Weybourne to Cromer

We had another most enjoyable breakfast (haddock with poached eggs) before leaving Boxwood Guest House. We pottered around Wells, going back down to the Quay and up to the Church, half a mile or so inland, and bought provisions for lunch. The wait for the bus didn't seem too long, though I had put on a different pair of walking trousers and they weren't warm enough. The bus arrived on time and we were back Weybourne around 10.30am. The weather was much better than when we were here yesterday, and we photographed the ruined Priory next to the Church. It's a lovely place.

We walked back down to Weybourne Hope, where there were sea anglers on the shingle bank. However we turned away from the shingle and walked on the cliffs as these rose up from the Beach. There were groups of walkers from Active Norfolk's Fit Together programme. This has laudable aims and it was lovely to see so many people out walking, but the large number of leaders, with yellow fluorescent jackets and first aid kits in green bum bags seemed a little OTT. To be fair, they are better safe than sorry, and these walks must be a health and safety nightmare.

We walked past the cottages at Water Hill, which seem doomed to fall into the sea eventually, though I don't know how fast the Weybourne Cliffs are receding. We continued to climb, with views to Weybourne Windmill a golf course and steam trains running on the North Norfolk Railway (the 'poppy line'). As we climbed up towards the coastwatch station on Skelding Hill, the sun came out and there were lovely views of the cliffs and shingle bank behind us. Then we reached the brow of the hill and there was Sheringham in front of us.

We walked through Sheringham, stopping for lunch in a shelter close to the point where we needed to turn uphill away from the promenade. Last time we climbed up the wrong steps (the guidebook says you should turn near a toilet block, but there are many buildings which might have been toilet blocks, and the actual toilets are now in bizarre imitation chalets along the promenade). Having found the correct steps, the route up to the top of Beeston Hill was very straightforward. There were good views from here back to Sheringham, but it had started to rain, so we stopped to put on waterproofs (and over-trousers were something of a relief because my legs were at last warm enough!).

At the caravan site at Beeston Regis, the path goes inland and you cross first the railway and then the A149. You then climb, past Beeston Hall School to reach the edge of woods. We followed the edge of the walks and then took a rather muddy path through them. The autumnal colours were pretty. The path emerged onto a track and we weren't sure of the route (the answer is to follow the track, which we didn't do, rather than look for paths through the woodland opposite).

Soon we were at the flagpole marking the highest point in Norfolk, then we meandered our way down to Cromer. We passed the station in time to catch the train just before 3pm, but it wouldn't have done at all to head home before reaching Cromer Pier which, rightly or wrongly, we consider to be the end of the Norfolk Coast Path. The route down to the Pier isn't particularly pretty, but we were soon there and after taking the obligatory photographs we celebrated the end of our second walk along the Norfolk Coast Path with tea and cake at Buttercups, just behind Hotel de Paris.

We had an excellent journey home: train from Cromer to Norwich, then Norwich to Ely and Ely to Downham Market.