… to restore family well being and we managed one.
After a slow start which included some flashcards with Moo and Fran (she got all 140 right, dunno why she wanted to do them though!) and also Max doing a fabulous season clock with them all, we decided to go out.
The intention was to go to Castle Rising and then on to Hunstanton and maybe Holkam but as we approached Kings Lynn we hit traffic – actually we very nearly DID hit traffic; there was an accident on the roadside and in the second it took to evaluate it, Max almost didn’t spot the queue that had suddenly formed. I’d have done it too, it was very confusing. So we swerved into another lane, found ourselves heading for Swaffham and decided to keep going, with me hastily thumbing through the English heritage booklet.
I spotted an entry for Castle Acre Priory so went there.
It was really beautiful. The village itself looked gorgeous but was very crowded so we didn’t stop. The Priory was just fabulous – apparently the best remains of its type and fantastic for walking around and really feeling how it was all laid out. A huge sense of the people who lived there. Was lovely to sit first and chat to the girls about it all over a picnic; Fran of course was able to slot it straight in to her Henry knowledge but i was hugely impressed by Maddy, who listened very carefully and asked some excellent questions about why Henry had closed the Priory down and so on. Was great to see her taking an interest. Girls highly delighted to discover this was the Dissolution of the Dissolute – somewhat worldly monks lived in this particular Priory apparently! Not known for their devoutness. Had around 40 monks in the beginning 1086 ish and only 10 or so by the time Henry cloded it in 1537. Think the lands were given to either Anne Boleyns father or uncle, not entirely sure. (Memory of names tends to fade!) *Edit: Uncle!. Hope you all feel suitably educated now!*
On the Infirmary Steps. Home for sick and old monks.
The (dry) stream bed, which the girls quickly spotted for what it was and the Granary, which tied in with a game Fran has played on the computer, in the distance.
The Priory Fish tank, which they all found highly amusing! Much jumping in and out!
The Cloisters.
The gatehouse.
It was a superb visit, perfect weather of course, but well worth going to. There is a Castle too, at the other end of the village – free (how fab to have a castle to play in!) but the girls were done in by then, so we just looked from the car.
We’d promised beach, so we decided to head on up to Sheringham. I had my first ever parentless holiday there when i was 17, so it has some memories for me. Again, a beautiful, perfect time.
I love this…
and this…
and this!
Maddy drew this picture of the sword in the stone.
And we found a crab.
The Shellseekers…
Some sandy cliffs that the friends i went on my holiday with climbed and got slightly stuck on!
After that we went to the pub in Sheringham that also featured heavily in that holiday, and that Max and i last went to when Fran was 10 weeks old. So much time, half a life since the holiday, all the life that really matters since Fran’s first day out…
Girls were treasures; they made me so proud all day, listening to audio commentaries, enjoying what i could tell them, asking questions, looking, playing, being happy, loving life, having fun together, know how to behave out.
It can be a good life at times.
