Highlands Magic
29th March 2025
When I lived in the Midlands, one of my favourite locations to spend time away from home was North Norfolk, but the last time I had visited was when Dad was still alive, and since then a lot has changed. I'd moved to Mull, then over here to the Highlands, and I was missing some of the sights and sounds of that part of England.
So in April, with a gap in my workshops, I booked up a cottage in an area I was unfamiliar with in terms of locality, but close to all the old haunts I used to enjoy, and made the journey south and then east, via a few days in the Midlands with family first.
Would it feel weird to be there without Dad in tow? I know parts of Mull remind me of him, and how much I miss him being around. Norfolk was "our" place for our Birthdays...
I'd arranged to meet up with a friend for the majority of the time there, so we met up near Snettisham, in some lovely spring sunshine, and after a coffee and bite to eat, went for a wander around the reserve.
Not much to see close up, but it felt good to be scanning the wide expanses of shoreline and lakes in search of wildlife again.
The cottage turned out to be a brilliant choice, comfortable, well equipped, with private parking and a view across fields to a river, where we were told by the owners, a barn owl regularly hunted.
With clear skies, I thought a walk around the marshes near Burnham Norton might be nice, to perhaps see some species I don't often encounter in the Highlands, and it didn't take long to lock my eyes on to a stunning male marsh harrier. There were definitely more around that area than I had seen in 2018, so that was a treat.
Also in good numbers were brown hares, and we quickly found some near where we were staying. One of which didn't seem in the least bothered by my friend's stealthy approach, allowing for really close images to be taken.
Because it was sunny, we stayed out late and revisited an area where I'd seen barn owls before, and while we didn't connect with one on that evening, we did find more hares, and with the low setting sun, came away with some vibrant, rim-lit images of them as they became more active for the night period.
To make the best of the available light, we set the alarms for 5am and were out shortly afterwards, returning to where we'd been the night before. Was worth it too, with us watching a barn owl hunting the edges of the fields, flying right down towards us at times.
I know I see a lot of wildlife, and am very fortunate to do so, but barn owls are so special to see, and I got a real buzz from seeing it.
ISOs were a little high, but the software in Lightroom is so good these days, it can help sort the noise out, and provide a great end result.
Needless to say that the week flew by, but Norfolk reminded me why I love it so much. Great food and pubs (the Sculthorpe Mill and White Horse at Brancaster Staithe were highlights), wonderful wildlife and we were really fortunate with the weather.
After running a workshop for them for many years, it was fantastic to glimpse a pair of little owls, one of which cheekily peered over a wall at us, reminding me of the characters I miss from the farm in Worcestershire.
And the cottage owners weren't fibbing - we caught sight of the "local" barn owl hunting on a couple of evenings, and there was another little owl in an old barn near there too.
Now I just need to ensure I can get back down there again next year. I think I've got the Norfolk taste back, and while memories of being there with Dad came flooding back, I have made some new ones, and I really want to make some more.
