Sweetbriar Dreams

So where shall we go on our journey today?

Saturday 16 March 2013

A Colourful Kings Lynn Trip

There is nothing like a well deserved day off work, and even more sweeter when I can spend time with my lovely mum (Mumsy).  So we planned a trip to Kings Lynn in Norfolk. It's just an hour's drive for us, so with the teenagers at school (Mr Teenager on a school trip to the Science Fair in London and Miss Teenager on a non uniform day due to Red Nose Day), off we set on our little excursion.  The sun shone occasionally, the wind was bitter when it blew, but nothing was going to spoil our day.  Just to see the colour of the fishing boats against the dullness of the river and the sky was reward indeed.  The sound of the seagulls circling the boats as they landed their catch was exhilarating.  
Further down another boat was moored, everything quiet here, just the sound of the waves lapping against the sides.  The yellow was striking against the water.
Now for those of you in Canada, here is a treat.  This is Captain Vancouver...
At his feet a bit more information...
He stands grandly in front of Custom House looking out to the river with anchors and chains trailing behind him leading to the old building.
This is the entrance (I have overlaid some information on this).
Now I do love a staircase and the architecture surrounding this one was gorgeous.
This is the Surveyor's Room...
The beautiful thing about King's Lynn is the mix of architecture.  Tudor, Georgian, Victorian, more, it's lovely to see so much down one street.  So let me take you on a walk...This is from the front of the newly named King's Lynn Minster, The orange building is on Nelson Street.
There is an opening in the house that leads into this delectable courtyard residence.
The cream building in front of this is called "The Valiant Sailor" and the former residence of Walter Dexter.  I have fallen in love with the colour on the front door!
Then, turning round, this is the street leading down to the quay.  I can imagine the creaking of the floorboards, the low windows and the feeling of walking down a room due to the beams moving (you can tell I used to live in a 16th century cottage!).  There is no distortion on the photo, this is how it looked, can you imagine the sights and sounds that this wonderful building has experienced?
There are various alleyways down to the quay.
And stunning buildings along the way.
The newly named King's Lynn Minster is beautiful.  St Margarets (which is it's original name) was my Grandparents' favourite church and where they came on their honeymoon.
It was so, so, so cold in there.  My breath was white and I had the shivers, but oh, such beautiful architecture!
The stained glass was so vibrant.
This window was just beautiful...
There were wobbly arches...
and did I mention stunning architecture?!

Once the cold had really got to us through our layers, it was time to light a candle for my Grandparents.
And head down the quay towards the shops.  On the way we came across this fantastic warehouse.  So simple but so beautiful in its own way.
and then past the 15th century Trinity Guild...
Our purchases, well I bought more wool (now there's a surprise!) for another WiP I have in mind, however I am just waiting for Jan Eaton's 200 Crochet Blocks to arrive through the post!  (I really must do a post on my projects but the light is still too dark for photos!).   And my Mumsy, well she bought a lovely photo frame to put my Mother's Day card in.

Phew!  That was a long picture trail for you.  I hope you enjoyed your trip around King's Lynn in the comfort of your own warm and cosy homes.

Have a wonderful weekend.

P.S. If you haven't joined a Link Party before take a look over at Sunlit Sunday, it is her penultimate party and it is such a lovely way to meet other bloggers.  I specifically took photos of Captain Vancouver for her as a gift to say thanks for hosting these over the weeks.

Take care.

42 comments:

  1. Beautiful photos, Chel. Just one question - were there no people there? The streets are almost eerily deserted!

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    1. I'm laughing as I answer this! I have so many photos where just as you take the shot someone appears and a hundred cars! One photo (of Nelson Street) had two tourists that were practically waving! It was busy believe me, I was just lucky at certain 'seconds' of time. Chel x

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  2. What a lovely trip! Thanks for taking us along. I love the old buildings and the wonderful stained glass.

