12th-14th May 2017 (nights 16 & 17 of 2017)
After just two weeks since we stayed here with the family, we come back, just us. When we arrive there are already 4 pitches taken. We end up on pitch one, which is the least level. The fiddling and faffing lasted about 20 minutes, so the time we saved rushing to the site soon evaporated with the fineries of levelling using the level, the motor mover and the inadequate chock.
The caravan adjacent prove to be the least friendly neighbours so far this year. Not a nod, a wave, or a word for the two nights we were there. This is very unusual. As they have no tow bar on their car, we assume that someone else has put the caravan on site for them, and thus they are not true caravanners!
The evening is sunny but windy and after sitting out for a while we retreat to the van, where it is cosy with the evening sun. We tuck into prawn and smoked salmon salad and open the wine.
The next morning we had already arranged to meet up with family for a cuppa in the van and a walk around the RSPB reserve, and are out on the reserve by 10:45am. We get the best viewing any of us has ever had of a kingfisher who is sighted for several minutes hovering and posing on a branch overhanging the small broad. We then have a lovely chat and walk by the river Yare - which is surprisingly wide here.
In the afternoon we head off in the car to the other side of the Yare. We find a riverside pub called The Ferry House at Surlingham. It is a great spot but shortly after securing a table the heavy grey sky starts leaking and the wind whips up, putting my wine glass in jeopardy, so we find a table inside overlooking the river. We have a bit of lunch, and find the staff friendly and helpful. We then have a "chance encounter" with Derek, a lovely chap who used to run the garage we regularly used for servicing and buying cars. Since our last meeting in the bar at the hotel at Carrow Road he has semi-retired. He looks fantastically happy and content, and we have a great chat about life since we last met. He points out a waymarked footpath route by the river, all the way from Norwich to Gt Yarmouth - this interests me, and I will investigate later!
Also he now has a little cabin cruiser, berthed up over at Brundall Marina. The boat was moored by the pub, and he and his wife enjoy regularlweekend trips on the river. No wonder he looks content, this is a lovely little backwater for a relaxing cruise. We sort out contact details and hope to meet up and take a trip on the boat over the summer, if we manage to cross paths.
Supplies are purchased in one of the duo of Co-op shops in Brundall (two Co-ops seems a little excessive for a village of this size, but they both seem busy). Back at site after a cuppa and a look at the Wherryman's Way route on my Ordnance Survey map, we indulge in another perfect Caravan nap. The peacocks are quieter this weekend, and we get a good hour or so in.
The evening meal is accompanied by the best Eurovision Song Contest we have seen for a few years. The UK even manage over 100 points, unknown in recent times!
Sunday morning dawns damp and uninspiring, we pack up and head home via Attleborough Sainsbury's for a pick up of a new laptop for R, after his old one sadly departed after an unfortunate wine spillage incident. Again we don't want to come home so soon. Only two weeks until Framlingham and a long bank holiday weekend.
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