We've been back in London 2 weeks now, so it's about time I did a quick write-up of our time on the North Norfolk coast staying at Tide's Reach cottage in Morston. All Ruth's family gathered for her mum's 60th, with some of us staying from Fri-Tues and the bulk of the festivities taking place over the weekend. Once we'd figured out how to assemble Rosie's travel cot, we all settled in comfortably to our new surroundings.
Ruth and her 4 brothers had set up a food rota so that their Mum didn't need to cook a meal all weekend. First night, Dan and his girlfriend Nicky cooked a Thai feast, and Ruth's Dad provided a wide selection of wine & beers, including plentiful Adnams. To work off all the previous night's sins, Ruth's Dad & I biked to nearby Binham to buy sausages, a testing 8-mile round trip with great coastal views on the return leg. Ruth & I then cooked a fry-up for 10 hungry mouths, and after that we all went for a long Saturday afternoon walk, starting on the beach at Wells-next-the-Sea. This provided some decent off-road opportunities for Rosie and her pushchair, but I did need help at times to extract the buggy from the sand. We abandoned the beach stroll after a while and headed inland to the pine woods, fooled around on a tree swing for a while and then parted ways with Sim & Hannah who went back to the cottage to cook mussels.
We then frogmarched all the way to Holkham, coming to rest a few miles later at the Victoria pub for one or two pints of bitter. It was heaving as always, mainly with ex-Londoners in Barbour jackets driving Range Rovers, but provided a welcome reward for our exertions. Lunch back at the cottage was delicious - mussels, crusty bread and Marlborough wine - and made me pine for a snooze. Instead, I played football on the large field and then dashed back to do Rosie's bathtime. That night, we had a table booked at 7:30pm at the White Horse pub in Brancaster, so had to rush around to get ready. All Ruth's family headed off in the Land Rover, not realising they had boxed us in at the car park. Luckily, Ruth's brother Ben had left his car keys in the cottage, so we moved his motor and managed to escape. Our food was excellent as always but the service wasn't quite up to the standard of previous visits. Despite our efforts to make Rosie sleep, she plain refused and preferred to engage with all the noise and activity, even giving Marion plenty of slobbery kisses to mark her 60th birthday.
Sunday was the main celebration day and the weather was fittingly tremendous. Big blue skies as far as your eye could see, so our boat trip out into the Glaven estuary to try and spot some seals on Blakeney spit was ideal for blowing away the cobwebs. Despite a few nervous moments when we ran out of fuel and when Tim was smoking by the gas tank, and despite not seeing any seals, it was a worthwhile and bracing adventure skilfully masterminded by boatman Dan.
Back at the cottage, we prepared lunch for the wealth of visitors coming that afternoon, all friends of the family. Food was followed by a good coastal walk that was boggy underfoot, and then table football and more drinks back at the ranch. That night, we had our last meal en famille, a delicious lasagne cooked by Tim and then said our goodbyes to those leaving. Ruth & I stayed another night on Monday and paid a visit to Blickling Hall bookshop and her Grandpa, before stopping off for afternoon beers & scrabble at the Letheringsett King's Head with Dan, Paul & Marion. Another fine meal rounded off a seriously gastronomic weekend.
Before heading back to London, we celebrated Ruth's birthday on the Tuesday by having her parents babysit Rosie while we headed into Norwich. After a romantic meal at St Benedict's Restaurant, we went to see a band called The Invisible at Norwich Arts Centre. Nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2009 and winners of iTunes album of the year, this London trio made for an entertaining evening. London Girl is a seriously funky track, and all the new material had a dreamy but dancy quality. We were glad to taste some freedom, albeit temporarily, and returned from the long weekend fatter but more relaxed. Roll on the Isle of Skye next week!
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