O yes I did, o yes! And it was just stunning. The 5+ hour drive up to Norfolk went by surprisingly quickly, although quite how I don’t know. I was stuck in traffic, held up by accidents, and crawling through the endless roadworks.
But despite all of that, I got there — and Cromer Pier did not disappoint. Ooo she is a beauty!
I initially met up with Andrew Banner, a really nice guy, a very talented vlogger on YouTube, and photographer/videographer with a great eye. More than that, he’s just a good man to chat with — especially when the conversation turns to all things photography.
A sneak preview of Cromer – taken with the DJI Mini Pro 4
There’s something about Cromer Pier that draws you in. The structure, the sea, the atmosphere — it all combines to create something timeless. Standing there with my camera in hand, and after talking shop with Andrew, I was reminded once again why I love these long trips so much.
Sometimes, the journey is a test of patience, but the destination makes every minute worthwhile. Cromer Pier was one of those moments — the kind that lingers long after the shutter clicks.
After last weekend’s epic road trip to Stoke and back, I’m swapping stadium noise for something a little calmer — a return to the Norfolk Broads.
I’m not sure exactly where I’ll end up yet (half the fun is in the exploring), but the forecast says the weather’s heating up again. Perfect for boating (not that I do that), walking, or just sitting by the water with something cold in hand.
Of course, this is Britain, so “how long will it last?” is anyone’s guess. The sunshine could stick around for a week… or disappear before I’ve packed the car. Either way, I’ll make the most of it.
From the roar of the crowd to the ripple of the water — here’s looking forward to another weekend worth remembering, and the making of some great memories.
Some days, the ordinary drive home hides unexpected surprises. Today, it was a small red boat.
It was anchored just off the shoreline near Portchester Castle, a splash of colour against the muted blues and greys of the afternoon tide. The ancient stone walls rose behind it, weathered by centuries of wind and sea spray. For a moment, I wondered how many other pairs of eyes, over hundreds of years, had looked out over this same stretch of water and seen vessels passing by.
I couldn’t let it go. Back home, I wheeled out the e-bike, slung my camera over my shoulder, and set off to see if I could capture the scene before the light changed. There’s something exhilarating about the uncertainty—was the boat still there? Would the tide be too high, the clouds too heavy? It felt like a mini treasure hunt, except the treasure was a photograph I hadn’t yet taken.
Taken in early 2025
The ride itself is one of the joys of living here. From the quiet streets to the open water, you pass through layers of history. Portchester Castle (above) itself dates back to Roman times, originally built as a fort in the late 3rd century to protect the coastline from Saxon pirates. Later, it became a Norman castle, then a royal stronghold, and eventually even a prison for captured soldiers during the Napoleonic Wars. Today, it stands calm and patient, watching the harbour’s ebb and flow as it has for over 1,700 years.
Arriving at the waterfront, I saw it—still there, still red. The boat rocked gently on the tide, its reflection rippling in the late afternoon sun. Beyond it, the castle’s keep and curtain walls stood tall, as though guarding the scene. I crouched low for the angle I’d imagined from the car, adjusted my lens, and let the shutter click. A few times.
In the end, I don’t know if the photograph will be as perfect as it looked in my mind when I first spotted it. But that’s the magic of moments like this—you never quite capture them entirely. Some part of them lives only in memory, tied to the rush of pedaling towards a fleeting scene, the smell of salt in the air, and the satisfying hum of an e-bike rolling home at golden hour.
Once I have edited the images taken I will share them here on this post, if they do turn out I I envisaged them, I guess only time will tell!! – They are in tomorrow Vlog.
Portchester Castle – Quick Facts & Local Lore
Roman Roots: The site began as a Roman fort around AD 285, part of the Saxon Shore defences. It’s one of the best-preserved examples in northern Europe.
Norman Upgrade: After the Norman Conquest, William Pont de l’Arche transformed the fort into a castle, complete with a keep and inner bailey.
Royal Guests: Medieval monarchs, including Richard II and Henry V, stayed here before embarking on campaigns to France.
Prison by the Sea: During the Napoleonic Wars (1793–1815), Portchester Castle held thousands of prisoners of war—many from France, Spain, and the Caribbean.
Harbour Haven: Situated at the head of Portsmouth Harbour, the surrounding waters have seen centuries of trade, fishing, and naval activity.
Modern Tranquility: Today it’s an English Heritage site, popular for dog walkers, photographers, and anyone chasing that perfect combination of history and sea air
The Vlog will be out on the 09 August 2025 at 08:00 (BST) click below:
The images taken on our roadtrip to Northumberland have now been added to the website. This trip was organized by Ginger Captures and we were accompanied by 4 other photographers. The trip was fantastic, I don’t think I have laughed so much since I left the army in 2003.
