We've now made two visits to the Norfolk Broads, each of about ten days. We haven't seen or done anything like all there is to see and do. There's lots left for the years ahead!

Beyond going under Potter Heigham bridge (s) and a token (very brief) visit to Horning, they have not been AR pilgrimages, so this is merely a record of what some visitors have found so far. We wouldn't be ashamed to tell Nancy about it.

We're lucky enough to have friends with similar enthusiasms living in East Anglia, so we haven't needed help, but Henry and Lynn Ferguson are TARS members who offer B&B and the hire of boats. I'm sure they, or Carol Harmond of the Coot Club website, and probably anyone on the regional TARS committee, would be worth contacting for anyone planning a visit. I say that without their permission. (ok by us - Lynn, Henry and Carol :-))

That brings me straight to geography. The region has a lot in common with The Netherlands. Most of recent history has been a battle against the waters, hence the windmills , though no longer in use for their original purpose. The network of waterways, too, is almost entirely man-made, and in spite of heavy use, nature has still to be kept at bay by the use of reed cutters . Much of the land is still in transition from swamp.

Further inland, there are scenes that are pure Constable . And though there are Flemish elements to the architecture, it has lots of purely original elements; the variety of chimneys is a delight as are the flint churches, with round towers a particularity not to mention the reed thatched cottages (no photo, sadly), and village signs .

There is also a wealth of grander houses, the one shown is called Mock Beggar Hall - and behind the rather plain frontage is the most beautiful, rambling, mellow brick manor house

However, sailing was our primary interest. Most of it was on Hickling and Horsey Broads . The latter in particular provided some fine sailing. We later took in three reefs on the mainsail, and shortened the foresail; excellent practice for the crew; and composed appropriate words to the tune of "Row, row, row your boat".

The return through narrow Hundreds dyke against the wind can be hard work, even calling for donkey power. We saw our first bittern there. But more of birds later.

There's less motor traffic on the upper reaches of the River Thurne, since many of the larger cabin cruisers can't get under Potter Heigham bridge, though full-blown hullabaloos are not unknown.

For the most part, people are delightfully courteous and considerate. (I might add that it seems also true of those on land. One of the major delights of early morning bicycle rides was the cheerful greeting I got from everyone I passed. What a start to the day!)

There are some wonderful wooden craft to be seen , including the occasional wherry . Small lug-sail dinghies can be hired at a modest price, to provide some variety though they have limitations in light winds. A canoe is also handy, either towed astern for exploring the fringes of the Broads, or seen here discovering one of the smaller rivers inland.

Mornings can be chilly, even in mid-August, with the mist rising slowly, but the early morning has other charms, like a heron fishing. Which brings me back to birds - in their thousands , a coot on Potter Heigham bridge, moorhens, grebes, cormorants, swans , ducks and geese galore , not to mention the smaller wetland birds that are also there in abundance. Even the bittern is making a recovery. We saw one both years (sorry, no photo! - I'm working on it CH ;-)). And no, we're not egg-collectors ! This was floating in mid-stream.

I said at the start that it had not been an AR pilgrimage; perhaps I was wrong.