Hello and welcome back to my blog 😊.

Today, I was up at early o’clock and took a drive to RSPB Frampton Marsh where I enjoyed a 10-mile circular walk – it was a cracker!

Frampton Marsh is situated on the south-western corner of The Wash, close to the market town of Boston. The area is an opportunity to see wetlands as they existed in Medieval times. Here, there are vast salt marshes and mudflats and it attracts half a million birds from all over Europe. https://www.rspb.org.uk/days-out/reserves/frampton-marsh

I had a great drive to Frampton Marsh – there was so little traffic on the road.

I parked in the carpark and then set off, passing the Visitors Centre – it wouldn’t be open for another couple of hours so I thought that would be handy for a stop when my walk is over.

A footpath beside a lane took me towards the new sea-bank that I would be walking along. The thing that struck me was just how noisy the birds were – maybe it was because it was morning and they were celebrating the arrival of a new day?

There was a chilly wind blowing and I was hoping that the sun would come out soon. Climbing the steps to reach the new sea-bank a signpost informed me that I was on the King Charles (111) England Coastal Path and I had my first view of the salt marshes.

As I walked on the new sea-bank I was enjoying the stunning views across the marshes.

I happened across a wooden bench so decided to take a break with a coffee and scotch egg. The silence here was such a contrast to the earlier experience. I felt as though I had the world to myself – a nice feeling. I didn’t linger too long because I was starting to get cold. I had not seen a soul.

To my right were now agricultural fields with the frost protection still in place.

The vastness of the marshes is impressive – I wondered if it was possible to walk through it at low tide.

I left the new sea-bank and crossed the Greenwich Meridian to reach a wide drain which I followed for a while.

I could hear rifles/shotguns being fired – after the solitude along the sea-bank it was a noisy and unwelcome intrusion. I thought to myself – I hope I am not going near them but alas, further on I saw a field with large numbers of people and Range Rovers in and I was walking close by a clay pigeon shoot. The noise was deafening. I then saw a red flag and a very stupid notice on the footpath.

The sign said to sound the air-horn and then ‘proceed with caution’. Well, with the possibility of no one hearing the siren, and having no positive feedback to say firing has stopped, I did not trust this ‘proceed with caution’ message, so I consulted my map and found an alternative route – a two mile detour across fields and lanes. I guess the organisers were too lazy to post marshalls.

Eventually, I joined my route along the old sea-bank.

I passed a field where potatoes(?) had been planted – it all looked very precise.

Re-joining the new sea-bank there were a few people around now.

Soon, I was arriving back into the visitors centre where I thoroughly enjoyed a hot Cornish pasty and a large Latte. A big shout out for the staff – they were very friendly and helpful.

It was a longer walk than I had planned but, as with life, sometimes a spanner will be thrown into the works and you need to modify your route.

Happy Walking! 😊🚶