Not too far away from where we were staying in Kelling is Horsey. Horsey Gap is a well known area where Grey Seals come out onto the beach to have their young. From mid December until mid Jan the beach is fenced off so that the seals can look after their young in peace. We both love Seals but have only seen them at a distance basking on rocks or a distant head bobbing in the water. Nothing could have prepared us for the sight we would see.
We arrived at Horsey to a frosty morning and sunny skies. We decided to walk to the second viewing area which is about a 20 minute walk along the back of the dunes and overlooking some wonderful wild land. All along the way we were accompanied by the beautiful sound of calling Cranes but just couldn't spot them in the fields. We also saw a couple of Green Woodpeckers, Stonechats, a Buzzard and a massive flock of Pink Footed Geese in the skies.
Climbing up the steps to the top of the dunes we reached the viewing path. From here we had our first view of the Seals. There were still a couple of pups but most of the young were now a good size.We've never seen so many Seals so closely. A Warden soon joined us and told us a bit about the Seals and also that there were about 200 on view from the pillbox area back towards the carpark, so off we took back to the pillbox path.
We spent a good 40 minutes here just watching the antics of these beautiful animals. So many different colours, shapes and sizes. Some mothers were playing with their young in the sea whilst the huge bull seals just slept and occasionally opened an eye. Another thing that surprised us was the sheer size of these seals they were massive. Several wardens were available along the viewing areas and they were both friendly and very informative. More people were now arriving to see the Seals and when we arrived back to the carpark it was full. Seeing this fantastic area with these Grey Seals was a dream come true.