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  3. Wow Chel it looks like you spent a whole week there never mind a day! I was thinking the same as Anne - where were all the people - was it THAT cold!? It certainly adds to the atmosphere though - I love trying to place myself back in time and imagining how things would have been - that picture of the street leading to the quay really lends itself to this. How lovely too that you were able to share the day with your mum (mumsy!)x Jane

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    1. Thanks Jane, answer is above to Anne's comment. Mumsy had a classic moment when we went to Hunstanton. Everything was quiet, she turned round to take a photo from the restaurant window and a man just stood there reading the menu outside...for ages!! This made her laugh so much, why is it everything is quiet but as soon as you want to take a shot you have a million people (slight exaggeration) occupying the space?! Chel x

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  4. Oh my! What an amazing post, and how I'd love to visit there one day. When I think of King's Lynn, two things come to mind: Sandringham and Inspector Campion. :-) I don't know how close that is, but it has to be somewhat in that neck of the woods? I thoroughly enjoyed these photos. And thanks for weighing in on the pros and cons of an Aga. I can see now that it's not so much that I really want an Aga, but I do love the look. Maybe I can invent a cover that goes over my electric range - one that *looks* like an Aga - and I can switch covers so that one day I can have a yellow Aga and another day I can have a raspberry colored Aga. LOL All the best, Judy. If I ever figure out Google+ and circles, I will add you to mine. :-)

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  5. Gorgeous architectural images! I always wish looking at shots like these that I could have the soundtrack that fits their era overlaid on them ... imagine how different the town would have sounded in 1900, 1800, 1700 ... I enjoyed this post :)

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  6. I've only been the once and that was such a long time ago. It does look ever so lovely though,

    Nina x

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  7. Wow! What a fun trip for you and Mum ~ Great photos ~ favorite is the fishing boats ~ Enjoy ^_^

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  8. What a wonderful tour...especially being able to see those beautiful windows.
    Balisha

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  9. And again such wonderful, wonderful photos! Thank you so much for sharing. It's like going on holiday on my desktop ;-). Happy weekend!!

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  10. I enjoyed my visit to King's Lynn with you and your mother! That old staircase in the Custom House is marvelous and of course all the arches and architecture of St. Margarets but even that delicious raspberry color on the doors and window shutters of the old warehouse is beautiful. For someone who has never been to England and is not likely to be able to go, these visits are next to the real thing. Now to find a map and locate East Anglia. Slowly I am beginning to make sense of England's geography, through blogs!

    Thank you for your visit to me, too!

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    1. You are more than welcome. Thank you for your lovely comments. Chel x

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  11. Now, you must stop this... Every time you write the new post, I feel the urge to just jump in the next plane for England. Each of your pictures remind me of how much I love this part of the world and how much I miss it... I enjoyed that "day" in Kings Lynn very much, especially as I didn't have the time to visit the town when I was in Norfolk.

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    1. :-D one day you will have to return!! Have a great weekend. Chel x

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  12. Lovely photos. The buildings look so picturesque. I though the same as Anne too, was it that windy and cold? The same thing you describes often happens to me - just as I get the camera ready what feels like about 100 people and their cars all appear into shot :) Have a lovely weekend Chel! Elisabeth xx

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    1. It was windy and cold, so it probably wouldn't have been as busy as a Saturday, and with people dressing up for Red Nose Day, they were probably too nervous to be captured by camera!! Have a great weekend. Chel x

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  13. I enjoyed the trip ever so much - learned new things and saw beautiful buildings.

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  14. What a wonderful day you two had. I love history and old buildings so this is right up my alley. Beautiful! Best wishes, Tammy

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  15. Thank you for a lovely trip! I love the UK and used to be able to visit much more often than I can now.

    Big Hugs,
    Susan and Bentley

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  16. SO wonderful... I loved the picture especially the stained glass windows it makes me want to save and visit this place someday. wow...keep them coming it is like we vacation through your cameras viewpoint. SO love your blog.

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  17. I think I would like to go there someday. Dottie

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  18. Lovely serie of photos. Nice to study!

    But, how did you manage to take all these great photos without any people?
    Did you go there very early or did you chase them away?

