On the Wolf Trail

After the last full London trip with so many wonderful things to reflect on and digest, I felt the need to visit the romance and open spaces of the seaside.  I wanted to walk along the cliff tops listening to the gulls, sink my toes into the soft sand and drink in the atmosphere around the light house at Old Hunstanton.

Myself and Mumsy wanted to spend some time together and walk along the Wolf Trail.  No, there are no real wolves in Old Hunstanton, just wooden ones!  The Wolf Trail tells the story of St Edmund, the first Patron Saint of England.  The trail takes you from the cenotaph to the lighthouse and the wolf statue.  

Legend has it that St Edmund surrendered to the Vikings and was then tied to an oak tree where he was tortured.  He would not renounce his religion so was then used as target practice by the Viking archers and was then beheaded with his head being buried in a forest.  After a month his supporters went to search for his head and heard St Edmund's voice shouting 'Here!'.  They were shocked to eventually find his head between the paws of a motionless wolf, who then stood up and quietly retreated to the depths of the forest.

The wolf sculpture was unveiled in 2011 and was designed by Jean Mulligan.

The sad thing along this trail were the occasional cut flowers blowing against the flimsy chicken wired barrier between the grassed area and the ever crumbling cliff edge.  Along with these were the contact details of the Samaritans, a last attempt to say there is someone to listen.  Heartbreaking.

We were now at the simple but romantic lighthouse, no longer in active use, but used as a rental holiday home.  Can you believe that this was built in 1666!!

Standing in front of the archway, it gave such a perfect frame to this beautiful building.

But we had finished the wolf trail and wanted to walk down to the sand dunes and back along the beach.

And this time, the danger was not walking off the cliff top, it was now the cliff falls.

This end of Hunstanton has so much space and of course, acres of sky.

Giving the perfect opportune moment to fly a kite!

And listen to the chatter of the gulls in their cliff side homes.

Along with watching the little boats sailing amongst the sand banks.

Stopping occasionally to look at a barnacle or two along the beach.

These were attached to the photogenic skeleton of a steam trawler called Sheraton which has graced Old Hunstanton's shores since 1947!

I just love getting up close to the skeleton of objects and seeing the structure that gives them their personality.

Looking at this structure made me think of whale bones on a shore.

With the wolf filling its belly for the winter!

Our walk was a lot shorter today, with fresh sea air and open scenery.

 Ice cream to enjoy along the way.

 And vibrant colours of a different nature.

This was a relaxed day to enjoy some peace and quiet before the school and college terms began and it certainly worked a treat!

So now, with my birthday weekend here, I will be enjoying a busy and emotional day at Greenwich's Tall Ships weekend.  I can't wait to share this with you next week!!

Have a wonderful weekend and week.

Take care.

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Life Can Be Like A Rough Day At The Seaside

Firstly, thank you from the bottom of my heart for the lovely comments we have received regarding my hubby's health scare.  Tests have so far come back as nothing too serious, thank goodness, and the waiting should not be long now for the final results.

Last weekend we decided to brave the elements and visit Hunstanton, probably for the last time this year, and before the storm hit the UK shores!  As we walked along, my mind was full of worries and 'what ifs'.  The weather was stormy which reflected the way I was seeing things.  Life and relationships are constant, stable and strong at first with occasional ripples along the way.  Strong relationships, be they loving relationships or true friendships, are built to last and time continues effortlessly.

But then, occasionally, something will rip the ground from under us.

With dusting ourselves off and the power of positive thoughts and prayers, we see the parts that have broken in our lives in a much more constructive way.

Waves of good thoughts start to wash over us.

And our loved ones help take on the tide of life for us.

Picking us up when we feel so alone.

The skies feel bluer.

And life's journey doesn't seem so bad.

We then find we are not alone.

Life can be like a rough day at the seaside, but there are always people to help you ride the waves.

They are the ones that look at you at a distance to make sure you are ok, supporting you, loving you, cherishing every moment spent with you.

He is ok, that is all that matters.

Ok, now then, a completely different change of direction with this blog post, some Christmas cheer!  Have you visited Vicky at Life at Willie Mae Lane?  She has a beautiful blog and is now hosting a Christmas Ornament Exchange.  What an amazing idea!  I have put her link to this in my side bar.  Go on, put your name down, this looks so much fun and a great way to meet new blogging friends.

Enjoy your week!  We certainly will now.

Take care.

 ♥ Chel ♥ 

 (Remember that if you want to see a larger version of my photos just click on one and a slide will appear)

 

52 Weeks of Happy 44/52

I have been looking forward to this moment for a long time, yes a whole week off work, let me just relish and savour that thought for a moment... a whole week!  While the kids have been off school it has been very hard for me to tear myself away first thing in the morning when they are still very much in their teenage vegetative coma slumber. But now I can have a lay in and start the day lazily, PJ's on until it is time to go out and drag ask the teenagers too.  Well that's the plan! Whether this will happen is another story!

 ♥ So my first happy I am sharing with Jen at Little Birdie has to be saying a 'see you soon' to this wonderful place I call work.  It truly is a fantastic place and I am so privileged and lucky to work within its precincts.  The Cathedral always makes me smile when I drive across this path.

