I shall begin with the Tractor Tour that I booked prior to departing for North Norfolk, Fortunately it was a dry day with sunshine, just right for touring the grounds. A couple of weekends previous to my visit there had been strong winds and the park had been closed for the duration of the inclement weather,storm damage was visible on the tour. It was an enjoyable and informative tour and after a tasty lunch in the Courtyard Cafe a wander around the Holkham Stories Experience was interesting with plenty of information on Holkham's heritage and through to currents projects.
Images taken at Holkham Hall.
The Fallow Deer were to be seen regularly on the tour of the grounds.
The Temple was the first building at Holkham, built between 1730 and 1734 preceded only by the Obelisk.
The Ice House
A well preserved thatched ice house.
The timber floor or grid, which covered the drainage sump of the ice well, was first covered with a bed of clean straw or reed. Ice or hard-tampered snow was then laid on the straw to a depth of about a foot. Successive layers of straw or reed and ice or snow followed, up to the level of the entrance door or passage. As the contents were used up, it must have been an unpopular task to go down by ladder into the bitterly cold well to hack out ice and bring it to the surface. A ring in the dome of this house suggests that some form of hoisting tackle was used in filling and emptying the well.
Courtesy of Holkham Hall Estate.
Storm damage was in evidence.
Logs destined for wood chipping and biomass use.
After alighting from the tractor a plane could be heard heading towards the park, the sound of the aircraft became louder almost deafening as it flew over and above the park.
Answers on a postcard please if you know the name of the plane.
Of course there is much more to see and learn about Holkham Hall then what I have posted about, a good day or two spent there in sunshine ;-) would not be a bad idea.
Holkham Hall is a place I have thoroughly enjoyed visiting on my 2 recent trips to North Norfolk. I am planning/hoping to go on a guided tour of the Hall on a suitably timed future trip in 2021.
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Highlights when out and about included catching up with a Hoopoe at Wighton and a Red-backed Shrike at Wells Woods.
The Hoopoe had been spotted at Wighton between Fakenham and Wells on the North Norfolk Coast. It's favoured spot was on the edge of a field by a manure heap. After a few minutes of arriving the Hoopoe appeared and seemed fairly oblivious to the half dozen or so people enjoying seeing such an exotic looking bird.
The Red-backed Shrike had been reported at Wells Woods. The shrike was on the whole seen at a distance as it flitted along a barbed wire fence line, good scope views were enjoyed of this delightful looking bird. After having views of the bird for less than five minutes it took flight.I managed record images of the Red-backed Shrike.
So 2 easy twitches accomplished, twitching is something I rarely do but as these birds were only a hop, skip and a jump away from where I was staying and also birding in the area it would have been a pity not to have attempted to catch up with them. The Red-backed Shrike was a Lifer and the Hoopoe my first in the UK.
After the viewing of the Red-backed Shrike we walked back to Wells Woods stopping at a field gate to scan the field and we noticed a Cow had started to walk across the flash in the field looking as though it was heading straight towards us! As it neared us it passed us by and walked through a gap in the hedgerow to the adjoining field and it started mooing for a few minutes, not sure why, maybe it was missing a calf? It then returned to trundle through the centre of the flash and return to to the herd who had carried on grazing! Strange behaviour!
There were good numbers of Pied Wagtails in the fields. Such delightful little birds.
Geese were as expected at this time of year seen and heard regularly. The Pink-footed Geese in particular were an absolute joy to see and hear. Brancaster Staithe, Burnham Overy, Holkham, Titchwell, Wells and North Point were the areas I took most of my images.
My favourite image is of a Great White Egret flying with geese in the distance.
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I had read that Binham Priory was a good place to visit and so it turned out to be.
The text following is Courtesy of Wikipedia.
St Mary's Priory, Binham, or Binham Priory, is a ruined Benedictine priory located in the village of Binham in the English county of Norfolk. Today the nave of the much larger priory church has become the Church of St. Mary and the Holy Cross and is still used as a place of worship. The remains of the priory are in the care of English Heritage.[
The priory was founded in the late 11th century, as a dependent house of St Albans Abbey, by Peter de Valognes and his wife Albreda. After the Norman Conquest, Peter was assigned lands in west and north Norfolk, among them the entire village of Binham. The priory was endowed with the entire manor of Binham, making the prior thelord of the manor, together with the tithes of thirteen other churches in Norfolk. Originally it had 8 monks, rising to 13 or 14 in the 14th century before falling back to 6 immediately before its suppression 1539.[3] "Its history is one of almost continuous scandal."[4] Many of its priors proved to be unscrupulous and irresponsible
A Ley tunnel is said to run from the buildings to an unknown destination and it is reported that many years ago a fiddler decided to explore these passages; he could be heard for some distance before suddenly ceasing. The fiddler was never seen again.
Courtesy of Wikipedia.
It was an interesting walk around ruins and the church. A pity to see the much needed social distancing tapes in place in the church, who would have thought we would ever have come to this!
Parlour
Warming House.
The Church of St Mary and the Holy Cross.
Next to Binham Priory is 'The Little Dairy Shop' that has a raw milk vending machine. A lady arrived with empty milk bottles to be filled with the raw milk and she told us it was the best milk ever!
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A short visit was made to Burnham Norton, a new area for us and definetely an area that will be on the agenda on a future visit. The walk takes you across marshes and along the coastal path overlooking the creeks.
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I will end the post with a few images of the highlights of the trip.
Mussels being sorted on the mud at Brancaster Staithe.
Little Egret on a windy day!
Turnstone
Wigeon
A good sighting though distant was of a Grey Plover still in summer colours! It was one of 4 Grey Plovers that had dropped in to feed on the glistening grey mudflats at Brancaster Staithe, with 2 of the 4 birds in partial summer colours and a single bird in it's winter plumage.
RSPB Titchwell
Wheatear, Titchwell beach.
Burnham Over Staithe.
Little and large.
Cley Beach carpark.
Wheatear and Black-headed Gull.
North Point Pools.
I will end this humongous post with a colourful rainbow over North Point.
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