Seal watching

Last Saturday we had breakfast early as we wanted plenty of time to explore the Blakeney National Nature reserve. This is an area of outstanding natural beauty and home to many species of wildlife, including common seals.  We headed to Morston Quay as we had booked a boat trip to see the seals and the boat goes from here. It's the luck of the draw whether you will see lots of seals or none at all. The tide was out when we arrived and the surface of the salt marsh was fairly dry in places since the weather was very warm. The moored boats were all sitting on mud and it was fun to watch the tide come in and lift them off. The area is all access land and so we were able to wander at will but taking note of the signs to be careful of ground nesting birds. Our trip was booked for 12.45 so we were able to enjoy our walk and still be back in time for the boat.

We discovered sea lavender.

The ground in this area was very dry

We watched oyster catchers on the other side of the inlet

There was a lot of area to walk.

Slowly the tide came in and lifted the boats.

Around 12.30 we were able to board the boat as there was sufficient water in the centre of the channel to get through. As we headed out into the water protected by the spit the crew explained that we had to stay in the channel marked by the green buoys or we would run aground. They also told us a bit about the history of Blakeney Point and bits of gossip about the moored boats we were passing. Their running commentary was amusing and informative.

There were a couple of boats that looked like Noah's Ark. 

and this one which is a modern replica of the types of boats that were in use in this area years ago.

By now all the boats were afloat.

Looking back we could see Blakeney Church in the distance.

We went past the Lifeboat House. This is now used by students and National Trust staff and volunteers when monitoring the seal and bird populations. The doors were open and a deckchair was outside so there were staff in the centre.

At last we saw the seals

The boxes in the background are for the birds to use for cover and nesting. We saw some grey seals swimming near the boat but they were quite shy and I didn't manage to get a photo.

After our boat trip we walked from Morston Quay to Blakeney along the sea wall. There were a lot of teasles and other wild flowers

The wheat looked ready to be harvested.

These bright flowers were further away and I couldn't make out what they were (probably Rosebay willow herb) but they made a very pretty splash of colour.

We followed the sea wall around until we came to Blakeney. Here we found children with nets enjoying catching crabs of varying sizes. On our return journey to get back to the car some of the children were crying as the crabs had to be returned to the sea.

In Blakeney we found a folk festival taking place and the venue was serving food. We sat and enjoyed the music whilst we ate a delicious crab salad.  We explored the village and took a trip to the church. The church had two towers. The main one at the front.

and one at the back. Like many churches in Suffolk and Norfolk it was built of flint.

Inside it was very light and spacious

The pews all had carved animals at the end. As far as I could see, they were all different.

The pulpit had beautiful carvings

as did the lectern

There were a lot of needlepoint kneelers. They were all stitched using the green thread as the main theme colour.

Pretty cushions in memory of members of the church

There was a model of the Blakeney lifeboat that was in service from 1873 to 1991. Elsewhere in the church there was information and pictures of the crew who saved passengers from 2 steamers during a bad storm.

We were pleased we diverted to look at the church as it was very interesting. We walked back along the sea wall to the car and drove back to our hotel where we enjoyed a very tasty meal. John really enjoyed the locally caught fish. We sat outside to eat our desserts and so did two other couples. We ended up sitting and chatting with them for a couple of hours. It's very strange how sometimes you 'click' with strangers and are happy to sit and chat with them. 

We had planned a visit on the Sunday so I'll tell you about that tomorrow. Today I got my sewing machine out and started sewing my 4 inch squares together to create the fabric to make my quilted jacket. I forgot to recharge my camera so I'll take a photo tomorrow. This evening I have some unpicking to do and a little hand sewing.

Take care

Lyndsey