Scroll down to read blog! Posts are in reverse order – most recent first! However, in the menu below, we have grouped them into whole trips, which can be read in chronological order! This blog was set up to be our diary of our adventures in our Campervan Boris, which are often somewhat spontaneous! however, we have also had some big adventures without Boris, and these are included here too! We have a particular interest in Good Food so this features quite frequently, and I hope to make this a useful resource for fellow travellers. Welcome :)
From the SW corner we have travelled east through the Algarve. We confess to thinking this would be the least enjoyable part of our trip, with images of endless tourism development. Well we were so wrong. The development is concentrated in the cities of Lagos, Albufeira, Porto Maio and Faro, but in-between are beautiful beaches, stunning coastal scenery, and, amazingly, some superb wetlands with great birdwatching.
We played tourist to visit the glorious rock formations at Ponta da Piedade. Wow!
Then a hot but splendid cliff top walk from Praia de Marinha to Benagil, followed by a wonderful night at Lagoa dos salgados. We were parked at the lakeside and our only companions were the myriad of birds including flamingo, glossy ibis and spoonbill. Sunrise across the lake was enjoyed while still in bed… lazy birdwatching indeed!
Sunday saw us walking to Praia Salgados, then meandering to the riverside town of Santa Luzia for an Octopus based lunch.. their specialist dish.
Another walk then onto Camping Rio Formosa to get organised ready for the journey home. Good campsite where we met lots of people who had just arrived and would not go home until March! Standing in shorts, in the warm sun, it seemed like a jolly good idea!
Our last day in Portugal was a cracker. We visited the charming town of Tavira before meeting Luiz, the owner of Pernatur, who runs guided birding walks. He took us for a superb walk around the Rio Formosa wetlands near Faro. The highlights were an Osprey with a huge fish, purple swamp hen, and a Little bittern, which posed briefly before slipping back into the reeds. A great end to our stay in Portugal. Then a quick getaway to drive across the border for a lovely visit with Maria-Luisa in Seville….. and a real bed for the night.
3 great days meandering south down the west coast of Portugal. Temperatures 28 -30 degrees☺
Firstly a visit to Monserrate Palace near Sintra. Wow! Created by an Englishman in the 1750s who employed the Head gardener from Kew, and laid out massive English style gardens on the steep hillside. House was in the arabic style and has recently been restored.
We decided to bypass Lisbon and Sintra on this trip, and so headed south before visiting a super bird reserve at Lago Pequena, then driving through the beautiful scenery of the Parque natural da Arrabida, where we camped in the ecopark near Setubal. 8 euros with full if simple facilities and electric hook up, and facing the sea.
Day 2 we headed for the south-west coast of Portugal. En route we saw the great sight of storks nesting on pylons!
Remote, undeveloped and with the best scenery… we loved it. Our first objective was a local seafood restaurant… restaurant Azenha do Mar – getting our priorities right! It was in the middle of nowhere at a tiny port. We arrived at 12.00 and just got a table. It reminded me of our favourite places in France. Great home cooking and packed with locals and artisans. We chose the local speciality… rice with crab and king prawns. The crabs were brought in from the fishing boat while we were there! Beer was 1 euro! Fantastic meal for the total sum of £12 per person.
Then we explored the stunning coast with great cliff top walks, before watching the sunset at Cabo Sardao and spending the night at the excellent camping Villa Park Zambiyeira.
Zambijeira was a lovely coastal village with a stunning beach.
Day 3 we continued exploring coastal spots and walking wherever possible. Migrating birds were frequently passing overhead, the highlight of which was great views of a booted eagle.
Our 2 favourite spots were Odeceixe, and Bordeira beach near Carrapateira.
Finally we arrived at the very southwestern tip of Portugal and continental europe. We free camped on the headland at Sagres, and watched the sun set into the sea. Then a chance find of Mums restaurant in Sagres…. a small cosy place catering for vegans, vegetarians and Pescatorians. Best meal of the trip so far. A great sleep then up to watch the sunrise, because this headland faces east towards the Mediterranean as well! Fab!
Sunday night we had arrived at our camping spot in Vila Nova in the dark! Monday we awoke to find we were nearly on the beach! The Atlantic coast here is spectacular. In Vila Nova nearly all the seaside houses are candy striped… very jolly!
We spent the day exploring Alveiro, known as the Venice of Portugal, and walking in the Reserva de San Jacinto on a neighbouring false island that you reach by ferry.
