Norfolk Day Trip Sunday 15th May 2022

Words and Pictures – Adam Woods

After the success of last year’s Norfolk Day Trip, we wanted this year to be as good but a bit different. This time we wanted to do the North West of Norfolk rather than the North East, and set about planning.

After some initial plans fell through, we came up with a final route, arranged places to meet, stop, and of course our final destination. We always drive the route again a week or two before just to make sure that everything will be okay. Thank goodness we did as we discovered that some roadworks had been delayed and the temporary road surface would have been no good at all! We found an alternative route which was actually much better than our original one, but also took longer, making our final destination of Thetford Forest impossible… so an alternative final destination had to be found too with only a week to go, but fortunately, Castle Acre agreed that we could conclude our trip there. Once we let everyone attending know, we were finally on track for the big day! The last step was to signpost the route the night before, and we were mightily relieved there weren’t any last-minute surprises! The only uncertainty was the weather…

And so the big day arrived with everyone arriving at our special Figgy Parking on the Green in Burnham Market and breakfast at The Hoste Arms. The parish council had kindly agreed for us to park on the Green and had announced we would be there in the local newsletter, so we had a fair few locals and visitors coming to see the cars with all the usual questions! We were also delighted to welcome members who had attended events previously, as well as some new members who were attending their first Figgy event!! Oh, and a lovely couple who were holidaying in Norfolk on the same weekend joined our group!

From Burnham Market our alternative route led us across some single-track country lanes that provided some fantastic sights for our Figgys… anyone who thinks Norfolk is flat should see some of the lovely hills and valleys we crossed in convoy for the first stage of our Norfolk tour! Our route took us through Ringstead, through Old Hunstanton and onto the Cliff Parade in Hunstanton with lots of beeps and waves! We continued on through Hunstanton and down to Heachem for our visit to Norfolk Lavender where we had arranged to park up on the drive which was a beautiful sight in glorious sunshine!

Norfolk Lavender was a real delight, with extensive facilities many were saying they would return to again, but we had places to be, so we headed out of the beautiful drive, following through the villages of Snettisham and Ingoldisthorpe in convoy, skirting around Dersingham to stop briefly on the lovely wide avenue that leads to Sandringham Estate! We had lost one of our number along the way, but were mightily relieved when they popped round the corner to re-join the group as we headed off from Sandringham, down beautiful avenues of trees, a brief section of A road and then through Little and Great Massingham with some more beeps and waves!

And so to our final destination, Castle Acre, a beautiful extensive ruined monastery. As this was a last-minute change, we couldn’t guarantee the cars would be parked together, but as luck would have it we just about managed it! Not to mention of course the wonderful welcome we received from Steve and Janet who couldn’t attend with their Figgy but were there to welcome everyone as we arrived – what legends!

And that was it, now the day was everyone’s to do as they wished, and what was particularly lovely was the impromptu picnic that took place in the ground, with lots of lovely chat, relaxing in the sun… and yes, we were so lucky with the weather. Other than the odd spot of rain along the way, the weather held all the way through to around 4 pm, roof up, wipers wiping as we headed back after a lovely day with fabulous Figgy folk!

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Published on 23rd May 2022

Norfolk Day Trip Sunday 15th May 2022

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