THIS week’s Diary comes from the north coast of Norfolk, an area we have never previously visited.

Our base was the renowned White Horse Inn at Brancaster Staithe, a fishing village between Wells-nextthe- Sea and Hunstanton.

Our purpose was to visit the RSPB reserves at Titchwell and Snettisham as well as viewing the famous sandy beaches, salt marshes and other distinctly rural parts of Norfolk.

This was our first visit to that part of England and we were not disappointed. The villages are quite unspoilt and when we were there, crowds were non-existent and the beaches, although long, wide and rich with smooth sands, were not commercialised. In no way did they resemble the seaside villages and towns of this region – there were no deckchairs for hire, no icecreams, no cheap souvenirs, no amusement arcades or funny hats for sale. There was just good old-fashioned sea air, breezes, sunshine and the marvels of the natural world.

In some areas, however, the wide expanse of land between the shore and the sea consists of a vast saltmarsh, and there were many of them. They are stretches of flat land overgrown with a local plant known as sea lavender which looks like heather and which can cope with life partially spent beneath saltwater.

The stretch of marshland just below our hotel stretched out to the horizon about a mile away, and unless we stood in an upperfloor window with binoculars, the sea remained out of sight. That was due to the tide being out to expose acres of mud, the feeding grounds for thousands of seabirds and waterfowl. As the tide comes in, it fills all the gaps between the patches of higher marshland to form dozens of lagoons.

Those salty mudflats provide homes for a range of shellfish that live and breed here, including mussels, oysters, cockles and razor shells. Crabs and lobsters are caught in those waters too, with much of the seafood being sold for human consumption via shops and supermarkets.

What intrigued me, however, were the huts in the shore-side villages – there was a Crab Hut, a Fish Hut, several Oyster Huts and many others, all selling to the local people. I think it was a scene that has been unchanged for centuries.

Our visits to the Titchwell and Snettisham RSPB reserves were fabulous. Both have been made famous due to their appearances on the BBC nature programmes, Spring Watch and Autumn Watch but it is the birds that are the real stars of the show. Many are seasonal visitors and migrants, but some have made their permanent homes in these wild areas.

Depending upon the time of year, an astonishing variety can be seen, ranging from the shy bearded tits to boastful geese and entertaining knots, stints and oystercatchers.

The staff of each of the reserves will give advice about the best time or place to see particular birds – not forgetting other creatures such as water voles, dragonflies and butterflies.

Inside the visitor centre at Titchwell, refreshments, books and advice are available, and there is also a daily record that lists all the rare birds noticed on the reserve that day, giving their location and the vantage point or hide from which the observations were made.

Even though we are not twitchers or even experienced birdwatchers, we were caught up in the excitement as rare and interesting birds were spotted on the mud flats, in the bushes, in the air or elsewhere. We took picnics and binoculars and if we were uncertain about a particular species there was always a friendly visitor to help.

These were not garden birds they were seabirds and waterfowl of every imaginable kind. We saw marsh harriers, little egrets, umpteen species of geese, ducks, waders like curlews and redshanks along with many types of gull and other species we had never seen before. A bittern had been spotted the day before our arrival but, sadly, we never saw one – I’m sure it would be there, hiding in the tall reeds. And we learned that a pair of spoonbills had visited... we missed them too.

On one occasion we watched thousands upon thousands of brent geese flying overhead in huge formations, cackling and chattering as they flew, and then they spotted their landing site, having flown all the way from Siberia. We watched as they switched off their engines to glide down to earth for a well-earned rest and a feed. There is not enough space here to relate all our experiences but they were quite wonderful.

Admission to both the reserves is free of charge, although at Titchwell there is a small car parking fee (£4 for all day). You can take picnics or buy sandwiches and hot food at Titchwell where wheelchair access to the site is excellent.

Not far away is Holkham National Nature Reserve which is cared for by Natural England and, in addition to the mudflats and sandy beach, it includes pine woods and scrubland with their own species of plants, animals, birds and insects.

There is no charge for entry although there is a small car parking fee. Among the unexpected finds here there could be unexploded bombs and wartime ammunition.

In addition to these nature reserves, the villages inland are fascinating – we found a tiny place called Burnham Market where there is a shop selling thousands of fashionable hats. I wondered who would buy them. Another place of interest is the intriguing village of Walsingham where two shrines are dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Surprisingly, the Virgin has never made an appearance here but the story is that the Lady of the Manor of Walsingham Parva (Little Walsingham) whose name was Richeldis had a personal vision of Mary. In it, the Virgin asked Richeldis to visit the scene of the Annunciation at Nazareth, and then return to Walsingham to reconstruct an exact replica.

And so she did, even down to precise measurements.

Her wooden shrine was built on a raised platform in the grounds of Walsingham’s Augustinian Priory and it quickly attracted pilgrims from all over England. It is said that every English sovereign until Henry VIII visited the shrine – it was he who later ordered the demolition of the priory. There are very few remains but the site of the shrine built by Richeldis is marked near the remains of the giant East Window.

In 1931, the Anglicans erected their own shrine in the village not far from the original site, while the Catholic shrine is based on the medieval Slipper Chapel (c1150) about a mile from Walsingham. That is where the pilgrims removed their shoes before visiting the holy place. Two readers, one from Stokesley and the other via e-mail, have drawn attention to the lack of wasps this year. From my own very unscientific observations it does appear that numbers are much lower although, as I pen these notes, it is possible that some official data could be published to confirm or deny this belief.

While we tend to dislike wasps, they are in fact highly beneficial to our gardens and to agriculture in general.

They kill huge numbers of pests and use these to feed their own larvae.

During the summer, the wasps feed on sweet saliva produced by the larvae but when the queen stops laying her eggs in late summer, there is no more sweet juice to satisfy them. That is when they begin to raid our orchards, plum trees and jars of jam in their frantic need to find sweet food.