We also discovered Ovos moles de Alveiro… fake soft eggs made with a yellow patisserie filling. Rather yummy!
We then drove south to spend the night on the carpark of Portugal’s most intact roman town. It was in a lovely spot, seemingly miles from anywhere, and it felt as though ghostly roman soldiers might march past at any moment.
Visiting Conimbriga this morning was a revelation. Excavation is ongoing, but it was very extensive, with layouts for baths, shops houses and a huge forum. Many mosaic floors were in very good repair. Admission was just €4.50! Chris (alias Indiana Jones) was rather sad that there wasn’t much left of the tavern!
We then drove south to the lagoon at Foz do Arelho for a picnic lunch, followed by a quick shopping trip at E Leclerc… where you can do your laundry in the carpark!
Then a visit to Obidos, a hilltop fotified town with walls intact. Not sure what happened to EU regulations, but there were no handrails and sheer drops, so I didn’t venture far up there. The town was charming, and it’s most remarkable feature was the 600 year old, 3km aqueduct running to it.
Finally another drive south to Cabo San Roca… the most western point of continental Europe, where we parked up for the night and enjoyed the sunset.
Finally, I have tried to create a map showing our route so far for anyone interested in such things! Ignore the last line driving into the sea!☺
My blogs have caught up with my facebook posts! I will still post in both places as I have friends who only use one of them. It would be lovely to have some more followers for the blog. Then you get notified when we make a new blog post 😀
Yesterday was super…it just all came together. Lamego is the home of a chapel built high on a hill, in the mid 1700’s. A huge ornate stairway was built, ascending from the town below, with tile panels on every landing. The church is Santuário da nossa Senhora dos Romedios do Lamego. Pilgrims ascend the 684 stairs on their knees! Thanks to a sneaky back entrance to our campsite, we were already high up, so we descended!😀
We then explored the old town centre and the cathedral before driving to Regua.
We parked easily in the super new camper spaces by the river. 3 € per night including electricity! Then a lovely lunch in Sus Douro in a beautifully converted goods shed before our train trip.
And what a trip! The track hugged the riverbank as it wound up the Douro valley passed steep terraces of vines and olives owned by all the major port wine houses. It was a special trip using a vintage steam train pulling historic carriages. Free glasses of port were handed out, and a costumed folk band moved through the carriages. Everyone was singing, clapping and even dancing. We felt as though we had gatecrashed a huge party! At the 2 stops an artisan market was set up with all manner of local produce to try, and the stations were decorated with tile panels which were over 100 years old. What a trip!
Vibrant, friendly, interesting and surprising and with great food and drink! What’s not to like! Did I mention hilly? These are serious hills. Be warned, because the only way to really explore Porto is on foot.
The last 2 days were spent doing just that. OK.. on day 1 it rained nearly all day but we just put on our waterproofs and had a ball anyway! Our 2km walk along the river to the bridge became our twice daily excercise! Porto is a vibrant city, so proud of its heritage. It is also built upon the slopes of some very steep hills, so is perhaps not well suited to anyone who struggles to climb hills….on cobbled streets!
We had booked a food tour with Taste Porto. Our guide was super, filling 3.5 hours with a trip to the market and 6 stops in old, traditional eating places. It was fascinating…full of information about history and culture. By the end we had sampled lots of tasters of yummy local dishes, and had 4 glasses of wine! (Well Chris did!).
Then we walked back across the bridge to the south bank where all the port wine cellars are, for our tour in the Graham’s port house. Hmmmm.. maybe we shouldn’t have done these 2 on the same day. I can’t really drink port so Chris nobly drank my 3 tasting glasses as well as his own! See picture.
Day 2. The sun returned. We did a great walking tour of all the historical sights, and then visited the cathedral, the magnificently tiled railway station, and the Palacio Boursa, built by merchants and used as the stock exchange until recently. Stunning.
Then our familiar walk back to Boris.
We then set off to drive 80 miles inland along the Douro valley, where all the grapes are grown. Super campsite – Camping Lamego, high on a hill with great views.