Just go to the menu, at the lower end, and select your page within that group.
It is a known fact that I love to own NIKON cameras and lenses, well they are exceptionally high quality so why wouldn’t I be?
Today I went out to have some breakfast after our weekly too early in the morning meeting. Before I sat down to eat a reasonably healthy breakfast I decided I should call in at one of my my favourite shops London Camera Exchange.
I started to look at some of their lenses and other equipment that were for sale mentioning my desire for a camera purely to do the occasional time lapse, so I looked at the second hand cameras that were for sale.
NIKON Z50 shouting my name
About 5 minutes later I left, with a new camera under my arm, I mean how many cameras can a man use? The Z50 did look lonely and I clearly heard it calling my name so I clearly had to, yes, had to buy that camera.
I had to explain the purchase to my wife, she doesn’t care to be fair, but that question ‘how many cameras do you need’ did pass her lips but thankfully we were distracted by the breakfast that was placed before us and all was forgiven.
To celebrate my wife’s birthday (which is actually tomorrow) we took a trip to the majestic town of Lyndhurst in Dorset and I, as I always do, took a camera along for the day out.
The NIKON 1
The camera wasn’t the normal Nikon Z8 but the much smaller though very capable NIKON 1, a small 10 Pixel (or there about’s) camera.
I took the NIKON 1 as it is lighter, could be kept in my pocket and is perfect for those recce trips out when with the family at such stunning locations.
Lens wise, I only took the 10-30mm lens, again very capable and just right for what I had in mind for this trip.
I didn’t take too many, but you get an idea of the treats available on the right day to all having a camera by their side. Below are three of the photographs taken on the trip. Please share your thoughts below.
So the trip actually got off to a good start, I set off for Liverpool and the New Brighton Lighthouse about 10am and got there about 3.30pm plenty of Queen and Metallica to listen and of course sing along too.
On arrival I parked up and I went to the cafe about 100 yards from the car park to get the lay of the land – can I sleep in my van on the car park, high tide times, fuel and a coffee and snack too. Yes, I could park there and it was free to do so, they were unsure of high tide time but I got that offline easily.
The entrance to the Cafe is somewhat noticable
After having a coffee (and a ‘small’ cake shhhh) I went to have a look at the Lighthouse and see where I wanted to be when it was time to take the photographs. I took the Nikon Z30 with the 16 – 50mm lens with me to get some ‘B’ Roll and some images, here are a couple of those images.
All seemed to be well at this point, clear sky with some cloud, but there was a weather warning in place for a storm later in the day, so the sky changed from what you see on these images to those taken later in the day (you’ll need to watch the Vlog for those later).
Beautiful sandy beach
A rather rough route to the Lighthouse
I eventually returned to the van, did an intro for my vlog and headed straight to the beach with all my normal gear and started to do some of the vlog and take some photographs. I suppose this is where things started to go wrong?
I went from the van to the sea defences then to the lighthouse and took nearly 200 photographs with lots of vlogging and ‘B’ roll.
Once I was finished some hours later I got to the van I found I had forgotten to do several things which included, checking the mic, correct I did not check it so there was no sound on the Z30 from all that vlogging.
Turn on the ‘2 second delay’, important for those long exposure photographs to eradicate any shake, so some of the photographs are not going to be usable.
Change to my wellies, simple right? Obviously not, I went in haste to the Sea Defences and did so wearing shoes, that was a big mistake.
Beautiful green pathway
Find my trips on TikToc @paulwbaker
On the way back to the van, some hours after I started, I managed to fall over landing on my already painful knee which had given way (yet again) and once again I fell on the hard ground losing control of the camera and which left my hand and hit the hard surface.
Yes, I was surrounded by sandy beach and my camera hits the road of all places. Luckily nothing wrong with the camera however the KF Concept ring took the brunt of the fall and got damaged – not their fault for a change (if you know you know as they say).
When I got back to the van, eventually after a good old whinge to myself, I tried to turn on the vans diesel heater to warm up the inside of the van for the evening and an ‘Error 3 code’ appeared (see the pic) on the display.
No heating for the night it is then . . .
So I had to abandon the long anticipated Bow Fiddle Rock element of the trip and return home, book the van in with The Road Viking to be repaired and order a spare part for the repair.
That has all been done, repair being done tomorrow (Friday 28 Sept 23) and thankfully I do have some good images which I will share on the Vlog next week :)
Paul W. Baker Photography 
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