After a very long day yesterday, I felt a bit happier knowing that I was walking almost five miles less. The first half of the walk today would be the usual flat but fast walk but from Cley to the end, possibly the worst few miles of leg-sapping walking that I’ve endured on a long distance walk, read on to find out why.
For the fifth day of the Trail, it was yet another hot and sunny morning, tshirt and shorts weather but my legs got sunburnt the day before so I wore long trousers. I left my accommodation, stopped at the shop for some food for lunch and a breakfast bap and walked down the hill to the point where I cut off the previous day, the sea looking very pretty. I reached the Trail again, the Port was very quiet with few people about, a huge difference from when I arrived last night.
I set off then stopped almost straight away at some benches to eat my breakfast bap and gaze over the harbour, the tide was in. I soon set off again, walking along a quiet street then reached a gate leading to a raised grass bank, ahead of me I could see a few joggers on it probably enjoying it before the tourists came out and got in their way. On my left the water shimmered in the hazy sunshine but it wouldn’t be long before I lost sight of the water.
A pleasant grassy path made for quick walking, I started to think I’d be finished earlier today, how wrong I would be. The path sometimes got narrower and at one point I nearly got mowed down by three bikes. It was pleasant having a nice easy walk with the soundtrack of the many birds on either side of me. The first place of note that I passed near was Stiffkey where a few cars and boats stood in a car park. I wasn’t stopping here though so I pressed on towards Morston but just before it I saw the path ahead was boggy and people were carefully trying to get their way through it and stay dry. They confused me as there was a well trodden grassy detour that was probably quicker anyway, and dry.
After Morston, it was a quick mile and a half to the busy harbour in Blakeney which had a couple of cafe vans in the car park and toilets so I stopped to use them. From here the path would get busy with many people walking to Cley-Next-The-Sea or people walking in the opposite direction, most seemed to have at least one excitable dog running loose. The path is horseshoe shaped to get to Cley and then after that, the path heads to the beach. I could see many people on that path which was only a short distance over the marshes from where I was walking but it isn’t possible to cross over to it without going into Cley. As I got nearer the village, the distinctive windmill came into view.
I was soon walking through the narrow road in the village, there was no pavement and it was busy with cars but soon I left the road and was at the foot of the windmill which now seems to be a restaurant. There are a few benches there so it was a perfect place to stop and have my lunch. I was walking quite fast with little effort and looking forward to an earlier finish as I set off again along a grassy bank towards the beach, that’s when things took a turn for the worse.
In my mind, when I reached the beach it would be a pleasant sandy walk along it for miles but when I reached it, I would be disappointed. It wasn’t sand on this beach, it was shingle. Deep piles of small stones that made slow progress and took so much effort to wade through. After ages, I turned around and noticed that I hadn’t gone far at all and to make matters worse, this was going to go on for miles and I couldn’t avoid it. I tried in vain to find an easier route through it but there wasn’t one.
The sound of the sea on my left could hardly be heard over the noise of my feet trudging away on the shingle as I tried to find a good route through it. After about three miles of it, I noticed a path over the other side of the shingle and headed down to it, it felt so good being on a hard path even for a short time. It would mainly be a grassy path from now on, I stopped for a well deserved break overlooking the sea and shingle before moving on.
I was on a hard path now but my legs felt so heavy, the miles of shingle had tired them out. I only had about four miles to go but it felt further, ahead of me I could see a golf course and the first real hill I had seen on the Coast Path. Normally I would walk up this kind in no time but not today, I stopped to watch some golfers take their shots, it gave me an excuse to stop for a breath. After a couple of up and down sections it was the bigger one to come. As I reached the top I saw lots of benches but none of them were empty.
I didn’t want to stop anyway, I just wanted the day to end and to put my feet up. It wasn’t long before I was walking above the busy beach at Sheringham and towards my cut off point. It was very busy here and I had no chance of passing the hundreds of people slowly moving along the pavement and there were too many cars on the road to try and overtake them. Eventually I passed the Railway Station and the pavement got quieter but by now I had almost reached my accommodation.
I couldn’t wait to check in and put my feet up, my legs felt very heavy. I know it would be cheating but I think I’d happily take the bus from Cley to Sheringham if I did the walk again. I had enjoyed todays walk until Cley and hated after it but at least it’s over. Obviously I’m hoping that there’s no more shingle surprises ahead of me but at least tomorrow it’s a far shorter walk to Mundesley.
