Cromer and the Amazona Zoo
Tuesday, 18th April 2023

Slept well and awoke to a bright day which was warm out, warmer than I expected. The chain had come off one of the Venetian blinds, I managed to get it back on but very mysterious how it could come off. We voyaged into Cromer and managed to park at the Meadow Street carpark, I intrepidly downloaded an app and paid that way, surprised it worked.

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We walked to what was going to be a highlight of the holiday, the Crabstix Adventure Golf, but it was closed! Feeling a spectre of doom was hovering around I led Virginia to Cromer Pier, which is a Brunel-like iron structure defying the sea with a theatre and a lifeboat station on the end of it. We didn't venture that far along it. Made our way to the RNLI Museum commemorating the most decorated lifeboatman ever one Henry Blogg, and then patronised Cromer Museum. Reasonable as museums go, a window into the past. I hadn't realised quite about how deep the Deep History Coast was.

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It was coming up to lunchtime and we navigated our way back towards the Number One Cromer Fish and Chip restaurant which had long queues outside as it was just about to open at noon. I checked again and this time the Crazy Golf was open! I think we were the first patrons. Not a bad course, and not too busy so no treading on toes. We didn't always worry about putting the balls through difficult obstacles if we could go round them.

Time then for lunch. We went upstairs at the Number One Cromer and had a really good mini-cod and chips. I polluted mine with mushy peas. As we didn't book we may not have had a good view of the sea but the service was good, and the food was tasty.

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Virginia and I then sampled the Amazona Zoo which had adorable Patagonian mara roaming around. Pumas and jaguars paced expressionless inside cages, there were rheas and colourful parrots to behold. Avian flu had restricted what we could see.

We walked to the Foundry Arms in Northrepps for our evening meal. They're dog friendly and asked us how many dogs we had with us. The answer none got us tucked away in a small corner. Good food and a good pub aroma. There was very little pavement as such for our walk, and we were glad it was still light when we returned. We remembered a night-time walk in Goudhurst when one couldn't even see one's feet.