Sunday 27th September 2026 - Cromer Bypass, Conkers, Pears, Sheet Piling and Japanese Knotweed

I’ve been into Cromer twice this past week.  Firstly, on Monday, after we visited a village friend, who now lives in a residential home and then again on Wednesday, when I went to the hairdressers.  Now the main tourist season is over, there are less people about but there’s still a pretty constant stream of vehicles, passing through the town.  Cromer could do with a bypass but I’ve heard, a certain person, won’t release the land to make this viable.  On Wednesday I had time before taking the bus home.  This was perfect for walking to the kiosk, adjacent to the gangway, where they sell a variety of refreshments, in particular gelato.  Always friendly service, I chose blueberry yoghurt gelato from the selection available and sat on a bench with my cone, overlooking the sea.  The weather was perfect for late September, as were the sea and sky.  Gelato finished, it was delicious, I pondered on my view (see photo below).  It was peaceful, away from Prince of Wales Road, Hamilton Road and Church Street.  Undeniably, Cromer is a very special place and unique in so many ways; it definitely warrants a bypass round the town, rather than forcing traffic along the roads I’ve mentioned.  I think the Council should compulsorily purchase the land, from said person!

I’ve been collecting conkers; they do seem to be falling from the trees earlier this year, or is it my imagination?  I have placed them in our conservatory and in the storm porch.  These are the two places which spiders love to frequent and spin those awful webs, which stick like candy floss when you try to remove them.  Having tried conkers, some years ago, I’m not sure they work but worth another try.  If it doesn’t look as if they’re have the desired effect, I may try splitting some open and see if this is more successful.

We have more pears.  These were from a container, outside a village home.  Marked as free and cooking pears, I took just four because they are huge and weighty.  There are several varieties of cooking pears, I think these may be Bartletts.  One pear is taking on a golden hue, the other three are green.  I am going to poach the golden one to have this evening and based on how this turns out, I’ll decide what to do with the other three.

The promenade was opened on Friday afternoon, I guess the contractors had gone home for the weekend.  This enabled us to go down on Saturday morning to see how work is progressing, on the sea wall.  Well, so far nothing but there is sheet piling, stacked on wooden blocks along the edge, at the bottom of the cliff.  Maybe next week we will see the contractors getting to grips with the actual work, using the piling to re-enforce the sea wall.

Previously I’ve mentioned, about the Japanese knotweed growing on Overstrand cliffs and how, despite the Council advising it had been sprayed with weed killer, earlier in the season, it’s flourishing.  There may be an answer to the problem, other than applying weedkiller.  Peter spotted a RHS video on YouTube, which explains why knotweed has become such a problem (not just here in Overstrand) and the solution which is being explored.  Here is the link to the video titled ‘Japanese knotweed explained: Identification, control and treatment RHS’.