A Tale of Two Rivers

It was the best of days, it was the worst of days: as so often the King’s Lynn weather could not quite decide what it was up to.

The two rivers of my title are the Great Ouse and the Nar, both of which I walked along some of yesterday. Rumours the spring is  upon us may not be so far wide of the mark – I saw a privately owned boat at the Jetty on the Great Ouse in King’s Lynn…

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A brief diversion to check in on my Aunt’s place in her absence, revealed that even the most familiar of surroundings can spring surprises – this cannon ball in the entrance way to Hampton Court that I had not previously noted…

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“Cormorant Platform” revealed no cormorants, but some other sea birds…

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I continued along the riverbank further than usual, passing the new road bridge (before this was built the river could be crossed either by ferry or by taking a 12 mile detour via Wiggenhall St Germans, and paying a punitive toll to the Barons of Rising – the ruling class were even more open about fleecing us in those days!) finding more stuff to photograph…

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I spotted a position from which I could take “townscape” photos of King’s Lynn looking back down the river and bagged a couple…

Townscape 1 - can you ID all the landmarks in there?
Townscape 1 – can you ID all the landmarks in there?
Townscape 2 - with the zoom increased.
Townscape 2 – with the zoom increased.

I walked on past Palm Paper (first photograph of next series) and then just before leaving the Great Ouse (and far further inland than I would expect) I finally spotted a pair of cormorants…

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The small section of walking between leaving the Great Ouse and joining the Nar produced only a few photos…

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An unusual sight - a British roundabout and no traffic!
An unusual sight – a British roundabout and no traffic!
A ruin just on the edge of South Lynn
A ruin just on the edge of South Lynn
The South Lynn logo.
The South Lynn logo.

The Nar Valley way runs almost interrupted (save for the bit where it intersects with the Nar Valley Park development) from King’s Lynn to Dereham, so once I had hit the Nar I could follow it to the South Gate, and which point I diverged to head home through the parkland…

A distant view of the Nar Valley Park development.
A distant view of the Nar Valley Park development.

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More of the Nar Valley Park development
More of the Nar Valley Park development
A first view of the South Gate
A first view of the South Gate

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A tributary of a tributary (the Nar ultimately flows into the Ouse at what I call Cormorant Platform)
A tributary of a tributary (the Nar ultimately flows into the Ouse at what I call Cormorant Platform)

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A moorhen in the urban section of the Nar
A moorhen in the urban section of the Nar

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Almost the last pic, and the only one of the day of Britain's soon to be national bird!
Almost the last pic, and the only one of the day of Britain’s soon to be national bird!
Work proceeds apace at the bus station.
Work proceeds apace at the bus station.

I had a go as a kind of tribute to this blog’s latest follower, Charlotte Hoather, at creating a ‘playlist’ to fit my themes:

The Birds by Ottorino Respighi, The Lark Ascending by Ralph Vaughan Williams,The First Cuckoo in Spring by Frederick Delius,The Banks of Green Willow by George Butterworth, Symphony no 6, The Pastoral by Ludwig Van Beethoven. As well as these there were naturally a couple of famous ‘river’ pieces the sprang instantly to mind, Vltava (Bedrich Smetana) and the Blue Danube (Johann Strauss II) – The Great Ouse when the sun is shining is bluer than the Danube ever is (and I have seen both).

A King’s Lynn Walk

An account of a walk in an around King’s Lynn.

This walk started and finished at my compact town centre flat, and with frequent photography stops occupied two and a quarter hours.

