In my previous post I have stated that Norfolk is a flat, in fact a very flat English county. However there is a coastal strip that is undulating and whilst not that high are referred to with affection by the locals as ‘hills’.
Wild Foxglove cover the side of Incleboro Hill…..
Massed ranks of towering flower spikes standing guard of the lower slopes with military precision…..
The lower slopes are well wooded with deciduous trees of which Oak seems to be the most prolific, though even these hardy trees are stunted in growth, most likely as a result of there exposure to harsh winter winds direct from the North Sea.
Below this woodland belt the lower slopes are a maze of wildflower meadows, hedgerows and scrub, great habitat for birds, butterflies and small mammals……the Yellow on these fields is not that of the more common Buttercup but the more substantial Hawkbit…
Whilst Honey Suckle entwines its graceful way through the hedges..
In places the hedges look impenetrable….. but look more closely and you will find that they guard well trodden Carters tracks and byways that linked farms and communities along the coastal strip, grooves warn down by wheel, foot and hoof over many centuries…..
As you climb the hill and break through the narrow tree line, on yet another trackway well worn by many feet over the years, you enter yet another world of Gorse…..
Here the views are more expansive over a coarse Gorse covered dome reminiscent of the Southern Downs….
Gorse can spread and cover everything but here it seems to be well controlled by ponies that are free gracing the slopes…
But there is something odd growing over the Gorse bushes, I say odd as I have not seen the likes before. It is a sticky growth, reminiscent of that artificial frost you decorate Christmas trees with, only this is not white but either red or yellow. Not sure if it is doing the Gorse any harm but somehow I think it may…could it be fungal? I just don’t know (anyone with any suggestions as to what it is please let me know)….
I may well have been sarcastic about these not so ‘lofty’ heights but the views from the tops, looking along the coast is still worth taking in…West Runton, a village Church in the heart of a village in the shelter of the hills with a sandy shore just over the brow, quintessentially English.
The next post will take you to the beach..
24th June
© David Oakes 2013
(Due to none available internet signal posted 2nd July)
DAVID OAKES - IMAGES. 