Wednesday 27 July 2011

Cromer : a Real Seaside Town

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Cromer is on the North coast of Norfolk. It has everything you could wish for an English seaside town. There are miles of beach, cliffs, a pier, fish and chips and one thing more.  Cromer Crabs!

The town had grown up as a fishing station over the centuries and became a year-round fishery, with crabs and lobsters in the summer, drifting for longshore herring in the autumn and long-lining, primarily for cod, in the winter, when weather permitted. The pattern of fishing has changed over the last thirty years, and it is now almost completely focused on crabs and lobsters. At the end of the 19th century, the beaches to the east and west of the pier were crowded with fishing boats. Now, about ten boats ply their trade from the foot of the gangway on the east beach, with shops in the town selling fresh crab, whenever the boats go to sea.

CromerCrabsShop

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The last picture is a cheat because it shows Lindisfarne and was taken last year.

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There are records of a ‘pier’ here in 1391although then it was more of a jetty. In the year 1582, Queen Elizabeth 1, in a letter to the inhabitants of Cromer granted rights to export wheat, barley and malt with the proceeds to be used for the maintenance and well-being of the pier and the town of Cromer.

Today, it still provides shows in the theatre at the end which are well regarded and have won awards.

The sun was bright, the people friendly and we had fish and chips.  A result.

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