By the Sea . . .

“Oooh I know you’d love it!” to quote Mrs Lovett if I may? :op
Yesterday, I decided to surprise my best friend by kidnapping her and stealing her away to the coast for the day. I will miss being so close to the Seaside when my family moves back to Berkshire as it will no longer be easy to hop on the train to Sheringham, as we did today. I arrived at Ellie’s house by 8:30am (having hitched a ride with a parental taxi), grabbed a banana for brekkie and one of Ellie’s jumpers (Oh, and her) and we were on our way! Ellie is lucky enough to live close to the city centre of Norwich so it is extremely quick and easy to walk down to the Riverside station from her home.

Once on the train I grew more excited about my plans for the day, though as the train was fairly crowded we tried to restrain ourselves, just a little . . . When we landed in the dingy, drizzly, greyness that was Sheringham’s little town, we decided that I was hungry. So, in order to give the weather a chance to pick up a little, we rummaged through Budgens’ wares for food stuffs. We were lucky today because by the time we emerged it was already starting to look a lot brighter and by the time we reached the sand/shingles the sun was beaming down at us :o) Ellie and I played around for a while skimming stones across the sand and into the surf before we got bored and decided to walk to Cromer. We are simple people :op To be honest, although it may not sound very exciting to play with small stones or amble along the beach to the next-but-one Seaside town, it was so relaxing to know that we had the whole day to ourselves and we had nothing to rush home for. It was Ellie’s first full day off from work for a while and we were determined to enjoy it!

The walk was really not very far, but it took us over two hours to make it to Cromer! We were walking slowly because some old dear crashed into Ellie’s ankle with a Waitrose trolley yesterday and gave her a nasty graze which impeded her speed. We also revelled in the sandy walk, dodging between the waves and clambering over the slippery groyns. It was fun to do what Ellie and I do best (natter) in a different environment.

Once we were into Cromer, Ellie was famished so we headed for food again. We found a lovely little café away from the beach and closer into the town itself where we could sit and eat in peace. We also discovered a new restaurant/pubby place, which looks fantastic! We made plans to return for dinner that evening because it has a lot of choice (especially important for Ellie, as being a vegetablarian tends to restrict one somewhat!) and the prices seemed very reasonable. After lunch we just lounged around on the sand, eating lemon sorbet/strange ice cream mixtures and laughing at the other people enjoying the beach :op

I have to admit that no matter how many times I go, or how old I get, I think the Sea-side will always retain a powerful hold over me and my emotions. Churches get me too. Whenever I visit either, I feel a vast wave of awe crash over me and any pent-up emotions come flooding to the surface, forcing me to pay them attention. If you ever join me by the Sea, don’t be surprised to see me lost in thought as the atmosphere and setting alone can send me into a trance-like state. To be dramatic, the Sea is the key to my inner-most thoughts. It is my happy place. Hehehe.

That being said, I couldn’t live there. It’s strange how exhausting it is to breathe in the fresh Sea air. We found ourselves feeling very dozy as the afternoon progressed and, when the beach had almost emptied, we decided it was time to go home. As we waited for the 9 o’clock train, we sat outside The Station House pub and I wrote postcards to my grandparents (feeling very much like a tourist in my own county). We had very filling meals there too (we were too tired to walk back down the hill to the other restaurant). All in all it was a fantastic day and I really enjoyed myself! I think Ellie had fun too :o) I look forward to doing it again soon, and I’ll be sure to document it for your enjoyment too!
xxxx