A bit of a wet day, but the Norfolk Broads still looked good

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We set out fairly early to go to Wroxham so we could get a ferry to travel on the Broads. Having read Coot Club by Arthur Ransome when I was young, I had always wanted to see the Broads that were in the books. Our pilot was very knowledgeable, and kept he commentary going all trip. He told us about the history of the Broads, pointed out animals and birds we went past, explained the different styles of houses, and practically anything else as well. The river Bure forms part of the waterway, and other smaller "roads" came from mariners years ago who wanted to make their journeys around the Broads more direct, or shorter. There are some very wide open stretches of water too. We travelled on the Wroxham Broad, the Hovetone Great Broad and the Salhouse Broad. Travel was not speedy, in order to look after the environment. Our pilot told us that with work, the water quality has improved recently, as farming practices have paid attention to the way they fertilise crops and also the way they deal with runoff. This has meant fish are more plentiful and creatures such as otters are being seen in the Broads again. Our pilot saw an otter, but by the time he had tried to point it out to us, it had scuttled into the reeds. We did see many birds, including some cormorants drying out their wings after fishing, swans, coots, moorhens, grebes and all sorts of ducks. As we headed back to Wroxham there was a downpour. We were warned that the carpark was probably a bit flooded - it was! Luckily our car could be approached from a different direction and we stayed dry. Then we went off around the coast to find a place for lunch. After driving for a while, (and seeing fields and fields of mobile homes on the top of cliffs where people spent the summer), we stopped in Horning, and parked our car in the village hall car park. We walked into the small town and stumbled upon a beautiful cafe in the deli. We had a lovely lunch- soup and sausage roll for me and a Brie baguette for Peter. Delicate flavour, and no sign of a greasy spoon! The weather improved a little as we drove back to Crostwice, and we even saw some sun.. Dinner was booked at The Norfolk Mead hotel. It was a beautiful meal, served in a lovely old house in the next village.

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