Norfolk Seals

Horsey is a very popular place to see the Seals and Pups, there had been a count of 770 Pups by the time we got there, and would be many more to come. From birth the pups stay on the beach feeding and then leave after their coats change to be waterproof, this all takes about three weeks. Once at sea they then learn to feed for themselves

With a good check of the weather and an early start of 4 am a couple of mates and I set off to Horsey Gap in Norfolk. It was cold -3 when we left a nice crisp frosty morning, funny but when we arrived it started to rain. Now it seems that everywhere I go it rains even when it’s not meant to. I wasn’t going to let the weather put me off and by the time we had a coffee the rain had stopped.

It’s a good hike, about 1.5miles to get to the seals where it’s worth photographing them from the dunes. We got settled down and waited for the sun to rise which was a bit slow, it seemed that the only cloud in the sky was in our way. Patience pays off and it did out came the sun and lit up the beach and Seals with a golden glow.

We spent a good 2 hours photographing the Pups in the golden light, but need that better angle which you cannot get from the dunes We decided to leave and as we started our walk back to the car park we knew it was a good idea as there were crowds of people turning up, I had a chat with one person and they had come from Holland to see this impressive sight.

As the light was so good we decided to go to Winterton on Sea which was a short drive away. Another long walk with the camera gear but well with it because we could get on the beach here making the shots so much better. On this beach, the seals are not roped off so as long you give them enough distance and space we weren’t harming them, and with using a 600mm lens this was easy to do

It had to be one of my best days photographing wildlife, the background, the angle, and the light was brilliant. Just laying on the beach watching the pups was superb, I am so please I decided to go and the long walks of about 8 miles was worth it. We were all smiling driving home, a fantastic day.