Another one bites the dust! Next stop Cockington!
Packed up our goodies and loaded the Pagani, now off to Cockington. Today the ride will be a little more than 5 hours not counting stops for fuel, potty breaks and a stretch. Weather is amazingly clear, no rain in the forecast for the next 3-4 days, and temps hovering around 50-550. The only potential problem is relying on Google maps to get use there.
Final shot of the beach huts in Heacham
Tide was out, what an understatement!
Artsy-fartsy shot
Well, don’t say I told you so, but Google maps got us lost. We were on a motorway, the biggest highways in England, speed limit is 70mph, and low and behold, Google maps went stupid. We affectionately call the voice of maps, “she” as that’s what I selected. “She” had us cruising at 70mph on M6 just enjoying the day when she said, “stay right at the folk” (she has a British accent so it wasn’t fork, it was folk). Obeying her every command, much like home, I moved over into the right lanes of this 4-lane motorway. Suddenly, without warning she states, “turn left”. No way in hell can we turn left unless we want to see how good socialized medicine really is. And, trying to turn around is a nightmare. The next exit was 6 miles and who knows where the hell that goes. Oh, and to cover her ass, she announces, “GPS signal lost”. You’re on your own!
Fortunately, my experienced and loving navigator fired up our other phone and found a way back to M42. Only added about 20 miles and 40 minutes to the drive, but hey, it was getting boring anyway.
Little did I know that the fun we were having on the motorway would carry over to getting to the house in Cockington. To save 2 minutes on our drive, Google maps sent us down this 2.5-mile-long goat trail where I had to stop to let a bicycle pass, no joke. Thank God we didn’t meet another vehicle on this road.
Good news, it dropped us off right in front of the house we rented for the next week, Mill Cottage. What a beautiful home. It was originally a grain mill in 1453, safe to say it has seen a few changes and renovations. The latest of these renovations was in 2017 with the new owners went through the entire structure and updated everything. They did keep the thatched roof, which is really neat.
Entry to Mill Cottage
Comfy place, two bedrooms and 1.5 baths, but most importantly, it is located in the small village of Cockington which is a National Park. All the structures located in the park are on the National Register, meaning they cannot be demolished or altered, only changes allowed are inside. We’ve never seen so many thatched roof homes and buildings in one area!
Here are a few pictures of the house and surrounding area. Really a fun place.
The House.
Living room in soooothing purple!
Kitchen / dining
Second bedroom
Master
Mill Cottage
Backside of the cottage
The Area.
Old waterwheel
Some creativity in a thatched roof
Close-up of thatch
Gatehouse to pedestrian area in Cockington
The shops.
The Lady blacksmith
Some of the neighbors….
The Pub! Momma I’m coming home!!!!!
The Cockington chapel.
The rood screen in Cockington chapel
The nave
The chapel. The original chapel is on the left-built in 1053AD
Did a bit of walking around, now time to call it. Tomorrow is a down day, maybe stroll around and have a pastry and coffee at the Estate center, maybe not. Going to spend some time mapping out our next drive, lots to see before we head to London for the final leg of our journey. Man, this adventure has gone by fast!!!!