A very strange few days here in Northern Spain. Sunday night we were rocked to sleep by the wind on the edge of Hurricane Ophelia. Monday we enjoyed an interesting day in the pilgrim city of Santiago de Compostella – beautiful churches and bargain tapas. All going well until we returned to Boris to find Chris had left the lights on and the battery was flat! Luckily we were rescued by some other vanners who jump started us. Then we found out that they had turned back from heading south to Portugal (our planned route) due to the forest fires which have been deadly and extensive here. Their spread was hastened by the winds of the hurricane. Quick change of plan – we decided to camp on some coastal islands off the Galician coast for a couple of nights and review the situation. Beautiful O Grove island was our base – lots of wading birds and nice walks. We then ventured to Illa Arousa where we enjoyed a stunning coastal walk around the nature reserve. Finally a typical Galician meal in a super restaurant. Not for the faint hearted. It included Oysters, clams, razor clams, goose barnacles, cuttlefish, Octopus, and tripe! Amongst other things!
Normally, we don’t like rain on holiday. However last night and tonight it has poured down which has helped extinguish the fires and ease the drought they have here. So we are grateful!
The next day we continued exploring our island, O Grove. It was a great centre for fishing and canning sardines. Today we did a short walk on a coastal sculpture trail, dodged showers and visited a very interesting Sardine museum!! Oh and bought some local wine. Then headed south, visited the monastery of Moio, and finally reached Portugal.
Last time I tried to write a blog it would not work properly. I am hoping it will work for this trip. Let’s see! (It has taken me a while to sort this out so in the meantime I have been doing facebook posts as a diary. The first few blogs will be a copy of my facebook posts! )
Hooray! Finally we are on a proper Bimble in Boris. We have enjoyed an excellent, smooth 24 hour crossing from Portsmouth to Santander in Northern Spain. We are now encamped in the beautiful Picos de Europa mountains in Galicia.
It is all the more sweet because we have had a very worrying week. I would like to sing the praises of the NHS! A week ago I found a new lump in the breast where I had cancer. I phoned my Gp who saw me the next day and did a fast track referral to Bournemouth hospital. I was seen 6 days later by 2 doctors. Tests done and results given in 3 hours. And, thankfully, it was just a blocked duct. Needless to say we were extremely happy and grateful.
So after delaying our departure, we were able to rebook our ferry and set sail on Friday evening.
The food on board was lovely, and nice warm weather on arrival.😊
As usual, we waited until 24 hours before departure to decide on a destination. Our choices were the Isle of Man and Ireland, or Brittany. Long range weather forecasts are notoriously unreliable, but although things looked more promising for South and Eastern England, the northwest was cool and unsettled. So… France won!
June 8th/9th/10th 2017
Thursday night saw us having the most amazing evening out with some of the family. We went to Heston Blumenthal’s restaurant, the Fat Duck for Dinner. Oh My. We loved it. Not everyone’s cup of tea, but for us – Definitely the best dining experience EVER!
Dinner finished at Midnight, then it was a 2 hour drive home (thanks to road closures), bed at 3am with the alarm set for 6.00am. Up we got and set off for Poole to catch the Barfleur ferry to Cherbourg!
So glad we booked a cabin! We slept for 4 hours and were fairly refreshed on arrival.
With no set itinerary we decided to head for an area in Normandy that had always intrigued me – Suisse Normande.
It did not disappoint. An area of deeply cut river gorges about 40km Southwest of Caen, it was charming, beautiful and best of all, fairly quiet despite it being a summer weekend evening. We found a fantastic Aire just outside the village of Pont d’Ouilly (prizes awarded for correct pronounciation!). Aires are the super system of cheap or free areas for motorhomes across France. It was on the riverbank, with pitches separated by hedges. Electricity and water included for the grand sum of 9 euros. It was SO peaceful. We went for a walk along the pretty river Orme and then slept very well…not waking up until 8.45 – very unusual for me!
Next morning we drove to La Vey, a pretty village near the river cliffs. Our objective was to climb Sugar loaf Mountain (Pain de sucre). This was quite a pull uphill but the views from the top were splendid. We walked along the ridge, past a paragliding launching site, marvelling at them leaping off the top. We weren’t tempted by the offer of a tandem flight though!
After working up an appetite, and achieving my desired step count by lunchtime, we found a lovely café by the river, Au fil de l’Eau, and reacquainted ourselves with the ‘Menu du jour’ – 3 courses for 16 euros. Excellent – no need to cook in the van tonight! We sat by the water on a flower bedecked terrace sipping “une pression et un panache” and watching birds, boats and canoes!
