Where we stayed
Verdict: on balance, favourable, though we weren't sure it had quite reached a standard that justified the rental cost. We paid only slightly more than this to rent Cathedral House in St Davids last November (haven’t yet blogged that trip) and Cathedral House was a step above the standard of the Wells flat.
Upsides: Quayside Lookout must sell itself substantially on its views of the harbour and marshes, and these were fantastic: you could just sit and watch the tides and the boats all day, if you were feeling particularly idle. The open-plan living area is lovely and has a lovely light feel; it was all nicely fitted out with a newish big screen Smart TV. The location of the flat is convenient both for the town and for coastal walks, and Wells is usefully set up for buses to the coastal villages if you don’t want to drive to them (as I generally don’t). It has its own parking space in a courtyard at the rear of the block; it’s a snug space which would probably cause a problem for drivers of big vehicles, but it neatly fitted my Fiesta. We also liked the fact that the kitchen drawers are neatly fitted out with reasonably-new looking, coordinated mugs, cutlery etc rather than containing the miscellany of owner cast-offs that holiday rentals sometimes do.
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| View from the balcony |
We did also have a more concrete issue with the shower, which when we arrived on the Friday would only dispense water of a temperature straight from the earth’s core, and as it was warm weather I’d been in the mood for a temperate shower. It was even too hot for Ruth, who does like to roast herself. On the Saturday morning we managed to make contact with the owner, who was in France, whether temporarily or permanently we didn’t know. He was a pleasant man and did arrange for a plumber to come out the same day, presumably at some cost to him as it was a weekend. To my relief, the plumber confirmed that the knob was indeed stuck and a new part was needed. He chipped off enough scale for us to be able to turn it but said that he’d have to order and fit a new one. I duly sent Mr Napier an appreciative text.
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Partial journey there
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| Our Thursday route |
The Premier Inn we stayed in has clearly been placed for convenience for the A14, meaning that there weren’t many dinner options in the vicinity, so we had dinner in the hotel restaurant. Service was a bit slow but all the staff were lovely.
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| Relaxing in our room |
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| Pink bathroom lighting |
As a bit of a road geek, I was quite interested in the route that Google Maps took us. I chose to go with the route it suggested up the A1(M), rather than the simpler-but-duller carrying on along the M25 and going up the M11. This route takes you off the M25 at junction 21A and along a section of the North Orbital Road, which I would guess is one of the various marooned bits of the cancelled London Ringways project. It joins the A1(M) near Hatfield. We travelled north as far as Letchworth where we joined the A505 going northeast towards Royston and then, off onto the A1198, a smaller road that took us through the village of Bassingbourn cum Kneesworth, which we both found faintly amusing (ditto the sign to Shingay cum Wendy). Then north on the A603 (Cambridge Road) to briefly join the M11, and then onto the A14.
Sabre told me that the initial, straight, section of the A1198 that we drove along is the line of the Roman road Ermine Street, and follows the line of the original A14. It was apparently downgraded to the A1198 when through traffic heading north was being discouraged from using it and encouraged to use the M11. The current A14 is a thundering great trunk road running from the Midlands to the port of Felixstowe. We came to it late in our Thursday journey and used it for a stretch of the onward journey the following day.
Rest of journey up (Friday)
The following morning, we drove to Ruth’s parents’ house between Thetford and Dereham, where we had lunch and spent a few hours, then drove north to Wells.
For dinner I made ‘Nduja and basil roasted gnocchi, a recipe out of a Waitrose magazine which has proved a useful holiday meal.
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| Gnocchi dinner |
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| Sunset from Quayside Lookout |
Day 1 (Saturday): mooch around Wells
After the plumber had been (see above) we went for a bit of a stroll around the town. Ruth bought a posh new bedside lamp in posh interiors shop “Bringing The Outside In”, where I think she bought a plant pot on a previous trip. We had a bit of a stroll along the quay and out onto the coast path a bit.
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| The former Shipwright's Arms on East Quay |
Re the 'Shipwrights' lettering on the building: this was the former Shipwrights Arms, on Wells East Quay. This webpage says that the pub closed in the mid-1990s.
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| Boats and marsh |
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| The coastal path looking east from Wells |
Day 2 (Sunday): Holkham circular walk suggested by Komoot
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| The Wells lifeboat |
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| The disco ball |
We then walked along Wells beach (families and beach huts, but spacious enough not to feel crowded) to Holkham beach (vast emptiness). We stopped at the Lookout, where I had a cup of tea and Ruth had an ice cream from a nearby van. Being Holkham, it was a dead posh vegan ice cream. Ruth had been hoping for a more traditional Mr Whippy, but she did at least get a (non-vegan) Cadbury's Flake stuck in it.
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| Wells beach |
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| Holkham beach |
After the snack stop, we carried on along Lady Anne's Drive to Holkham village, and along Park Road onto the Holkham estate, where we saw a bunch of deer lounging about. We turned left and followed a path that came out by Holkham’s East Lodge.
