Beeston Bleakness: Cold Cliffs

Just a few shots taken on my iPhone from the Beeston Bump. This was a cold, blowy, mist-shrouded November afternoon, on which it felt like night was falling at about 2pm. From the top of the hill you could see the mist creeping slowly over Sheringham like a malevolent spectre. It was a good afternoon to be indoors, in the warmth, beneath a blanket or two.

Overlooking the Ocean: The Beeston Bump

An early-morning visit to Beeston Hill, Beeston Regis, just outside of Sheringham. More commonly known as the Beeston Bump, it certainly doesn't look much from these pictures, yet this cliff-top hill is possibly my favourite place in Norfolk, offering beautiful views down the length of the coast. Peering down onto the mish-mash of rooftops of Sheringham gives the little coastal town a model railway feel.

Atop the Bump are the concrete remains of a Second World War Y-Station. These stations collected material and information to be passed along to the code-crackers of Bletchley Park. Beside these remains stands a small triangulation pillar (orw trig point) - erected by Ordnance Survey in the mid-1930s, thousands of these were erected during the Retriangulation of Great Britain. The project more accurately measured and mapped the land, forming the basis of the British national grid reference system.

Massive projects that can shape the course not only of a region but of a nation. Little sense of it today, especially at a quiet 6am with the sun rising over the sea and the gulls cawing across the cliffs. Like I said, it's probably my favourite place, up there.

Hello Down There: The Sheringham Park Gazebo

I love seeing the world from man-made high places. I find something strangely moving about seeing the unfolded world from the unnatural perspective of, say, the top of a multi-storey car park, a church tower, or a block of flats.

Anyhow. The gazebo in Sheringham Park. The park, known for its varieties of rhododendrons, has several smaller viewing stations and platforms overlooking the gardens. Not particularly one for flowers, however, it is this tower that I'm more interested in. Opened in 1988 by the Prince of Wales, it is relatively obscured by the surrounding trees although still offers a great view of the coast. The windmill at Weybourne, the North Norfolk Railway steam trains, numerous churches, Blakeney Point, and even Wells-Next-the-Sea can all be seen from the blustery tower top. As could a moody-looking storm coming in off the North Sea.