Archive for the ‘South East England’ Category

Seahenge   Leave a comment

In 1998, Norfolk man John Lorimer discovered a seven metre long oval of 55 oak posts in the tidal mud at Holme-next-the-Sea, encircling an inverted oak trunk. This Bronze Age ritual site had been uncovered beneath an eroding ancient peat layer. Excavations began, before the site eroded away. The press showed an uncharacteristic interest in [...]

Great Yarmouth   Leave a comment

Images of Great Yarmouth. Well, why not.

Flotsam and Jetsam   Leave a comment

Seen on a quiet Norfolk beach.

Posted January 30, 2012 by MRY in East Anglia, Norfolk and Suffolk, South East England

Red Sands Fort redux   2 comments

Someone mailed me yesterday and asked me about the logistics of paddling to Red Sands Fort, out in the Thames Estuary. To my shame, I can’t find the email and have no idea what I did with it. If you’re reading, any chance you could contact me again, please?

Saxon Shore Forts   Leave a comment

These photos are of the Roman fort of Gariannonum, built overlooking the tidal lake of Breydon Water in Norfolk. Built in the third century, it originally guarded a much more extensive estuary. Gariannonum is one of the enormous ‘Saxon Shore Forts’. In cAD 395, an Imperial register ‘Notitia Dignitatum’ described the ‘Saxon Shore Forts’, under the [...]

Cromer Crab   Leave a comment

As well as having a very nice pier, Cromer in Norfolk is also famous for the locally caught crab, claimed to be the best in the UK. It’s a little known fact that one of my sisters is actually a published expert on this topic.

Posted December 13, 2011 by MRY in East Anglia, Media, Norfolk and Suffolk, South East England

Cromer Pier   1 comment

Cromer’s pleasure pier was built in 1901, with a lifeboat station added on the end. It was breached in 1940, lest the Nazis invaded via it. It was then apparently realised that the lifeboat station couldn’t be reached, so it was bridged again! The current huge RNLI shed was built in 1998. Cromer was originally [...]

Orford Ness   Leave a comment

Hidden away in a remote corner of Suffolk is a 16km long shingle spit called Orford Ness. It’s a huge and important geological and ecological feature, but what those who make the journey to this obscure spot will remember is the Cold War legacy. Orford Ness has been used for all sorts of military functions in [...]

Moving Office   1 comment

Just a day or two left at work and we’re out of here…yes, the summer hols have arrived. We’ll be loading up our mobile office with kayaks and surfboards…but also with laptops and books. We have an awful lot of book writing to get done in the next six weeks, so we’re almost praying for [...]

Posted July 20, 2011 by MRY in Kayaking, Scotland, South East England, Surfing, Wales, Writing

London Kayakathon 2011

This event took place on Sunday 17th April this year, and we were there! I usually shy away from organised kayaking events; anything that involves ‘rules’, let alone wearing a bib, really isn’t my thing. However, this was a fantastic experience that Heather and I enjoyed no end, for various reasons; Superb organisation – nearly [...]

Posted April 27, 2011 by MRY in Chris, Kayaking, River Thames, South East England

Easter Tour   Leave a comment

Just returned from a splendid two weeks of sea paddling that has been diverse, to put it mildly. First we visited Pembrokeshire in west Wales. Then, we headed to London and the Thames estuary. After a quick call in back home, we had planned to head up to NE England or maybe Anglesey in north [...]

And now for something completely different…   Leave a comment

Last night, I found myself east of London, down in the south-east for the London Kayakathon. I took the opportunity to visit Red Sands Forts, nine miles offshore in the Thames estuary. I was joined by Jen, who was dauntingly fit and fast as she’s doing the 126 mile Devizes to Westminster Race next week. [...]

Hangover   1 comment

Apologies for the awful photo quality- these pictures were taken by a mobile phone and I had (have) a hangover. I crossed the road from our hotel on Brighton seafront this morning, to get some fresh sea air and clear my head. I was amazed to see wood strewn all along the beach and floating [...]

Posted January 20, 2008 by MRY in Incidents, South East England