I should point out that our decision to head to France was now totally vindicated – a lovely French lunch and the temperatures were around 25 degrees so I was happily wearing shorts and a short sleeved blouse. The fleeces were packed away – for now anyway!
After lunch, Chris could hardly contain his excitement… I had discovered that in the next village, Clecy, there was one of the largest model railways in Europe! We walked up to see it. Even I was impressed. It was HUGE. 350 square metres of layout and half a kilometre of track with so many beautifully crafted scenes. Lots of locomotives whizzing round, moving scenery AND they put the lights out and it was illuminated for night time!
Oh Dear… Chris has now got even grander designs, and wants a bigger cabin for his train layout!
Then we said goodbye to Suisse Normande and headed for our main objective – Brittany. A beautiful early evening drive across country for 2 hours, hardly seeing anyone else, brought us to Nozay, north of Nantes and on the edge of Brittany. We were aiming for another aire, again with water and electricity, but just 8 euros, and alongside 4 lakes. One of the lakes was for watersports and we spent the lovely sunny evening watching the automated tow machine taking wake boarders around the circuit and over the jumps – some more successfully than others. Again we slept like logs!
Yesterday, we went on a day trip to meet our son and daughter-in-law Peter and Tracy. We live too far apart to visit for the day, so we decided to meet in the middle and take our ‘house’ with us!
We met at Welford Park, a privately owned house in Berkshire which is famous for its snowdrops.
Despite being a bitterly cold day, we had a lovely walk around the grounds and marvelled at the carpets of snowdrops and aconites. There were also hopeful signs of spring everywhere, with hellebores, daphne and witch hazel coming into bloom, and catkins and willow buds in abundance.
It is only open for a few weeks in early February and we would definitely recommend it.
(Another place with equally lovely snowdrops is Walsingham Priory in Norfolk which we visited last year!)
Following the walk, we used Boris to get changed out of our muddy clothes, and then paid a visit to the 5 Bells pub at Wickham. It is a very traditional thatched pub with very friendly staff, their own microbrewery and an excellent selection of Ales and Ciders. Chris was very happy because they offer a thirds platter – 3 glasses of a third of a pint each to enable you to try 3 beers!
We also had an excellent lunch there, so again, highly recommended.
Then a return to Boris, where the diesel heater had us warm in minutes, and then we enjoyed some games with tea and cake before heading for home in opposite directions.
It was a great day, and reminded us how useful Boris can be even for day trips.
The urge to get on the road again was too great, and we found ourselves with a week off at Easter, so at 22.30 on Friday night we decided to go away for a week in Boris. The advantage of a campervan is that we keep Boris 80% ready to go, so 2 hours of adding water, toilet cassette, maps, clothes and food, and we were ready to leave at 8am the next morning! As usual, we looked for the area with the best weather forecast! Nowhere was great, but East Anglia was driest!
(Summary of Campsites, Parking, Activities etc is at the end of the Blog!)
After a day visiting Margaret in Sussex, we headed north over the Dartford Crossing (Remember to pay in advance online or by phone – no paying at the crossing anymore), and aimed for our first Britstop south of Cambridge 216 – a tiny, very old pub next to a river with a Pizza oven! Excellent stop – faint noise from the M11 but it didn’t disturb us.
Next morning, just 11 miles to Cambridge. Park and ride excellent, so we were in the city by 9.30 on Easter Sunday morning. It was deserted, and we enjoyed a super walk around this wonderful, compact and historic city before the crowds began to arrive. One of the great charms of Cambridge is the proliferation of stunning buildings and history all around you, but you are just a few steps away from what is essentially a country walk along the river in the area known as The Backs. Added to that, there is an aura of achievement everywhere – here DNA was unravelled, there the electron was discovered. Stephen Hawking works here… Isaac Newton worked there – what a super place to visit. We took a free walking tour with Footprints Tours. http://www.footprints-tours.com . It was excellent – Charlie our guide was both a student and resident of Cambridge, and a mine of information. We were left in no doubt about Cambridge’s superiority over Oxford (89 Nobel prizes to Oxfords 48 – although he did acknowledge that was partly due to Cambridge having more science options!), and we were very glad that Cambridge won the Boat race later that day!
We also learned that in days gone by they had some interesting interview techniques. One professor threw a rugby ball at prospective candidates. if they dropped it they were rejected, if they caught it they were offered a place and if they threw it back they got a scholarship! Another gave the interviewee a brick and told them to throw it through a particularly historic stained glass window! He had to intercept a few throws – they were rejected. if you could argue a good reason why you weren’t throwing you were offered a place but the scholarship went to those who opened the window first before throwing !