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| Looking back at the gates by East Lodge |
The Holkham estate has a number of lodges; there’s a page on them here. They include the Triumphal Arch, where Ruth and I spent a few nights in 2019. You can rent some of the others as well.
After leaving the estate by East Lodge we followed a lane and then the road back into Wells. This was a walk of just over seven miles, which was allegedly longer than I had officially announced it was going to be, something that Ruth made a written note of.
Ruth made roast pork for dinner courtesy of pork acquired from Arthur Howell the butcher.
Day 3 (Monday): boat trip
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| Our tickets in my Google Wallet |
I had booked us on to a Seal Trip with Bishop’s Boats. We were aware it wasn’t really the time of year to see many seals, but I generally enjoy a boat trip anyway. We took the bus to Morston village and walked down Quay Lane to Morston Quay, passing this impressive chap.
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| A turkey |
The boat trip took about an hour and took us out to the far end of Blakeney Point, where we did see a cluster of seals right at the end of the spit of land. We also saw several heads bobbing about in the water. The boat chaps tried to keep our expectations modest in terms of the likely amount of seal-themed entertainment, but I was happy enough with what we saw. They did explain the various types of seal we saw - common seals and harbour seals, I think. I'm sure they told us that last winter there had been around eight thousand seals on Blakeney Point. That must have taken some counting.
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| Some seals |
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| Having stuff pointed out |
The boat chaps pointed out the old Blakeney Lifeboat Station, closed in the 1930s after the harbour silted up. I also noted a few what looked like small houses/holiday cabins dotted around. Apparently, there are still a few privately owned buildings on Blakeney Point but since the National Trust’s acquisition of the land, no more settlement is allowed. Apparently, once the current owners die, the dwellings cannot be privately sold or passed to family, but have to pass to the ownership of the Trust, which I found interesting.
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| The former Blakeney Lifeboat Station |
After getting off the boat we walked from Morston Quay to Cley, via Blakeney where we stopped to eat our sandwiches. At Cley we had a drink in the garden of The George and Dragon, and then got the bus back to Wells.
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| Our walk from Morston Quay to Cley (about 4 miles) |
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| Blakeney |
Day 4 (Tuesday): reading
Lazy day. Ruth had a lie-in. I spent the morning finishing P D James’ Cover Her Face, which I’d brought with me as holiday reading. It rained, as per this video clip.
In the afternoon we dragged ourselves out for a short walk to the antiques market, the Co-op, the butcher for more bacon, and to inspect the menu at Platten’s fish and chip shop.
Come evening, Platten’s turned out to have closed, so Ruth got fish and chips from nearby French’s instead. I rustled myself up something vaguely Italianesque with pancetta cubes and tomatoes, and some cheeky garlic flatbread that I’d brought just in case.
Day 5 (Wednesday): Houghton Hall
We only paid for access to the walled garden, which is lovely, if formal. It's divided into a number of zones. We had lunch in the nice and not overly crowded café.
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| Map of Houghton's walled garden |
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| Extreme hedge-clipping |
I suppose I wouldn't have minded seeing the sculpture park as well but at the time we decided against paying the extra for that. I did manage to see some of the "iconic white fallow deer" referred to in the link above, by peering through some railings.
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| White deer, looking iconic |
In the evening we went for dinner at The Crown on the Buttlands, an exclusive-looking square with some elegant houses.
Day 6 (Thursday): pilgrimage and another Holkham walk
Ruth stayed in the flat intending to do some work, but actually spent the morning reading her book and making a homemade rice pudding (we have still not fixed our oven, so any access to an oven fires us up with enthusiasm for baked goods).
I had a yen to visit the Catholic bit of Walsingham again, driven by some sort of nameless spiritual urge. I drove down some narrow lanes (go me) to Houghton St Giles and parked in the shrine car park, where I made a donation. Our Lady was no doubt round later to collect them.
I sat in the Chapel of Reconciliation for a bit, and stayed for a communal rosary that started booming out of the speakers at about 11am. No idea if it was being led by a priest or a lay person, as he was nowhere in sight. Over the past year I have attended Mass a couple of times at Our Lady and St Anne in Caversham, on a bit of a whim, but don’t know yet if it’s going to become a regular thing. Father Joe is a bit of a bellower. The shrine of Our Lady of Caversham (at St Anne's) is one of those pictured at the Catholic shrine at Walsingham.
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| English Marian Shrines (Our Lady of Caversham pictured centre) |
The Chapel of Reconciliation opened in the 1980s, apparently to replace an open-air altar (and presumably because the old Slipper Chapel only seats about eight people). The Catholic shrine needs to do up its café, which is dismal - I had been hoping for a tranquil elevenses but the only things on offer were a handful of limp-looking sandwiches and sausage rolls.
In the afternoon we took the bus to Holkham and had a last walk along Holkham sands back to Wells. We saw lots of jellyfish on the beach, as per this picture. I was unsure as to their likely state of health.
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| Jellyfish |
In the evening we had a takeaway from the Wells Crab House, as we did on our previous trip to Wells in 2021.
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| Yummy seafood |
Postscript: Triumphal Arch
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| The Triumphal Arch when we stayed there in 2019 |
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