I was on my way down the stairs that take me to street level when I took my first pic of the day, the top of the Clifton House Tower…

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From there I crossed the Baker Lane Car Park, took the bridge over the upper Purfleet and headed for the lower Purfleet and the Custom House…

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Just in shot above you can see part of the statue of Captain Vancouver…

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Where the lower Purfleet joins the Great Ouse is a glass sculpture…

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The next point of interest is the new jetty on the Great Ouse, not in use at the moment in deep midwinter…

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Hot on the heels of this comes Marriott’s Warehouse, which required two shots to do it justice…

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Next up was the carcass of the old Somerfeld and Thomas building…

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After crossing the lower Millfleet on the bridge that has a high water mark from December 2013 the next site was the remains of Boal Quay…

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A few minutes later came the meeting of the Nar and Ouse, and the structure I have dubbed ‘Cormorant Platform’. Sadly none of the birds in question were there today, but still the picture is a fine one…

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My next port of call was Hardings Pits…

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Crossing the Nar as I headed towards the next stage of the walk I got this picture…

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Next, as I headed towards the parkland areas came one of King’s Lynn’s most distinctive landmarks, the South Gate…

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From here I walked along London Road as far as the light controlled crossing, crossed and headed through Terrace Court and an alleyway to the Seven Sisters entrance to the parkland area…

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As I headed towards Guanock Gate and the Vancouver Garden I got a sight of The Walks, home to King’s Lynn Town FC (only two more promotions needed to gain league status)…

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The Guanock Gate came next, closely followed by a shot of the Red Mount Chapel looking along the upper Millfleet…

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Next came the Vancouver Garden, which I entered via one bridge and left via the other (these are the only two means of getting in or out unless you fancy a dip in open water – definitely not recommended in an English January! This area is always worth a good few photographs, and so it proved once again…

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A few minutes after this I arrived at Tennyson Road, and two more interesting things, the educational fence, a sample fo which I photographed and the King’s Lynn signal box…

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From there until Lynn Sport, a few minutes later, there is nothing of great significance, though for the first part of that distance the path runs between two academies for those interested in such things. Lynn Sport has some interesting stuff outside it, notable the brickwork bus and the ornate mile post. It also boasts an elaborate weathercock…

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Shortly after this comes the first glimpse of Bawsey Drain, which I was going to follow all the way back to town, but I started with a shot looking the other way…

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The walk along Bawsey Drain did yield a few interesting (for me at least) shots, reproduced below, the large number of flying birds as approached the town end of it being particularly impressive…

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Getting a good shot of St Nicholas Chapel is a challenge because you need to be far enough away to get it all in. Also, it is undergoing repairs/ renovations at the moment. I was pleased with this one…

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From St Nic’s it was on to the Tuesday Market Place, where as well as getting a full shot of the Corn Market I also noticed a glass sculpture on the same lines as the one where the lower Purfleet meets the Great Ouse…

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Finally, I delayed my return home just sufficiently to get some shots of the Guildhall (8 in total) and King’s Lynn Minster…

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I enjoyed doing this walk, and enhancing my photo collection.

Winter Sun and the Lower Purfleet Freezes Over.

We are in a post Christmas cold snap. There has been nothing yet to approach the icebergs on the Great Ouse of half a century ago, but at 11:30AM today under a bright sun the lower Purfleet was frozen. Birds of various species have been enjoying the conditions in spite of the cold. “Cormorant Platform” where the Nar joins the Ouse had no fewer than nine visitors today.

I have two days worth of pics to share with you (got some good ones yesterday too)…

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Gulls and terns walking on water!
Gulls and terns walking on water!

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This is the first of today's images.
This is the first of today’s images.
The next two images show the improvements happening at Hillington Square.
The next two images show the improvements happening at Hillington Square.

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Now we have some cormorant images.
Now we have some cormorant images.

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Behold - the lower Purfleet frozen!
Behold – the lower Purfleet frozen!

Out and About in King’s Lynn

King’s Lynn is benefiting from some pleasant weather today,and it is not just the human residents who have been enjoying it – a huge range of birds, some of which I captured in spite of still being restricted to my old Samsung. My twitter account continues to gain new followers.