Admission charges to the colleges vary, but we had been told that to see Kings College and is amazing chapel free of charge, the best way is to attend evensong, which is open to all.
We were so glad we did. Because it was Easter Sunday we had the full choir. The chapel is unbelievably beautiful- it’s ceiling and windows have to be seen, but where it surpassed anywhere was with the acoustics. As the choir sang, you were covered in tingly goosebumps! This is the choir that sing the televised Christmas 9 lessons and Carols, and they were amazing. What an experience to end our day in Cambridge. There were lots of places left to explore further – just how we like it. We will be back!
A night at Britstop number 255. This was a super little pub with rooms. The carpark was tiny but sheltered, which was just as well because Storm Katie made her presence felt that night. Its full force hit the south coast, and at 2am we had a message from my son saying that one of our chairs had blown over a 6ft wall into the neighbours garden, and our little plastic greenhouse had broken loose and was now on the study roof! Luckily that was our only damage – other people fared much worse. In Boris we were snug as usual.
Next day the wind and rain were still in full force, so we visited Oxburgh Hall, a super National Trust moated manor, with a priests hole, which was quite a challenge to enter and leave! Highly recommend a visit! There was an EasterBunny Hunt for children – the person setting the trail had a sense of humour – Can you spot the bunny in the 2nd photo?!
By mid-afternoon the sun had come out and we did a lovely walk at Salhouse Broad before heading to Britstop 251 for the night. This pub is attached to the Woodforde’s Brewery, so of great interest to Chris as he uses their Home Brew kits! Large Car Park and a very peaceful night.
Next day we caught the Park and Ride at Sprowston, into Norwich. It is a real mix of old and new, partly due to extensive bombing in the war, particularly as part of the Baedecker raids, when cities like Bath, Norwich and Canterbury were targeted, having been chosen from the Baedecker guide books as having great cultural significance.
The Cathedral is undoubtedly the jewel in the crown. It is a huge and beautiful Cathedral – started in 1069. The Cloisters are beautiful too, and the cloisters and Nave are famous for the carved and painted ceiling bosses at every junction.
In the city there are lots of old areas of narrow, historic lanes, and interesting shops and restaurants, as well as a newly opened riverside walk. The Catholic Cathedral is also worth a visit, and next to it is a super garden in a quarry pit – the Plantation Garden – a real oasis of peace.
Leaving Norwich, we headed to a campsite so that we could shower, empty the loo etc! After finding the site at Ludham, we drove to Hickling Broad Norfolk Wildlife Trust centre and did a wonderful early evening walk to the raptor roost. November to February is the best time of year, but it was a lovely evening, and we were rewarded with seeing 7 Marsh harriers flying in over the reed beds, and 3 Chinese Water deer grazing close by. A group of small birds appeared and we are sure they had literally just arrived from their migration back to the UK. They were feeding frantically. Then we heard a Chiffchaff calling – the first of the year for us.
Next day we did a different walk at Hickling Broad, but some of the view was obscured by the reeds which was a shame. However the beautiful Potter Heigham church was a real treat, with a super hammerbeam roof and beautiful embroidered kneelers. Then we headed south to Norwich Camping – a huge camping and accessories shop at Blofield, east of Norwich. Excellent base for supplies! Then onto Strumpshaw Fen, an RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) reserve where we did a super 5 mile walk and saw our first Swallow and sand Martins of the year – Spring and summer can’t be far away! We need reminding of this as the temperatures at night have been around, or below freezing, and in the daytime the windchill has made hat, gloves and scarves essential. But it is dry!!
Tonight was Britstop 246. The pub has new owners who are really trying to turn it around. there was a bit of noise from the road but we slept well.
Thursday we drove to the National Trust carpark on Dunwich Heath and used the Geocaching website to plan a 7 mile circular walk on the Heath and in Dunwich forest. A great walk (which included spotting a Dartford Warbler), and by finding a sheltered spot we were able to remove our coats and have a picnic on Dunwich beach. A long history of coastal erosion has meant that Dunwich, which was an important, thriving port in Roman times, is now virtually all buried under the sea. At very low tide, remains of buildings etc can be seen and mapped.
After the walk, we headed a few miles to the lovely RSPB flagship reserve at Minsmere for an evening walk looking out over the Brackish ponds and scrapes where birds gather to breed at this time of year. Lovely.
