Norfolk in winter

Christmas in Norfolk. Inside: warmth, noise, plenty. Outside: nature back to its bare bones. The fields are empty, just a few birds wheeling overhead, the distinctive skeletons of different trees standing out against the grim sky. In churchyards, dark yew trees seem to bend protectively over the grave stones.
 

fields around Langley Grange

Langley Street at sunset

reed beds at Reedham ferry

Out on the marshes, it's a different kind of  simplicity. Just the water and the reeds for miles around. The only sounds are the rustling reeds and the water gently lapping at the bank. There are no trees for the wind to whistle through. When the sun comes out the light is gentle and golden, and the clouds skim lightly along.

Reedham ferry

But when the sky goes grey with a bank of thick low clouds, it's like a great lid has come down. The abandoned windmills loom reproachfully across the water at us. In the distance, smoke from the sugar beet factory chimney highlights the contrast between the two technologies.

Hadley marshes with the sugar beet factory at Cantley in the background

Water is everywhere: even at the beach there are marshy areas, standing water, low grasses reclaiming land that was once on top of the nearby cliffs.



There are no distractions here. Just the bare elements of Norfolk: sky, sun, water.