For centuries the estuary of the Wash has been a magical place of both solitude and purpose, a destination for leisure and also making a living. Wild and windswept, it’s a place full of stories.

Take the bus from King’s Lynn to Sutton Bridge. As you cross the impressive Swing Bridge, look downstream at the huge overhead electricity cables and imagine the Dambusters training for their daring WW2 mission. It’s here the squadron flew along the river under the cables, before steeply pulling up over the bridge.

Walk north along the east bank to the lighthouse. It once belonged to Peter Scott. Once a keen wildfowler, he returned from the same war, rejected hunting and took up conservation, founding the groundbreaking Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust. The path between here and King’s Lynn is named the Peter Scott Walk.

As you explore, keep an eye out for anything glinting in the ground. This area is where King John is reputed to have lost his treasure. But where?!  The creeks and rivers have changed, marsh is now farmland. The puzzle is unsolved…so far! King John was also doomed. Having eaten ‘foul shellfish’ in King’s Lynn the night before,  he died of dysentery at Newark Castle in October 1216, probably still moaning about the loss of his treasure.

Cross the Rive Ouse from West Lynn using the ferry, an ancient route used before a bridge spanned the water. Phew! After all that history, head for a local and unravel your day over a good meal.