and munched our packed lunch. One criticism is that it could have perhaps been tidied up a bit more. An information sign alludes the nearby site at Wicklewood being a small Roman Town.
Retracing the path to where the route breaks off to go in a different direction, this is where things took a turn for the, shall we say, interesting. Our earlier internet searching had also thrown up a longer walk to ‘Kimberly Park’, and we came across signs pointing this way.
This route (off -piste now regarding our original route) seemed initially to take us alongside the train line for quite some time. Difficult with a buggy, the route was also not exactly picturesque. In fact, one half expected to discover a dumped body or suchlike as we walked along. Less ‘Ramblers Association’, more ‘Trainspotting’ (as in the Irvine Welsh tale of depravity and drug use). Reference was made to the coming-of-age film ‘Stand By Me’, in which a group of young friends go off on a journey to see a dead body, taking them, for some part, along a train track. This was nothing like that. Unless you like graffiti, litter and lots and lots of stinging nettles. Still, having hauled the buggy this far, we were determined to go on, hoping this ‘new’ walk would improve as we went along.
Eventually we did leave the shadow of the train line, crossing a few fields (in which Little Man decided being covered in blackberry juice was not quite enough and kneeled down in a deep, muddy puddle). When we eventually reached a fairly busy road somewhere outside Wymondham and the route markers appeared to have vanished we decided enough was enough and got the iPhones out to show us where on earth we were. Using Google Maps we established our location and then took the road route (neither safe or advisable), via a housing area, back to Wymondham.
A very muddy Little Man.
We finished up at Wymondham Abbey, a pretty and impressive structure if you’ve never been, before getting back to their car, stripping a very wet and muddy Little Man down to his undies and heading for home.
So, there you are, a tale with a moral really, which would be to stick to the map unless you know where you’re going or like un-scenic routes beside railway lines. For the first part, the Tiffey Valley walk is a lovely amble and worth a look, particularly due to its proximity to Wymondham Abbey and environs. As for Kimberly Park, I’ve no idea what that’s like as we didn’t manage to find it.
Looking up at Wymondham Abbey.
Incidentally, there is also another walk on the opposite side of the road to the start of the Tiffey Valley route (the Bure Valley path?). This seemed to be attracting a lot of folks. Perhaps one for another day…
Beginning the Tiffey Valley Walk.
Fancy a walk yourself? View the Tiffey Valley Walk Route here (PDF).
With the intention of ‘seeing more of our locale for less’, we decided to embark on a series of free days out in Norfolk, starting this weekend with a visit to the Roman Fort at Burgh (pronounced Bo-rough) Castle.
Found just West of Great Yarmouth, the remains of the fort are maintained by English Heritage, but owned by the Norfolk Archeological Trust, who presumably have been involved in creating a new and excellent quality car and coach parking area near to the Fort. (Frankly, we’ve seen grander visitor attractions that didn’t enjoy such a decent entrance).
New walkway to the fort at Burgh Castle.
Situated on a raised location (for Norfolk anyway) that looks out over Breydon Water (with views towards the Berney Arms windmill), the fort was known in Roman times as Gariannonum and was built in about 280AD as a defence against invading Saxons. Three of the four massive sides of the fort still stand – 9 feet thick and 14 feet high, probably their original full height. Surviving fantastically intact, it can be matched by few other Roman sites in Britain.
The Roman Fort in the distance.
The walls are built of carefully knapped flints and mortar, interspersed with layers of red Roman tile for strength. The remains of the Roman town at Caistor also display this style, but the ruins are not nearly as well preserved. The east wall, with the gate in the middle, features four huge rounded towers.
Walls of the fort at Burgh Castle.
A stroll around the ruins of the fort leads you onto several other scenic footpaths, and the surrounding area is perfect for fishing and birdwatching. We walked down to the Fisherman’s Arms, flanked by water on our right all the way. This would have been a perfectly acceptable mid-walk refreshment stop, had Little Man not decided to squeeze a tube of sun cream all over the place, while we were there, meaning we ended up rubbing as much onto him as we could (leaving him looking ill in pallor) and departed pretty sharpish.
Strolling along one of the riverside walks.
Taking a route back along the road (through several holiday parks), the sun shone and the flora of the area, combined with the slightly worn anti-sheen that everything has, being close to water (you see it on the Coast too), evoked the feeling of being on holiday ‘abroad’ somewhere. It could have easily been a little port in Portugal or suchlike. All in all, this helped to produce a very relaxed feeling (even though we feared we might have been lost at this point). Result.
Back at the car-park (yes, we made it – hooray), we decided to have a quick look in the church (also off the car park). The Church of St Peter & St Paul, a round-tower church, has a little display inside about the excavation and finds unearthed from the adjacent site and some lovely stained glass windows that you can only really appreciate from the inside.
One of the stained glass windows in the church.
So there you go, a fews hours of outdoors-ness and appreciating local history. Nice. If you were up for it, you could certainly make a full day of it, and enjoy some of the longer walks around the area.
Impressive example of a still-standing Roman fort not exciting enough for you…? Perhaps we should mention that its also haunted. Apparently, the 27th of April each year is accompanied by the sound of swords clashing and the screams of Saxon warriors as they are slaughtered in some bloody fray. Allegedly a ghostly figure can sometimes be seen falling from the castle ramparts. Additionally, Old Scarfe (a Shuck-like creature named after a Baron Rudolf Scarfe, a 13th Century villain who lived near the Castle) also haunts the grounds and nearby roads. You can spot him by his single eye that glows red and yellow…
In summary then, if you like fast rides, bright lights and Hollywood-esque cinematic-style stimulation, this won’t be a day out for you (unless of course, you spot Old Scarfe, which I’d imagine would be a pretty white-knuckle affair). However, if you like wildlife, great views, fresh air and a good dose of history, then it’s not a bad little afternoon excursion. And with no entry fees (and no gift shop), its no pounds well spent.
View out towards the Windmill.
Basically open all year round. Plenty of parking (free at time of writing).
Most of site is fairly accessible to wheelchairs and pushchairs.
Dogs on leads are permitted (please clean up after your dog if required!).
Location: Far west end of Breydon Water, 3m west of Great Yarmouth. Postcode: NR31 9pZ.
'Broads Walk' signpost.
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