Sunrise at Brancaster Staithe

I did it, I got up for the sunrise this morning! I set my alarm for 4.15am but actually woke up at 2.30am and dozed on and off until that time. There was a howling wind all night and when I left the house it was still blowing a hoolie - a 25 mile wind which rippled over the water preventing any reflections. The sunrise was not spectacular, and I did question why I had bothered getting up so early. This was taken just as the sun broke over the horizon (sunrise is now at about 5.05am) and the first extra is at about 4.30am and you can see the wind tearing across the water. I tried some long exposure shots to smooth the water but the boats were bobbing about so much that there was too much blurring.

I was back at the house at 5.30am, I was so tired that I kicked off my shoes and crawled back into bed still wearing my jeans and warm top! I managed to sleep/doze until about 8am which was good.

After breakfast we went for a walk from Thornham to Holme - picking up coffees from Thornham Deli before we set off. The wind was so strong it was pretty awful walking into the wind. Today the forecast was 21C and although it was sunny and bright that wind meant people were wearing winter woolly hats and warm jackets. The walk was good and I was very excited to see a beautiful lapwing. On the beach at Holme next the sea the wind was causing the sand to blow across in drifts, as in the last extra.

On our way back to the house we stopped off at the 'famous' Eric's Fish n Chips for a take away lunch but I am not really into deep fried fish and chips so I picked at the fish and gave the gluten free batter to Xena. We then went to a supermarket to get more food for Tommy and Inca who are arriving tonight. 

We dropped the groceries off, and then went to visit the grounds of Holkham Hall, the family home of the Earl of Leicester. It is quite a pile and so it has by necessity become very commercial these days, the upkeep of such an estate must be horrendous. I tried to get photos of the herds of deer and the geese with all their goslings - I have never seen so many geese in one place before, I wondered if the family dine on roast goose every night! They have many events on, one is the very popular Christmas festival with Christmas trees decorated in every room of the manor house so maybe I will be able to get tickets to visit that later this year.

It has been a lovely day, although Gavin was not able to go out in the dinghy for a sail as the winds were too strong. He is hoping to go tomorrow with Tommy and thankfully the winds are forecast to subside tomorrow.