The old Coal Barn and Quay at Thornham.

Thornham Quay is now only a shadow of its former self, as indeed are all of North Norfolk’s little harbour villages. Gone are the days when small ships used to navigate these now silted – up creeks, bringing goods into Norfolk from all over the world. As in many situations inevitable economic growth outstripped this mode of transportation and it became unsustainable and incompatible with the needs of modern life and the canals and rivers of the UK subsequently became disused. However, these quaint little places still retain their charm and you can still picture the scene as it was. The quay at Thornham still has its old coal barn and many sets from films have been made there. It is a lovely place early in the morning and also late in the evening, when you can have the place to yourself with only the call of the Redshank and the Curlew for company. Susan and I were there early one morning to photograph the old coal barn and there was no one else around - just as we like it. I looked down into the old creek and I could see a small delicate wader approaching, probing the silt, as it came nearer I could see it was a Spotted Redshank, a delightful little bird. I quickly brought a lens from the boot of the car and took a few frames, a good start.



We then proceeded to take a few shots of the barn from both directions, it really is a very nice spot to spend an hour.

A circular polarizer to cut down glare on the water and diffuse the early morning sun.
Three stop ND graduated filter for exposure compensation.

The old silted - up creek where small ships used to dock.



A circular polarizer to cut down glare on the water.
Two stop ND graduated filter for exposure compensation.

The old coal barn where coal was loaded off boats and stored before distubution all over north Norfolk.