This was my second time to visit Strumpshaw Fen. But unlike the last visit which was purely for a leisure walk, this time was for conservation work - trail maintenance.

The trail we worked on had a small slope at the start. So we spreaded some sand to make that slope more even and less easy for the people to fall over. Some parts of the trail was also spreaded with sand to help water draining otherwise the trail will be too boggy in winter. The amount of the sand used should not be too much, just enough for making a thin layer over the trail, or it will impede the normal grass growth in the trail.

Th sand was dug out in areas adjacent to the trail. The pictures on the left and right below show the look of the trail at the start and at the end of our work respecitively.

The tools we used were shovels and rakes. It was my first time to use a shovel and I found out the shovel was… soooooooooooo… heavy!! Although the shovel I used was already small sized, shovelling the sand was not at all an easy job, so heavy! Fortunately, there were too many volunteers there, so most of the time I had chosen to use a rake to spread the sand even - this was a lot easier. 

The Broads is a network of waterways and the Broads in Norfolk is famous in the U.K. for sightseeing.

This time, I went with the UEA conservation society for canoeing in the Norfolk Broads. As I am clumsy at rowing and sports, I of course had joined a team who looked good at rowing - a strong man (although with an excusable big belly) and an engergetic young man (although he looks much better in academics than sports). Actually, I had “forced” them to let me join them because they were very nice people. Maybe they regretted later for their decision because they kept reminding me to paddle harder otherwise the canoe would drift without enough speed.

Unexpectedly, we found some fallen trees in the water blocking our way. So people used whatever way they would think workable to cross over the fallen trees - climbing over the fallen trees, carrying the canoe onshore… Whatever way they had chosen, there must be some people who would be ”sacrificed” if they were very brave - falling into the water! 

The Broads water was quiet. Swans sometimes led your way and sometimes took off or landed the water before you. “Cuckoo”… “cuckoo”… cuckoos could not wait telling us they were there too.

A nature wonder - in late afternoon in winter, starling flocks will congregate and make a swirling cloud-like formation before settling at their roosting site.

The following video was taken around 6 p.m. on 3 March 2007 at Minsmere nature reserve.

[googlevideo]4354046931252164365&pr[/googlevideo] 

Starlings are gregarious and often flock. The flock permits more efficient feeding, since each bird can afford to be less vigilant. The greater vigilance of the flock gives each member a greater protection from predators - there is safety in numbers.

During the winter, starlings live in flocks throughout the day, travelling between feeding sites. Starlings feed up to 20 miles from their winter roost, but return each evening. In late afternoon feeding flocks coalesce into progressively larger flocks as they move towards the roost. Large pre-roost assemblages form in places where the birds can get one last meal before nightfall. At dusk birds from these assemblies fly, often in a swirling cloud-like formation, to the roost.

Minsmere is a nature resereve under the managment of the Royal Society for Protection of Birds (RSPB).  It is near Southwold. We went there after finishing the beach clean in Southwold.

I did not expect that beach clean could be that fun. It was like a treasure hunt game. Because the beach, even before our cleaning, was already very clean! I had to search it carefully for any litter hidden in the sands - like a detective conducting a carpet search for forensic evidences.

The beach was at Southwold a coastal town in Suffolk and about one hour and fifteen minutes’ car drive from Norwich. We, however, were not playing there. The beach clean we did was organised by the Marine Conservation Society and coordinated in Suffolk by the Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONB Unit (see the third paragraph from here for the meaning of AONB). The purpose of the program is not just to clean beaches but to tackle the whole problem of marine pollution. Because volunteers (like us) record all the litter that is collected, the Marine Conservation Society are able to identify the sources, target offenders and lobby government.

When we arrived at the Southwold beach, a lady from the Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONB Unit greeted us and explained to us why and what we needed to do for the beach clean. Then each of us was given a plastic bin, a trash pickup tool, a pair of gloves, a box for storing sharp pointed glasses, a sheet and a pencil to record what litter we have collected.

We, a total of 9 people, had in one hour and forty-five minutes, collected trash of 45.7 kg. It included many kinds of trash, even sanitary napkins and condomes. Rubber and plastic formed the majority of the trash. We actually had overdone what we were requied to do. We were asked to clean the beach for 100 metres only but we had made it 400 metres!

Southwold is part of Suffolk Coast and Heaths, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).  Created by the legislation of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act of 1949, AONBs represent precious landscapes whose distinctive character and natural beauty are so outstanding that it is in the British’s interest to safeguard them. Currently there are 49 AONBs in the U.K.. Their care has been entrusted to the local authorities, organisations, community groups and the individuals who live and work within them or who value them.

Southwold was once a very busy fishing port. Nowadays, the harbour area of Southwold (where the beach we cleaned is situated), although still provides sale of freshly caught fish, the boatyard services have become the prominent business there.

In Suffolk, there are two nuclear power stations at Sizewell (the structure with white dome in the left most picture), even visible for many miles along the coast of Southwold. one of them is no longer in operation but remains harmful for health for decades even after ceasing operation. The British government is now proposing to build the third nuclear power station at Sizewell. Inevitably the people in Suffolk and especially the environmental groups there object this proposal.

Snettisham is a natural reserve under the management the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), about one and half hour’s car drive from Norwich. We set off at 5 a.m. to catch the spectacular scenes of birds at dawn.

Snettisham at dawn was serene.

All you could hear was the songs of birds. (If you cannot hear any sound from the video below, please turn the volume louder.)