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    1. Believe me, it took a while to wait for people and cars to disappear. I have a magic wand really! If you read my reply to Anna and Jane above you will see the problem I had. Next time I promise I will get some faces in...you watch nobody will be in shot! Thanks for your visit. Chel

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  19. Chel, thank you so much for this tour of such a lovely town! I am completely charmed by it and I love all the different styles of architecture. My goodness!

    Thanks so much for joining in this week!

    xo
    Claudia

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  20. What a fantastic trip! Your pictures are so wonderful, I actually felt as if I was really there! Beautiful.
    M xxxx

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  21. Looks like a fantastic place.

    Love love the photos.

    Wishing you a very happy St. Patrick's Day.

    Hope it's not too cold in your part of the UK
    it is freezing here!!

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  22. Hello, Chel

    Thank you very much for the thoughtful gift of photos featuring Captain Vancouver; the ties between our countries are strong ones.

    I enjoyed the walking tour with you and your mother. It's fascinating to see the architecture and to imagine the lives that were lived within those walls over the centuries.

    I'm happy that you have enjoyed Sunlit Sunday and hope the invitation you issued to others is something they will consider.

    One more scroll through these beautiful photos of King's Lynn before I go . . .

    -Karen




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  23. King's Lynn looks like a beautiful place to visit. Thank you for taking us along. The architecture in the church is stunning. I also like the coloured window frames on some of the buildings - so striking. Thanks, too, for the statue of Captain Vancouver. I live on Vancouver Island (not the city of Vancouver) and we have a statue of him here, too!

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  24. What a treat to find you through Sunlit Sunday. I'll definitely be back. Like Lorrie, I live on Vancouver Island (there aren't that many of us, but we sure like to blog!). Your photos make me wish to add King's Lynn to my long list of places I'd like to see.

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  25. Hi Chel,
    Greetings from Newfoundland. Thanks for the armchair tour - love it!
    Linda at Beautiful Ideas

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  26. What a wonderful place for a daycation. There were so many lovely photo opportunities.

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  27. Wow that was enjoyable. I'd love to walk everywhere there....I'd enjoy all the buildings, inside and out and I'd love to hear the sounds. I was wondering where all the people were but I see in some other comments you've answered that. Thanks for sharing this!

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  28. Hi Chel! You take such beautiful photographs. And you take images of the exact same things I would choose. We must be the same sort of traveller/tourist/memorykeeper! Where are all the people in that town? All the streets and sidewalks were empty! You said it was very COLD that day - I guess everyone else stayed home! Thanks for Captain Vancouver. Funny - I always thought Vancouver was named by our Native Peoples, not a Brit!

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  29. Your tour was amazing. Thank you. Why do you suppose that they change the name of a street?

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  30. Hi Ruth, apparently the name was changed after Horatio Nelson won at the Battle of Trafalgar. The renaming happened in 1805. Lath Street as it was known, was named after the Lath Mansion, which apparently is now residential flats. Lord Nelson was a Norfolk man who lived about 25 miles away. Thanks for the question, I love looking into things a bit more. Take care. Chel x

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  31. Thank you so much for the delightful photo tour! I enjoyed every one of them! What a fun day you and your mum had! I just returned from a fun weekend with my daughter...:) You can read about it on my blog! Again....I so enjoyed the tour!

    Vicky
    Life On Willie Mae Lane

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  32. Hi Chel, thanks so much for taking me on your tour of Kings Lynn. I felt like I was on the trip with you and loved looking at the buildings, architecture and stained glass windows and would have loved to have been there with you to hear you explain everything! You are really making me want to come and visit England over the summer. I love all the pictures you took.
    Take care, Julie - USA

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  33. Beautiful shots. Europe has such amazing history. I hope to get over there in my lifetime.

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  34. I loved the tour on Kings Lynn. Other than London, the only city in England I have explored is Bath. I would love to spend months in England just looking at cute little towns.

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  35. I really thankful to you for this great read!! You did a very great job, keep it up.
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