Round Norfolk Walk Day 1 - Yarmouth to Oulton Broad

Distance: 20 miles
Ascent: 100m ish
Weather: warm and sunny, bit breezy

After a warm night, complete with fireworks (earplugs went in not long after they'd started)  we were down for breakfast on the terrace for 8am. It was sunny and warm, with a bit of a breeze off the sea and extremely pleasant.

We set off walking at 9:30, heading back through town (spurning Greggs!) and were soon on the Angle's Way (named after the Angles the people, not because it is angled, although bits of it are) and out on the banks of Braydon Water - along with many dog walkers,  although we were soon of our own.

The riverside path is lined with  wildflowers and has on the one side the River Yare,  with boats travelling up and down in the channel marked with posts on either side of the wide mudflats, and to the other side a reedy drainage channel,  where there were lots of reed buntings and sedge warblers. We saw lots of dragonflies and mayflies,  bees, butterflies (including some small blues), skylarks and a man harvesting mud.

Also seen: grey heron, shelduck, redshank, mallards, little egrets, black-backed gull, black headed gull, two marsh harriers, oystercatcher, mute swan and a couple of kestrels.

We left the path briefly at Burgh Castle to look at the remains of the roman fort Gariannonvm, which is pretty impressive, some of the very thick walls were leaning over rather alarmingly.

We stopped for a sit down and elevenses by some moorings by the river, enjoying the blue skies with fluffy white clouds, windmills and boats, then we turned inland, following the footpath signs, which round here also show distances to pubs and fish and chips shops, which is handy.

We detoured through Belton to visit the shop but were soon back on the Way, passing a horse sanctuary, with lots of donkies and then Fritton Decoy, which is a lake which was a secret tank facility during the war.

After here we went downhill, which was unexpected because we hadn't noticed any up, into woods where the paths are lined with dark murky ponds, and there's quite a lot of wooden boardwalks.

Passing a farm, we saw a 'sheep grazing' sign and then got barked at by some funny looking sheep.

We had lunch by thatched church St Mary s Ashby, which is a popular spot, we just managed to snag a bench.

Somerleyton has a big house that we didn't visit, with very pretty houses around a pretty green. There was loud singing of Spirit in the Sky coming from somewhere, either they had a band on at the pub or outdoor karaoke, either way the chap wasn't up for letting anyone else have a go. The path takes you all around the village rather unnecessarily unless you want the train station, so we were treated to much singing..

There was a pretty path along the edge of woods near Blundeston Marshes and Flixton Marshes, the woods were quite dank, but we saw a normal deer, Muntjac deer, swifts, a coot carrying a very long reed, squirrels and bunnies. Coming into Oulton Marshes you can't really see the river due to the big houses in the way.

We are staying at the Wherrybridge and have been upgraded to the King Suite.