Wells to Stiffkey and return

Wells-next-the-Sea is bustling town and a historic port. The long embankment (Beach Road) was not built until the 19th Century; prior to that the main channel to the sea used to meander among the creeks. For all that, this was the chief port between King's Lynn and Yarmouth and more than 60 ships were built in Wells between 1801 and 1860. At that time the primary trade was the import of coal, timber and salt, and the export of corn, barley and malt for breweries - and one of the other industries was malting. Some of the many granaries and maltings still exist, but most have been converted into housing or commercial use. An impressive feature of the harbour is the large granary building (now converted into luxury flats) with its distinctive overhanging gantry.

We parked in the harbour car park, walked along the quay, then found a bench to sit on so stopped for lunch, despite the fact that we were only just outside the town. We soon reached an embankment (with superb views to the saltmarshes and the sea) and followed this, turning first right and then left around the fringes of an inlet.

The path emerged onto grassy (if rather muddy!) open ground and we walked straight ahead, with lots of seabirds on the marshes of Warham Greens to our left, and glimpses of the sea in the distance. We walked as far as the car park at Green Way (just short of the village of Stiffkey - pronounced 'Stewkey'). There is obviously good birdwatching here - the car park was full of twitchers.