[googlevideo]1220659810941745461&pr[/googlevideo] 

Sheringham is about one hour train from Norwich. In the past, the lower Sheringham was a fishing village and the upper Sheringham was an agricultural village. Now it is a town well known for its coast and the cliffs along its coast line.

After the walk in Sheringham, we headed to another seaside town, Cromer. Cromer is just 3 miles away from Sheringham. It took about one hour to walk there.

[googlevideo]-1379718056454251371&q[/googlevideo]

I went to Horsey to see the grey seals, an activity organized by my university’s conservation club. Horsey is about one hour car drive from Norwich. 

Grey seals are a species of seals (the scientific name is Halichoerus grypus). The female grey seal is silver-grey in colour, with small scattered dark spots, while the males are a dark grey with silver grey spots. The male is also distinguished from the female by having a long-arched roman nose which is the basis for its Latin name, Halichoerus grypus, meaning the hooked-nose sea pig. The average adult grey seal weighs around 200 kg and is about 2 meters long.

Grey seals occur in temperate and subarctic waters on both sides of the North Atlantic ocean. Half of the world’s population of grey seals are found on and around British coasts. The grey seal is Britain’s largest carnivorous mammal. Its thick, insulating layer of blubber and waterproof fur allow it to survive in cold water temperatures.

The habitat of the grey seal differs among each individual group of seals. Some are found along rocky continental coasts, while others are comfortable on isolated islands. There are also many grey seal populations around that haul out on icebergs and ice shelves. 

The breeding season of gery seals differ with different populations. Around British shores, they breed from September to December. Once impregnated and following a gestation period of eleven months, females usually come ashore and give birth to a single pup one day after.

At birth the baby is covered with a thick, creamy-white coat, but this is replaced by a greyish juvenile coat after about three weeks. The pup is nursed for approximately 3 weeks after it is born, growing quickly on its mother’s milk. The milk is almost 60% fat, and the pups drink roughly 3 litres a day. As a result the pups weight rapidly increases. They put on about 35 to 40 kg in under 3 weeks. At the same time the mothers lose around 70 to 80 kg.

Once the pup is weaned, the female mates with one or more males and then leaves the pup at the shore. The pup will remain on land, living off of its fat reserves until it has fully moulted, at which point it will feed at sea. Grey seals are attentive mothers and defend their pups against predation and intrusion. (See the video below, the mother is rushing to see her baby. (The video was taken under the strong wind causing the shoot shaky and noisy.)[googlevideo]-264782064738996795&q[/googlevideo]The males haul themselves onto the shore and fight each other to establish territories for mating. After mating, the female returns to the sea, but the fertilised egg does not start developing until much later so the birth will be at the same time the following year.   

We had lunch at a traditional Norfolk holstelry.

There were two windmills, one working and one abandoned.

Cromer is about one hour bus or train from Norwich. It is an old small town. There was a large Morrison supermarket and we had lunch at the cafe of Morrison.

Cromer is at the seaside, so naturally there is a beach, but not just a beach, the beach is next to a cliff. When we were there, it was windy and cold. There was hardly any person at the beach save for the few people walking with their dogs.

At that time, the bus station there was under repair and the temporary bus stop to Norwich was located in open air just opposite the tourist office. To safeguard our lives, while we were waiting for the bus to Norwich, we sheltered in the warm tourist office from the cold wind, watching the old men and women standing in the wind at the bus stop. Old people can be stronger than young people!

Strumpshaw Fen (10 minutes of train from Norwich) and Buckenham Marshes (adjacent to Strumpshaw Fen) are both part of the Broads. 

The Broads is now the UK’s largest nationally protected wetland and an important area for wildlife.

The Broads are a network of mostly navigable rivers and lakes (known locally as broads) in the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. The Broads and some surrounding land was constituted as a special area with a leval of protection similar to a national park.

The total area, the majory of which is in Norfolk, is 303 square kilometre with over 200 kilometre of navigable waterways. There are 7 rivers and about 50 broads, mostly less than four metres deep. Out of 50 or so broads, only 13 are generally open to navigation, with a further 3 having navigable channels. 

Strumpshaw Fen and Buckenham Marshes are both part of the Mid-Yare Valley nature reserve of the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds).

I went to Strumpshaw Fen and Buckenham Marshes as an activity of the conservation club of my university. The purpose was to watch birds (including ducks). Well, I know nothing about birds. The only bird I could see and have learnt to recognize during this outing was kingfisher - a beautiful bird with blue and orange feathers, and I had to use the binoculars of the others to see it.

RSPB is managing the Strumpshaw Fen very well. At the receptionist of the Strumpshaw Fen, the warden is very friendly and will chat with everyone who enters and tell you how you can walk in the area. Inside the Strumpshaw Fen, there are signs to show the ways.

On the way, you will meet other people who also come for watching birds, some carrying, apart from the binoculars, the tripod and bulky camera. Then people will stop and chat, about what they can see, the changes of the bird habitat, etc., just like old friends.

Cambridge is famous for the Cambridge University there. The city centre of Cambridge is not big and it looks like it is smaller than the city centre of Norwich.

In the Cambridge University, surely you can find a lot of old churches and buildings.

However, there are some new buildings too and some of them are quite modern in outlook.

The disappointing thing was the river. When I first time visited Cambridge a couple of years ago, the river was clean. Now, the river is polluted with patches of green algae at the water surface.

One thing you should not miss in Cambridge is the second hand bookshops. The books there can be as cheap as one sterling pound only.