Day 4 – Sunday 29 August 1999 - Winterton to Lowestoft

22 miles walked today

60 miles walked in total (average 15)

Had a late start today.  To my surprise, when I got back to Mum and Dad’s yesterday I found a load of cousins (well, only five but they make a lot of noise!) and my brother, Rat, setting up the barbecue.  Mum and Dad must be the only people I know who can throw an impromptu party for twelve without having to rush out for more food and beer!  After the Welfares had left, we adjourned indoors and Dad found the whiskey bottle.  It’s a good job he’s never run a pub – his profit margin would be nil as his measures are skyhigh.  After one shot (which was more than enough), Amanda and I arranged to leave the house this morning at 8.30 am.

However, at that time, only Shannon and myself were up and about.  So I didn’t start walking until ten o’clock.

From Winterton, the walk was through sand dunes until Hemsby when I walked through a holiday home estate to Scratby and California.

I’m fairly sure we stayed at California in 1977 – it was the Queen’s Silver Jubilee and I was about to change schools.  I’m not entirely confident of the year – we had so many fantastic holidays as kids and went all over Britain, that I only have one huge, happy, holiday memory that encompasses everywhere we’ve ever been.

           

From California, I followed a dismantled railway to Caister, where, again, I watched some more coastal defence work.  I found it fascinating to watch a small tug towing a huge container ship, especially when that ship was carrying all the boulders to shore up the beach.

I got very excited as I got close to Great Yarmouth – here was somewhere I recognised.  Of course, the place was heaving!  And, as well as the tourist element, all the bowling greens were well populated.  I’ve never seen so many white shirts and ties since I was at Holy Trinity Junior School.

There were huge banners up over town advertising the Radio 1 Road Show which I was relieved to discover that I’d missed by a couple of days.  The fewer distractions I have from walking, the better!

I’m not getting as many miles covered as I’d hoped – too many shops, too many parks to sit in, too many good places to have lunch, etc.

After lunch, I had a really gutty walk down the abandoned South Beach past the power station and docks area.  As I got to the harbour entrance, I could see across to Gorleston, but it would take me another hour and a half to get there.

At Gorleston, I decided to call it a day, but could find nowhere to stay.  I ended up in Lowestoft, some two and a half hours later, exhausted, sunburnt, shivery and smelly.  What an attractive picture I presented at the reception desk of the Viking Hotel!  They very politely declined to comment on this vagrant who had wandered in and gave me a wonderful double room for the price of a single.  Stars!

The evening was spent, after a shower and good deal of grooming, in the bar with a pint of lager shandy to celebrate.  A very successful day.

Oh, and I’m in Suffolk too!