All good things must come to an end.

Yesterday we finished the Norfolk Coast Path in Cromer, a seaside town with amusements, fruit machines (slot machines), ice cream shops and of course, fish and chips.

This last day may have been the best day. The trail climbed up several times to fantastic views of the East Anglia coastline. We have been so lucky with the weather. I don’t know what good things we may have done in our previous lives but the weather was dry and sunny all three days.

While on the flat, we saw fishermen casting lines. It reminded me of Cape Hatteras on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, except for one big difference. On Cape Hatteras, each fishing family had an SUV on the beach. Here, everyone walked to the beach from a parking area.

Would I recommend the Norfolk Coast Path to Americans? Yes, even though it is flat – after all it is a coast path. But it is such a different part of England, a part where working class folks go to vacation. There are great pubs for dinner, friendly folks and funky seaside towns. Obviously, hikers would not come to Britain for just a three-day walk, so this would be an add-on, a real fun add-on.

I don’t think that people walk more here but I think more people walk. Most of the time, they use their dogs as an excuse to do a couple of miles on a trail. If they do that every day, even at a slow pace, they’re moving more than most Americans. Almost every walker seemed to have a dog – a large well-behaved dog.

Back in the Smokies real soon.