Anyway now for some pictures…

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My Latest King’s Lynn Pictures

Just a quick post to share my latest local pictures, including some examples of how to make boarded up windows look nice. Enjoy…

Boarded up windows CAN be made to look good (pity about the positioning of the estate agent's sign)
Boarded up windows CAN be made to look good (pity about the positioning of the estate agent’s sign)

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Fishing boats at rest, the Great Ouse
Fishing boats at rest, the Great Ouse
A swimming cormorant
A swimming cormorant

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King’s Lynn Under Leaden Skies

The wind was sufficiently high for there to be waves on the Great Ouse, the sky at its best was leaden, and still I managed two walks around King’s Lynn today, one either side of lunch which was at the new Mediterrenean restaurant on King’s Lynn High Street. I have some good photos  for you (albeit still with my second best camera)…

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I call this structure Cormorant Platform, and you can see why from this shot!
I call this structure Cormorant Platform, and you can see why from this shot!

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Ceiling decor from the restaurant.
Ceiling decor from the restaurant.

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Saturday

Yesterday saw red sky in the morning, and in keeping with the old proverb the weather for much of the day was decidedly unpleasant, before it finally picked up in the evening. Also to heighten the contrast, the river was at low tide in the morning and high in the evening.

The Chinese food came about because I had some bacon left for last night’s supper, and also more Chinese leaf lettuce than I could eat at lunch time, so with the additional purchases of chestnuts and soy sauce I made my own version of a bacon and Chinese leaf dish that has been a family favourite for some years.

Last night saw week 2 of Strictly Come Dancing (available on iplayer from just after 9PM). The standard was astonishing – two couples scored 35 out of 40, and the Frankie Bridge – Kevin Clifton pairing achieved a second straight 30.

Enjoy a fine selection of pictures…Moon 2

Enough wind for waves to be breaking at the edge of a river!
Enough wind for waves to be breaking at the edge of a river!
Arctic tern casts a beady eye at the breaking waves.
Arctic tern casts a beady eye at the breaking waves.

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West Lynn Church
West Lynn Church

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These windows belong to King's Lynn Library
These windows belong to King’s Lynn Library

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Library with War Memorial in foreground.
Library with War Memorial in foreground.
The clock tower of Majestic Cinema
The clock tower of Majestic Cinema
Below this spectacular facade is a restaurant which is proving a great success.
Below this spectacular facade is a restaurant which is proving a great success.
This former chapel is now an auction house
This former chapel is now an auction house
Proof of the original usage!
Proof of the original usage!

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Under construction - Nar Valley Park
Under construction – Nar Valley Park

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Poppy with insect in attendance.
Poppy with insect in attendance.

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Group Meeting on Monday

Just a very short post to mention that the King’s Lynn Asperger Support Society of which I am group leader will be having its monthly meeting on Monday, starting at 6PM. The venue is Marriott’s and all are welcome to attend. Just a few extra photo’s with this post (will do a full post tomorrow)…

Marriott's
This is Marriott’s, where KLASS will be having its group meeting on Monday.

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King’s Lynn in two moods

Yesterday saw the weather change quite dramatically from a warm, humid morning to a rainy afternoon, and having been out twice for different purposes I have pictures showing both aspects. I also took some pictures of my new purchases (see post about the James and Sons auction on Saturday).

My social media role for the Great Centenary Charity Auction continues, with a landmark approaching in the near future on twitter since we are closing in on 200 followers there. We do also have a facebook page.

Enjoy some cracking photos…

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Gull flies low over Great Ouse
Gull flies low over Great Ouse

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Nar meets Ouse and sea birds meet freshwater birds
Nar meets Ouse and sea birds meet freshwater birds

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The Cormorant's eye view across the Great Ouse
The Cormorant’s eye view across the Great Ouse

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Arctic Tern lonely on a rock
Arctic Tern lonely on a rock

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Nine coins laid out in ten rows of three (yes, you read that right - see if you  can identify each row)
Nine coins laid out in ten rows of three (yes, you read that right – see if you can identify each row)

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The picture cards
The picture cards