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cley next the sea |
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Travelling west from Sheringham, the A149 meanders through a pretty
rural landscape offering occasional glimpses of the sea and a shoreline
protected by a giant shingle barrier erected after the catastrophic
flood of 1953, a disaster which claimed over one thousand lives. After
seven miles you reach CLEY-NEXT-THE-SEA , once a busy wool port but now
little more than a row of flint cottages and Georgian mansions set
beside a narrow, marshy inlet that (just) gives access to the sea. The
original village was destroyed in a fire in 1612, which explains why
Cley's fine medieval Church of St Margaret is located half a mile inland
at the very southern edge of the current village, overlooking the green.
The Black Death brought church construction to a sudden halt, hence the
contrast between the stunted, unfinished chancel and the splendid nave,
which boasts several fine medieval brasses and some folksy fifteenth-century
bench ends depicting animals and grotesques. Cley's other great draw -
housed in an old forge on the main street - is the excellent Cley Smoke
House , selling local smoked fish and other delicacies, while nearby
Picnic Fayre has long been one of the finest delis in East Anglia.
It's about 400 yards east from the village to the mile-long byroad that
leads to the shingle mounds of Cley beach . This is the starting point
for the four-mile hike west out along the spit to Blakeney Point , a
nature reserve famed for its colonies of terns and seals. The seal
colony is made up of several hundred common and grey seals and the old
lifeboat house, at the end of the spit, is now a summer-only National
Trust information centre. The shifting shingle can, however, make the
going difficult, so keep to the low-water mark - which also means that
you won't accidentally trample any nests. The easier alternative is to
take one of the boat trips to the point from Blakeney or Morston. The
Norfolk Coast Path passes close to the beach too, continuing south along
the edge of the Cley Marshes , which attract a bewildering variety of
waders - and, of course, "twitchers".
Cley has several great places to stay , beginning with the Cley Mill B&B
(tel 01263/740209; £60-70), housed in a converted windmill complete with
sails and a balcony offering wonderful views over the surrounding salt
marshes and seashore. Other options in the village include the
attractive Whalebone House , on the main street (tel 01263/740336;
£50-60), and the Three Swallows pub (tel 01263/740526; £40-50) on the
green by the church, which has several pleasant en-suite rooms and
serves good food .
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