 ♥ My second happy is saying 'I told you so' to my two teens.  All those years I was saying 'look at the huge weetabix in the fields' and their faces and tuts said it all - yes I was right!

 ♥ My third happy was a little trip to Hunstanton today which started off very cloudy but ended up warm (but not hot - I don't do hot!).  Very busy being a bank holiday weekend but we managed to find a little corner on the quieter end of the beach where the dog walkers are.

 ♥ My fourth happy has to be a trip we have planned for next week at The Beamish Museum in Co Durham.  This will be a small family reunion and a long train journey but to meet in such a great living museum will be brilliant.  Photos to follow in next week's post.

So a short one this week due to all the planning and school shopping going on but I do plan on having a couple of mornings in my pj's!

I hope you all have a very happy week as I certainly will, especially with the amount of photos that I'll be taking! 

Take care. 

 ♥Chel♥ 

 (Remember that if you want to see a larger version of my photos just click on one and a slide will appear)

The Simple Pleasures

Yes, simple pleasures were running through my mind as I wrote this post looking out on my garden which had been basically left to look after itself over the half term break.  In particular the beautiful daisies that I have been nurturing between the inevitable lawn mowing.  Such dainty, simple flowers that instill so much joy to me.  I know most people regard them as a weed, and they are spreading slightly, but these cheery little flowers always makes me smile.

Now, back to my post properly, I can always tell if Mr and Miss Teenager have had a good half term break from school from the amount of fighting disagreements they have.  After all these years I think I have found the formula, don't tell them what they will be doing each day...just pile them in the car and do it.  They are then in the frame of mind of "where is she taking us", "well, actually, this looks interesting", "let's go and see".  Their half term break took them to Chelmsford in Essex to see their new cousin, Burghley House in Stamford for a fantastic country fair (post here), London (post here), and little pockets of local visits.  By the time Saturday came I had the last trip planned, to the seaside.  I was practically crawling by this stage as I had not had a break at all, in fact I was quite looking forward to going back to work to sit at my desk!  Being in my mid 40's my age is finally catching up with me!  The weather in 'Sunny Hunny' - Hunstanton, was not great, but pleasant enough for a walk on the beach, fish and chips and a play on the 2p machines.  But as I was hobbling walking along, my mind was only on reflecting on things around me, the simple pleasures.

The rocks on the beach.

The sea breaks.

The waves coming in to shore and that sound it makes as it hisses on the pebbles.

The ponies waiting to exercise their legs on the massaging sand.

The seagulls riding the breeze.

My two teenagers together...nicely!

After that, it was 'ME' time.  I HAD to rest...SERIOUSLY!  My simple pleasure was to just take stock of what was going on in the garden.  I had nearly failed to see the ringed dove building her nest in the cherry blossom.

I had nearly failed to see the new blackbird chick who had now seen our garden as a happy, safe haven.

I had almost failed to see the first rose.

There are many more to come.

I had nearly failed to see the new colours that were now appearing in my patch of a garden.  The aquilegia...

 ...French Lavender with it's beautiful purple butterfly wings dancing in the breeze...

...the grape vine unfolding it's flavoursome leaves, ready for me and Miss Teenager to eat later in the year as Dolmades...

 ...my herb bed is growing so quickly, ready for me to keep cutting and filling up jugs of herbs in my kitchen...

 ...the mustard flowers ready for a salad...

 ...the beautiful stems of pink penstemon...

 ...blue flowers amongst the ivy with a little eight legged visitor...

...strawberry flowers are popping up everywhere!

...sweet rocket...

...the colours are all beginning to come through the luscious green...how long we have waited!

 Spider's are having to renew their webs with the abundance of insects for their larders. 

My feet were sore, my legs ached from all the walking during the half term, my mind just wanted to drift off and think of...nothing.  But, in my garden the plants and wildlife were gradually developing into a simple pleasure that was patiently waiting for me to capture.  A simple pleasure that was quite happily bobbing along without too much interaction from me, just waiting for me to finally sit down and take it all in.

So thank you little daisies for bringing me back to enjoying the simple pleasures again.

I hope you have enjoyed my little trip this week, a bit closer to home this time.  I hope you are enjoying your own simple pleasures...and I have a simple pleasure for you...a lovely chocolate muffin...

Now before I disappear for this week and catch up on my blog reading, I have a little request from Miss Teenager.  She LOVES drawing characters and needs names for a couple of these...

She is looking for a name for the boy on the left and the girl on the right - these need to be very original (in her words "not Paul, Dave etc but something really individual" - remember she is 13 going on 18).   Now, I have a blog anniversary coming up on the 22 June!  Yes, I have been blogging for coming up to one year!  So, I'm going to do a couple of little giveaways to mark the occasion and the names of the boy and girl picked by Miss Teenager will be the winners!  You can either comment below, leave a tweet over at Twitter or use my new email form on the left of my blog.  We are really excited to hear the names that are put forward.

Have a wonderful week.

Take care.

This week I am sharing with:

Open House
Simple and Sweet Fridays
Cottage Style Party
Home Sweet Home
Weekend Flowers
Weekly Top Shot
Seasonal Sundays
Homeacre Hop
Sunny Simple Mondays