Sunset around St Benet’s Abbey

St Benet’s Abbey and windmill – a photographic blog

Winter sunsets at and around the atmospheric and historic St Benet’s Abbey and mill ruins on the banks of the River Bure in Norfolk.

This is such a special place in Norfolk with legends of ghostly monks, once inhabitants of a remote medieval monastery.

The wooden cross with the word ‘peace’ with geese flying past.

On a winter’s afternoon, aside from stunning medieval ruins, there is much wildlife to enjoy too. We saw geese, barn owls, swans and birds of prey in a very short time.

I got as close as I could to this beautiful young barn owl. The pastel pink of the lowering sun providing a pretty frame around him/her.

My main preoccupation was the stunning sunset on this visit. It was truly spectacular.

The colours changed at every moment. The sky turning from deep blue to pastel shades of pink and lilac, then to golden. My tip is to stay for the duration of any sunset as you will see the most incredible light display evolve. Never think its over until that fire ball finally slips below the horizon, and darkness finally drops like a blanket over your head.

The best times to visit to see wildlife is early morning or late afternoon. That’s when you will see the owls hunting and they come quite close. Be prepared to brush shoulders with other photographers! It’s always good to ask where they have seen the wildlife. People who love nature are happy to share their experiences.

This is a beautiful place, go and enjoy it in peace.

Many of these images are available as prints at Photo4me. Free UK delivery.

Notebooks, greeting cards and gifts via my Redbubble store.

Scroll down to see links to Norfolk prints and merchandise.

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All Things Norfolk

MyriadLifeBooks is a member of All Things Norfolk – an online showcase of businesses all based here in our fine county.

It makes sense to use local businesses you can trust. Paul Dickson suggested the site to me. Paul is a local tour guide (stuffed full of fascinating historical facts) and features the books he publishes on the site.

Check out the MyriadLifeBooks feature page and shop.

See more feature pages here.

If you are a local business, it makes sense to join this site. Give it a try!

Long sleeve t-shirt

Great light at Great Yarmouth

In the pink at Great Yarmouth

The best trips are always the spontaneous ones. To wake up in the morning without a plan, then make a spur of the moment decision, always gives me a buzz.

Such was the case on Saturday. I love Great Yarmouth in winter best, so it wasn’t a difficult decision on a bright sky day to head that way. After an hour so enjoying the amazing Tide and Time Museum, absorbing nautical stories and sniffing the herrings, we headed over to the beach.

If you know Great Yarmouth, you’ll know what a fabulous golden sandy beach it has. In winter there are few folk around other than dog walkers and the occasional sea fisherman. One of which we passed time with, discussing his catches. He reminded us to look out for the dreaded Weaver fish if we were ever to chance our arm at casting a line.

He showed us pictures of sea bass, cod and a larger shark-like fish. Further down the beach another fisherman told us we’d never catch cod there. Who to believe… the first I think, judging by his evidence.

While we chatted, I stared out at the storm clouds rolling in above the bright whiteness of the windfarm turnbines, reveling in the drama of the scenery with my photographer’s eye.

I broke off from the conversation to take my pictures, knowing there was a good chance we might soon get wet. The only things that did get wet were my boots. I have a habit of standing too close to the incoming tide while shooting away, absorbed in what I am doing.

Storm clouds over the Windfarm

As we walked along the beach, spotting vessels heading to the port, a wide rainbow formed. I waited for one of the ships to enter the rainbow, and then pressed the shutter. As I clicked, I wondered if the crew knew they were in the center of such magic, and if it might give them special powers…

Ship passing through a rainbow

As geese flew by, the sky changed colour and shape every few moments, remnants of the rainbow still visible.

Geese fly over the remnants of a rainbow at sea

Further along the beach, my attention turned inland to the Britannia monument for Lord Horatio Nelson. This a monument I often gaze at when I visit Great Yarmouth. It is magnificent. Sadly it is situated on the outer edge of the town, incongruously in the middle of an industrial estate.

Sunset at the Britannia Lord Nelson Monument

And then the light and ambience changed yet again. Luckily I looked back as I walked away to see a bird and airplane fly simultaneously past the monument in different directions.

These are the moments that make the photographer in me smile.

Monument flights

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Plan your days Norfolk Style

New daily planners for 2023 have just been released in my Amazon store.

Norfolk scenes feature on the covers so you can enjoy your favourite Norfolk view every day. The current collection includes: Wells-next-the-sea, Stiffkey, Winterton-on-sea, Cromer, Salthouse and Blakeney. There are also Norfolk seals, and the beautiful and rare Swallowtail butterfly to enjoy.

Inside are 365 pages ready for you to fill in your daily schedule and priorities. Note important meetings or dates. Journal your water intake and what you eat. A handy way to note your moods and feelings too, what you are excited or grateful for. Keep an eye on the weather too.

The softback cover and internal pages are very tactile and the size (8.5x 11″) practical.

Ideal for personal or work use.

Perfect gift for anyone who loves Norfolk or go ahead and treat yourself. Click on the images below to buy. The link will take you to my Amazon store.

More books are on the way so please subscribe to see new notebooks, journals and planners as they arrive.

Norfolk Picture Boards – a great way to hang art!

Norfolk prints – picture boards, hang using command strips or stand on a shelf.

Picture boards are a great, affordable way to hang collections of art. I have been using Photo4Me as a print on demand service for many years, they deliver great quality. Please visit my full gallery there for prints in a wide variety of formats and sizes inc canvas, frames, acrylic, and poster prints. Keep scrolling to see more information…

Blakeney creek

Each picture board comes with free M3 command strips.

Two sizes available: 420 x 297mm or 594 x 420mm.

  • Printed using state of the art print uV™ print technology.
  • Brilliantly rich colours & razor sharp detail
  • Printed to the edge of a 5mm deep Foamex™ picture board

You can hang or stand the picture boards up.

  • Simple to hang in seconds with command strips
  • An affordable format for collections of pictures
  • Rigid and hard wearing, Foamex™ is extremely lightweight so it is ideal for many settings
  • 100% weatherproof, and unaffected by changes in weather temperature

Delivery

Your Picture Board will be delivered within a secure courier bag and comfortably bubble wrapped for protection.

Free UK delivery and Free delivery returns. See more about delivery times here

Please scroll down to see a selection of picture boards available but see the full collection here.

To get regular updates on what is new, please subscribe.

Coastal

Norwich City

River Wensum

Coastal and Norfolk Broads Boats

Black and White

Elm Hill at Night Norwich Cathedral at Night

Sailing on the Bure

See my full gallery of picture boards here

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