London, East Anglia & Paris
July 16 through July 26, 2000
Adventures of Bill, Linda and Betsy Ross
Day 8, Sunday
Windmills, Queens, and the Norfolk Headlands
Up early to a light breakfast of bread and jams, and coffee. The route for the day was planned for a tour that would end up along the North Sea headlands along the northern coastline. We began the first leg by headed west to Bircham. Here, we unloaded ourselves in the car park and walked around the Bircham Windmill, one of the rare still-working mills. We visited the bakery, where Jenny bought some great bread and some scones for tomorrow's breakfast, and had tea in the tearoom. Very fulfilling experience, even tho it was too close to lunchtime to embibe in a cream tea!
Bircham Windmill, a working monument, up close. Back on the road, we wound our way to the southern approach to Sandringham's front gate. And then, the unexpected and very exciting highlight of the day sprang upon as as rapidly as the police woman who stopped us, waving her arms in a panic and turning us from our path! We barely had time to look up and see the royal landau approaching from the other side of the intersection, but Alex pulled off the road just in time for us to jump out, catch a royal wave from the Queen Mum and the Queen herself, before the carriage turned into the gates. I believe we were all dumbfounded at this one-in-a-million chance encounter, and at such close range, too! The bobbies in their car (out of pictures) were keeping a very close eyes on us, indeed. Another moment, and we would have driven right into the carriage! I imagine that police woman has only now stopped shaking over her near-miss at deflecting us in time.
Same, overview w/Bill, Jenny and Linda
Same, entrance and tea room.
Side note: The lens on my little camera makes everything seem farther away than it really is--opposite the effect of a zoom lens. The royal carriage was much closer than these photos suggest!
Linda stands dumfounded at a wave from We recovered our car, and parked in the car park once the police re-opened the road. We walked thru the tourist accomodations (shops, toilets, etc.), but Sandringham itself was closed to the public due to the Queen's residence. My camera didn't quite manage to capture this notice, which was to corroborate our claim of a royal sighting!
the Queen and the Queen Mum!.
The landau (almost missed this shot--it was quick!)
The Queen takes her leave of us.
The policewoman throws us one last scowl.
The Royal Notice. Euphoric, and hungry, we reclaimed the car and headed for the Gin Trap--a marvelous pub. I ordered the Ploughman's Jacket Potato (in American English that would be a stuffed potato with shredded cheese, with baked beans and tomato & lettuce on the side). Most everyone else ordered the Ploughman meal. The bitter was very good--we all tried a half-pint and were feeling very smug about our day's adventures.
A bobby strolls the Sandringham Tourist area.
The Gin Trap--a great pub lunch. But the tour to the headlands was only beginning. We travelled northeastward and approached the northern coast at Burnham Quay. I can't figure why none of those cars or pedestrians don't just fall off that un-railed edge! We stood in exactly the same spot that Adam Dalgleish stood in one scene from the dramatization of P. D. James's Devices and Desires -- before the afternoon was over, I located many of the locations for that film.
Burnham Quay. In spite of the cold wind and a constant threat of drizzly rain, the coast road and villages were packed with tourists and Londoners up for the weekend. We moved on after a very brief walk along the quay. We passed thru Cley, where I glimpsed the old Windmill (now an inn) where the interior shots were filmed in the same James mystery.
For some time we travelled the road along the wide marshlands separating us from any view of the sea, but enjoyed the sites and the villages along the way. We stopped at Salthouse, a very small village just east of Wells-Next-To-The-Sea, and Jenny bought some samphire to cook for supper. A strange vegetable, this sea-weed-looking plant grows only in these marshes. Then we proceeded thru Blakely, and took a turn onto a beach-access road at Weybourne. Too my delight (again, an unexpected treat), we had landed on the very spot of headlands used for several other location shots in the James mystery. Bill and Linda and I braved the shingle to stick a finger in the North Sea, and got a wade instead when the next wave came further ashore than the previous ones!
Bill and Linda on the shingle at Weybourne, the North Sea! Wet feet, but pleased to have had a toe in yet another body of water (I still remember the Pacific wade very well!), we climbed up to the old WW II bunker--one of many along the English coasts. From here I could see the old Weybourne windmill used for the exterior shots in the James film (the bunker, too, was in the film), and the long path along the headlands. We walked along it for a way, but the wind got very mean and cold, and we turned back before reaching the sandier beaches ahead.
Bill and Betsy on the shingle at Weybourne
The old Bunker above the shingle at Weybourne
Walking the headland, Weybourne.
It was cold! Another windmill is in the background.
Side note: I seem to have been particularly obsessed with the locations in the James mystery, but it must be said that I have been a Mystery fan, and an avid follower of the films made by the English companies (Anglia, in this case), and by the BBC imports into American public TV. Yes, this was a treat!We returned to the road and drove a very brief distance to the old Weybourne Train Station--still maintaining a short stretch of narrow-gauge track and several steam engine runs. It also has a standard track, and schedules a few diesels as well. Entering this station and platform was literally like stepping back in time about 100 years! A very nice stop on our tour--it seems it's the little things that thrilled me most.
We left the coast road in late afternoon, and headed south for home. For the first time in all these days abroad, we sat in a real living room and acted like normal people! Alex had taped the last legs of the Tour de France, and knowing that we had just seen the Finish Line on the Champs Ellysee, we were very excited to watch the race. Alex, an avid bicyler and fan, provided explanations of the rules of the race which greatly helped my understandinding, and boosted my enjoyment tremendously. We cheered and laughed out loud over the footage of the "free-for-all" participation allowed to any cycler who wanted to run the last turn--not part of the real race, of course, but a real hoot at any rate!
Jenny prepared the samphire, and we all had a good time mastering the stripping of the tender parts from the stems. I managed it with my fork (not good form, but it worked) while everyone else used their good teeth (the requisite procedure, given one has the teeth for the job). It was delicious! Very subtle with a slight hint of the sea, and perfectly tender and juicy. I would like to have some more, right now. Then she served a pasta dish, followed by ice cream and coffee.
After dinner, or at least just as we were finishing our meal, Matthew (the younger son) returned, and joined us around the table and eat a bit himself. After dinner, Matthew shared 2 of his own films with us. He is studying to be a filmmaker, and shows a prodigious flair. I particularly enjoyed the one set in the Norwich train station--probably because I had just been there and could relate to it on a personal level.
A late night, we went to bed.
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Copyright © 2000 Elizabeth Ross.
The writer has made no attempt to use formal grammar, and the stream-of-consciousness style is no doubt replete with errors. It was a real trip, in every sense of the word, and the reader must forgive the run-on sentences, misplaced modifiers, and simple page layout!
