Whilst Mr C was using the shower the water flow unexpectedly stopped. I was just about to go down to reception to report the issue when the water flow, just as unexpectedly, started again. Mr C showered quickly before anything else could go wrong. The breakfast menu was comprehensive and cooked to order. I chose items from the meat free breakfast; falafal sausage, flat iron mushroom, hash brown and fried egg. It was delicious.
After breakfast when we got in the car to travel to Castle Rising we noticed that a bird had christened the new windscreen. How rude! Castle Rising has a keep surrounded by massive earthworks. It has been owned by the Howard family, Dukes of Norfolk, since 1544, although English Heritage maintain its upkeep. I gingerly walked along earthwork ridge before entering the keep.
Before going to our next destination, Welney Wetlands Centre, we stopped off at the tearoom near to the castle for elevenses. I settled on a refreshing glass of Elderflower Presse whilst Mr C enjoyed a cup of tea. We chose to sit outside on a garden bench surrounded by trees.
The road to the wetlands centre is long and extremely bumpy. The wetland site differs from the one at Arundel and indeed Slimbridge, both of which I have visited. We saw hardly any birds along the woodland path, although we could hear them. We decided to retrace our steps and visit the hides that were in a different direction. We had seen birds (including Martins close up) from the main hide as we entered the site but the other hides failed to reveal anything. We did see a lone swan walking with an ungainly gate across a dried up wetland area.
As we were leaving we saw more birds at the bird feeder next to the café than we had seen in the rest of the site. I treated myself to a book on British birds and whilst making my purchase the lady who was serving me said she had had her eye on that book too.
We returned to the hotel where we had refreshments in the hotel bar before dining in the hotel. It was Sunday so a roast was on offer. I chose pork which was delicious but the meal was huge!
A disappointment for you to see so few birds, but I understand a huge number have succumbed to Avian Flu, Cherie
I think is was partly because the water levels were quite low. We could hear birds, just not see them apart from the main hide.
Oh, I think winter is the best time to visit wetlands.
The good news is, it’s getting colder.
Yes
From autumn into winter is the best time to visit wetland areas due to the birds that migrate to them in the cooler months.
But the resident smaller birds were hiding from us.