April 2025

North Norfolk has always had a special place in my heart. I first visited over fifteen years ago, and loved the landscape and especially the diverse wildlife on offer. In subsequent years, when I was living in the Midlands, I would try to head east as often as I could (sharing my time between it and Scotland), to see some of the species I fell in love with, such as brown hares, little owls and barn owls.

Around the time of my birthday in mid April, my late father (whose birthday fell on the day before mine) and I would book a cottage somewhere in the area, usually Wells-next-the-Sea, to soak up the atmosphere, drink in the views (and the local ales), enjoy great food and spend many hours out watching the wildlife.

Those wonderful trips remain in my memory, but the last one was in 2018, as after that he said he was too uncomfortable to travel, and I hadn't been back since. 

Living in Inverness makes getting over to Norfolk a little more challenging, but with a couple of weeks free in April this year, and a friend who was also keen to enjoy what North Norfolk could offer, I booked a little cottage in a different location, and set off south, to Birmingham first, and then east to Norfolk. 

Would it bring back too many memories of what I had lost? Would the wildlife be as good?

Yes and no for the first part. We visited some of the old haunts that Dad and I went to, and it felt great to be back there. Some had changed a bit, with new properties around them, some with limited or no access alas, whereas others looked as they did in my memories, and the same wildlife was still there.

I have to admit I needed a bit of encouragement to set my alarm for 5am to be out for dawn, but it was worth it. I drove us to a location that had been great for barn owls and brown hares back in 2018, and eventually it paid off.

The sun was starting to rise behind the hedgerows, and a barn owl flew over one, and started to quarter the meadow, flying down the line of the hedge to where I was crouching. I took a fair few shots, at a relatively high ISO (3200), but the pics cleaned up well, and I had the perfect image for this month.

The break was, I have to say, one of the best weeks I've enjoyed in many years. We had such a laugh, enjoyed some stunning wildlife encounters, soaked up the vibes of the east coast, were incredibly fortunate with the weather, ate like royalty, and added the sort of memories that can be revisited and treasured for life.

Now I just need to plan for a repeat visit next year!