Norwich-Norfolk - Sep 20, 2004 - Norwich, England, United Kingdom

Cars seperated again. Bevan Bill and I went to Norwich, the Capital of Norfolk. Others started there and then went on to the Broads. (Canals created as peat was removed...) they are currently under sonme environmental stress, the reeds in them used to be cut for roofing houses and grasses along the side mowed for feeding cattle. Niether happens much now, so many are getting overgrown and silting up. The main tourist parts at least are dredged out and maintained as they are such an attraction.

I had had a quick trip there before and wanted a bit more time in Norwich. DId the usual bus trip around, as I hadn't done that before. Walked around the narrow streets and spent some time in a fantastic exhibition at the library. 'Origins' about the people (Celts, saxons, roamns, vikings and then the addition of Flemish religous refugees who brought advanced cloth design methods and then the AMericans who were there in their thousands during the war. )

Most interesting bits for me were the demonstrations of the areas along the coast, particularly in the bay?/indented area that had Kings Lynne as the Port. if you check out the map it now looks like its inland, instead of a seaside town. That area silted up both as a result of the Fens being cleared and water being punped from them into ocean, with silt settling around river mouth. THe North sea coast is being whittled away as the sea levels rise. COastline is much different now to that of several hundred years ago.

The other area of fascination for me (and all others passing through!) was that of the dialect, where you listened to people speaking and then had a quiz where you pushed buttons to match meanings to the words. If you want to check out the Norflok dialect, try this site. http://geocites.com/Heartland/Acres/5564/dialect.html