The day started with Mr C encountering another ’shower incident’. This time there was water but it was cold. During breakfast another couple mentioned to the waiter that they had had no hot water that morning so Mr C added that we hadn’t either. This prompted another couple to speak up and say that only one of them had had a lovely warm shower earlier in the morning.

The waiter noted the problem so that it could be investigated. As it was our last morning in the hotel we will never know the outcome!

After breakfast, our final one before travelling home, we set off towards Peterborough for our first stop of the day. Once again the SatNav had other ideas and took us past the waypoint (Peterborough) causing us to have to retrace our steps.

When we arrived in Peterborough, we walked to the Cathedral to find that there was a T. Rex exhibition in part of the Cathedral with animatronic dinosaurs from the National History Museum. It was entitled ‘T. Rex: The Killer Question’. It explored the question of whether T. Rex was a ferocious hunter or just a scavenger.

We purchased tickets which also allowed us to see all of the Cathedral as part of the building could only be seen if you purchased a ticket for the exhibition. It was quite strange to hear dinosaurs roaring within the Cathedral.

Our next stop was Bosworth Battle field. We re-programmed the SatNav so it didn’t have the opportunity to bypass another waypoint. Before we arrived there, we stopped of at Welland Vale Garden Centre and had lunch in Orchard Café. I chose a basil and tomato open toasted sandwich with dressed leaves.

Mr C thoroughly enjoyed the exhibition at Bosworth, and if time had permitted, I would have enjoyed a walk around the battlefield site.

To make dining easier we picked up a ready made Indian takeaway from Sainsbury’s, sadly, the weather was not quite warm enough for us to enjoy dining on the patio.

We used a free leaflet to guide us on a walking tour pointing out historical places of interest in King’s Lynn. The tour took us to St Nicholas’ church which was currently housing an art exhibition. One of the church guides told us we should not miss going to see the nearby exorcists house which we found to be quaint and highly unusual. Unfortunately, it being Monday, we weren’t able to visit the museums as they were closed. We stopped for elevenses in a very down to earth café near the bus station, where we enjoyed the friendly banter and chatter between the locals and staff.

Whilst on the walk I chatted to a lady who had seen me taking photos and she asked what I thought of King’s Lynn. I said I liked the historical parts of the town. She told me she had moved there from South Africa about a year ago to be closer to her son and that she loves the place.

We had lunch in the delightful Tipsy Teapot where we decadently had a glass of wine to accompany our fish goujons which came with vegetable crisps and salad. After we had eaten, we completed the history walk ending up back by our hotel.

We hopped in the car and drove to Gooderstone Water Gardens which was a lovely way to spend the afternoon. Due to the lack of rain we found that the water levels in parts of the garden were low, especially so near to the bird hide.

Before dining in the hotel restaurant we relaxed in our hotel room taking in the view over the River Great Ouse

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!

Because the main dining area was being set up for a wedding later in the day, our final breakfast in the Old Vicarage took place in a more cosy dining area.

We loaded the car then headed off for King’s Lynn where we were going to stay for the remainder of our holiday. We had programmed the SatNav to include way marker destinations along our route.  After a while it became clear that the SatNav was not leading us to our first planned location, Horsey Thatched Church. By the time we realised the error it was not really feasible to backtrack. We had also missed out the coastal road that Mr C had been keen to drive along. This was a shame but we have it all to look forward to when we are next in the area.

We carried on towards Cromer taking in a couple of churches along the way; Trimingham with its 15th century rood screen and St Botolph’s Church in Trunch with its early 16th font canopy. We parked in Cromer and walked along the seafront before heading into town in search of a crab sandwich.

Cromer was absolutely heaving with people and a stark contrast to the tranquil setting of the Old Vicarage in Crostwick. Mr C noticed a place called Hot Rocks that advertised their seafood was brought in by their own fishing boat. The menu offered crab sandwiches so we took a seat inside and when they arrived the crab sandwiches were totally delicious.

After we had lunched, we returned to the car via the seafront before heading to Wells-Next-The-Sea which was even more crowded than Cromer so we decided not to stop and headed straight to King’s Lynn where we checked into the Bank House Hotel and unloaded the car before walking into town for refreshments and a quick visit to King’s Lynn Minster. Because of flooding earlier in the week we were unable to see some of the Minster’s treasures but we enjoyed what we could see.

Now it was time to freshen up in the hotel before dinner. We dined in the hotel restaurant where the food was delicious and the staff attentive. We had a nightcap in the bar and found it a refreshing change that the bar to stayed open for its advertised hours.