We stayed at a small campsite a few miles away at Eastbridge Farm – very basic but just £8 and so peaceful – and a Tawny owl flew right past Boris!
Friday we made an early start back at Minsmere and walked all around the reserve. Lots of different birds but highlights were the Avocets, a close up view of a Cetti’s warbler and 2 rarities – an Iceland Gull, and Mediterranean Gulls. Oh.. and did we mention the wonderful Marsh Harriers hunting very near the hides – great views. They have also created an adder walk, and there were 3 good sized adders basking in the sun – apparently they are quite predictable first thing in the morning, when they need to bask in their favourite spot to warm up before they glide off to start feeding.
Finally, we started the long drive home, but made much more enjoyable by stopping in Beaconsfield to visit Peter and Tracy and have a super dinner in the Thai Rack restaurant in Goddards Green – their treat!! Then we couldn’t resist staying for a game of Diminishing Whist – so home about 1am! A great Bimble!
Car Parking:
Cambridge – Park and ride excellent. £1 to park, £2.70 return on bus. BUT ONLY the Trumpington Park and Ride just off M11 Junction 11 has no height barrier – look for the special lane. All other P&Rs are 2.1m. No overnight Parking
Norwich – Park and Ride excellent. £3.50 return on bus. No parking charge. No overnight Parking
Dunwich – Free car park at Beach. National Trust Car park on heath free for members. No overnight Parking
Minsmere – Free parking. No overnight parking.
Overnight stops:
As usual we made great use of the Britstops Guide – just £27 for 1 year. We stayed at 5 different ones – all pubs this time. Ate a meal in one, had a drink in all the others, so most nights cost us about £5 – and we might well have gone to a pub for a drink anyway.
Tuesday night we stayed at Ludham – Grove Park Barns, a Camping and Caravan Club certificated campsite near Hickling Broad which was a lovely quiet location, with 2 toilet/shower units. Very clean but not the most powerful shower we have ever had! Still – all freshened up again! We thought £16 was a bit expensive for what you got.
Thursday night, in the absence of any Britstops , we stayed at Eastbridge Farm Campsite – just £8, but you need your own loo! there is a water point, and CDP. Essentially just a field, but SO peaceful and within a mile of Minsmere RSPB reserve.
Places to eat:
Cambridge – very busy but we had an excellent meal at Cote Brasserie near St Johns College.
Norwich – Excellent lunch menu – Soup, Sandwiches, Paninis, Quiche, Jackets etc, but all excellent quality and great value – in the Refectory at Norwich cathedral.
Things to do:
Cambridge – Kings College Chapel, Walk along the backs, Take a guided walk, Visit Colleges – Trinity plus Wren library, St Johns, Granchester,
Norwich- Cathedral, Plantation Garden, Meander the lanes. Excellent Tourist Information has many walks.
Birders – Hickling Broad boat trips, walks and raptor Roost. RSPB Minsmere and Strumpshaw Fen.
National Trust – there are lots of great properties in this region – we only visited Oxburgh on this trip – excellent.
Then a hot but splendid cliff top walk from Praia de Marinha to Benagil, followed by a wonderful night at Lagoa dos salgados. We were parked at the lakeside and our only companions were the myriad of birds including flamingo, glossy ibis and spoonbill. Sunrise across the lake was enjoyed while still in bed… lazy birdwatching indeed! 
Sunday saw us walking to Praia Salgados, then meandering to the riverside town of Santa Luzia for an Octopus based lunch.. their specialist dish.
Another walk then onto Camping Rio Formosa to get organised ready for the journey home. Good campsite where we met lots of people who had just arrived and would not go home until March! Standing in shorts, in the warm sun, it seemed like a jolly good idea!
We are finally doing a proper Bimble in Boris.
We also had an excellent lunch there, so again, highly recommended.
We took a free walking tour with Footprints Tours. 
Then we headed south to Norwich Camping – a huge camping and accessories shop at Blofield, east of Norwich. Excellent base for supplies! Then onto Strumpshaw Fen, an RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) reserve where we did a super 5 mile walk and saw our first Swallow and sand Martins of the year – Spring and summer can’t be far away! We need reminding of this as the temperatures at night have been around, or below freezing, and in the daytime the windchill has made hat, gloves and scarves essential. But it is dry!!
Bimbling! 