For anyone thinking of doing this walk we’d offer the following comments:
* Firstly it is a brilliant walk – there are many different surfaces on which you walk – wooden platform, pebbles, soft sand, hard sand, grass, lanes etc. Only two sections are really hard going one on pebbles/shingle (about 2 miles) and another on soft sand (about 1.5 miles) although this can be avoided by walking off of the route.
* Buy a copy of “Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path” ISBN 978-1-84513-570-6 (£8.58 free P&P from www.bookdepository.co.uk) before getting maps – you’ll probably decide you don’t need maps (although some us just like them). The book is extremely good and the path well marked.
If you enjoy bird watching, there are many varied habitats along the route – sea, coastal flats, fields, reed beds, gorse etc. In total we identified 60 species (including Avocets (at least 18) and Beaded Tits (1 pair) and we didn’t visit any of the hides, reserve stations or stop to do any proper bird watching – these were just what we saw as we walked.
* The Coast Hopper bus service is brilliant! Definitely download and print off the timetable from their site. It runs every 30 mins and comes within 0.5 mile of the walk every few miles. The drivers are extremely helpful (as one who grew up without a car and depended on buses on all holidays, these drivers are a totally different breed), and the cost of the bus is so reasonable that it actually works out cheaper than car on many of the journeys even for two people. In total we only walked about an additional 4 miles getting to buses and car which is very low for 5 days.
* The Christmas gift from plfc of this stay at Lisa and Chris’s cottage proved ideal for this walk, being near one end and on the Coast Hopper route.
* I think the idea of walking with the prevailing wind was probably right although we certainly had a strong head wind over the last 3-4 miles as we headed SW (fortunately it was warm and without rain).
* There are many places to get a cup of tea on route! so we could have avoided the weight of carrying drinks, but it was hot and it’s always nice to drink as you walk.
* The only bit we probably wouldn’t bother with another time is the inland deviation between Brancaster and Thornham, although if we do it again D.V. we’ll probably end up doing all of it just for the satisfaction.
* Birds seen on the walk were as follows: Moorhen, Coot, Avocet, Ringed Plover, Redshank, Cormorant, Black Headed Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Common Tern, Sandwich Tern, Kittiwake, Fulmar, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Oyster Catcher, Shelduck, Mallard, Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Turnstone, Tufted Duck, Greylag Goose, Marsh Harrier, Buzzard, Kestrel, Lapwing, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Rock Dove, Robin, Blackbird, Great Tit, Long tailed Tit, Blue Tit, Beared Tit, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Marsh Warbler, Whitethroat, Winchat, Sky Lark, Gold Finch, Chaffinch, Yellow Hammer, Sand Martin, Swallow, House Martin, Pied Wagtail, House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Dunnock, Wren, Starling, Jackdaw, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Grey Partridge, Pheasant, Red-legged Partridge