Meet 9.00am for prompt 9.15 departure at Sainsbury’s, Longwater Business Park NR5 0JS. Exit A47/A1074(Dereham Rd.) junction for Longwater. We shall assemble at the right side of Sainsbury’s car park. Note: SLIGHTLY EARLIER START.
Run to Castle Rising Tea Room, PE31 6AF arrive in time to order breakfast (limited spaces booked). Then short run to Dersingham Bog for about an hour’s walk on this rare ecological site (normal footwear ok, bring binoculars). Next up Wolferton Station with possible access to the platforms from 2pm.
Dersingham Bog contains three distinct habitats, mire, heath and woodland. We will head to The Mire, an acid peat bog valley bottom surrounded by Greensand escarpments marking an ancient shoreline. Owned by the Sandringham Estate it is the most intact example of an acid mire habitat in East Anglia.
Wolferton Station opened 3rd October 1862 on the single track King’s Lynn to Hunstanton railway line. In February of the same year the Sandringham Estate was purchased by Queen Victoria for the then young Prince of Wales the future King Edward VII. Wolferton Station would see many Royal trains, as in 1863, a Royal Train from London to Wolferton conveyed the then Prince Edward and his bride, the future Queen Alexandra to Sandringham after their marriage in the chapel of Windsor Castle. By the late 1890’s increased traffic and the possible dangers inherent to running Royal Trains along a busy single line resulted in the doubling of the track between King’s Lynn and Wolferton, with the installation of extra sidings to house the Royal Coaches. Also, a new downside building was built in a timber frame Tudor style designed to complement many of the existing buildings on the Royal Estate.
From Wolferton we’ll have a short run to West Acre Garden. A favourite venue of for our mid-week runs we can buy some plants (don’t forget to bring trays/boxes/plastic sheeting for the boot), stroll around the garden (no charge) and grab tea & cake.
Around 4pm we will set off for our run home, with a planned route back to A47 at Easton, Norwich.
Cafe spaces limited so do book up asap to avoid disappointment.
- David & Rosemary
- Mark
- Laurie
- Rona & Phil
- Lesley & Michael
- Christopher and Caroline
Well what a lovely day, the sun shone and hardly a drop of rain all day where we were. However saw but did not need to drive through flooded road, trees actually felled across our road albeit well ahead of us, a detour through Sandringham Estate but not Royalty in sight.
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