Norfolk seals and Elizabeth II are highlights for coastline walker
Blue WilsonA caretaker is preparing to start the second half of her gruelling walk of the UK coastline she expects will take her at least 10 years to complete.
Blue Wilson began her trek in March 2020, which she is tackling in stages, and expects to finish beyond 2030.
She said seeing seals at Horsey Gap in Norfolk and Elizabeth II's convoy near Sandringham were her highlights so far.
The 49-year-old, from Selby, North Yorkshire, is due to resume her trek in Scotland, heading west, in April.
Ms Wilson says she has walked more than 2,500 miles in about 150 days, and has about 7,000 to go.
She has already walked the eastern coast, also taking in Suffolk and Essex, and celebrated reaching 1,000 miles when she arrived at the pier in Clacton-on-Sea.
Wilson's Walk
- Ms Wilson has so far raised nearly £4,000 for charities Surfers Against Sewage and Sea-Changers
- She has worn out two pairs of boots - and has no idea about socks
- The Essex coast, with its estuaries and inlets, was one of the hardest sections because it was so "in and outey", she said
- Ms Wilson said she normally took eight-day holidays and walked about 20 miles a day
- The "worst rubbish and fly tipping" was along a section of the Thames, she said
- She thought erosion appeared worst along Yorkshire's coast. She said the Norfolk beaches were also receding at an "alarming" rate
- Ms Wilson had to make "many detours" inland due to erosion, flooding and path closures - and has been faced with many private land signs
- The people she has met were "on the whole, brilliant"
- Livestock scared her the most
- She saw a dead whale on the Yorkshire coast
"Horsey Gap was a standout moment, when I saw the beach below the dunes crammed with seals," said Ms Wilson.
"There were hundreds of them. At first I thought they were rocks on the beach.
"Then they all started moving - incredible."
Joe Giddens/PA MediaMs Wilson recalled her surprise at seeing a fleet of dark cars drive past her in Norfolk.
"I asked someone what they were and was told it was the Queen on her way to church," she said.
"I'd walked all that way and the Queen had driven past me and I hadn't noticed.
"I couldn't believe it."
Blue WilsonMs Wilson said she walked down "memory lane" in Sheringham and Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, and Southwold and Walberswick in Suffolk - places she had visited before.
She was particularly impressed by Essex's "stunning" beaches and "incredible" beach huts.
"People do walk long distances but they normally do it in one go," admitted Ms Wilson.
"I'm doing it differently - during my holidays. I've heard of a few people who started after me and have already finished.
"It's been gruelling at times. This last year I seem to have caught every storm.
"But on sunny days it can be a joy."
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