West Runton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Village of West Runton | |
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| In North Norfolk | |
 Shown within Norfolk |
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| Geography | |
| Status: | Village |
| Government Region: | East of England |
| Administrative County: | Norfolk |
| Local Administration: | North Norfolk District Council |
| Admin. HQ: | NNDC Cromer |
| Grid reference: | TG 18 43 |
| ONS code: | 33UF079 |
| N.C.C. Code: | 1082 |
| Demographics | |
| Parish: | Runton |
| Population: | 1,633 combined with East Runton (2001 census) |
| Area: | 544 Hectares |
| Ethnicity: | No Figures |
| Politics | |
| MP elected in the UK general election, 2005: | Norman Lamb |
| Party: | Libaral Democrate |
| Post Office and Telephone | |
| Postcode: | NR 26 |
| Dialling Code: | 01263 |
| Communications | |
| Railway: | Bitten line,West Runton Station Sheringham-Cromer-Norwich |
| Bus: | Sanders, First. |
| Road: | Situated on the A149 Coast road |
West Runton is a Village in North Norfolk approximately ¼ of a mile from the sea. The village straddles the A149, North Norfolk coast road and is 2½ miles west of Cromer and 1½ miles east of Sheringham. The village is fortunate in having good public transport with a frequent bus service to Norwich, Cromer and Sheringham, and a rail service from its station were the Bittern Line runs a frequent service between Norwich, Cromer and Sheringham. There are several shops in the village which include a Butcher, Newsagent/general store, a Post office/village store, café, furniture upholsterer, Garage and a Fancy dress/costume shop. There is also an excellent camping and caravan accessory shop which is well worth a visit. The village has a pub and a The social club.
The pub, called the “Village Inn” has a blue plaque on the wall that, interestingly, recalls a “Gig” played at the now demolished pavilion by the “Punk” band the “Sex Pistols”. There are also a couple of Restaurants, and there is plenty of accommodation in the form of Hotel’s, Bed & Breakfast or camping and caravanning. One such hotel is the "The Links", considered by many to be the best golf leisure and conference hotel in Norfolk, is set in 35 acres of lightly wooded coastal parkland. The hotel has its own superb 9 hole (par 33) Golf Course. The original course was designed by J. H. Taylor and was opened by him around the turn of the century. He described the links as "one of the most sporting Golf Courses in Great Britain. Another popular amenity of the village is Kingswood situated in a former girls' private boarding school set in pine-fringed grounds. Kingswood is a educational activity centre and hosts residential school trips and educational visits throughout the year. A wide variety of programmes are available for key stage 2 & 3 students including ICT, environmental field studies, science, personal development and Lifeskills.(see link)
[edit] The Shire Horse Centre
The Norfolk Shire-Horse Centre is a very popular visitor attraction in West Runton. Established in 1982, The purpose of the centre is to bring together a collection of different breeds of draft horses. Some originated in this country and some are European breeds. The Shire horses are complemented with a number of breeds of ponies which are native to the UK, and some have foals which are also on display. The centre has assembled a unique collection of equine animals. On the site there is also a collection of old horse-drawn machinery, mowing machine, Binders, toppler and wagon’s and carts of all shapes and sizes that form a fascinating collection from the pre-war horse era. The highlight of any visit are the rides given around the stables on a flatbed cart pulled by a mighty shire-Horse. There is also a stable and riding school were All aspects of basic riding are taught and the dozen or so, horses and ponies are worked throughout the year. There is also a covered riding school. Children and adults, beginners and more experienced riders are all welcome, and lessons and courses of instruction can be arranged for individuals or groups. Trekking is arranged through some of the finest local countryside on the North Norfolk coast, using bridleways you can ride through National Trust property, Forestry Commission pine woods and open undulating farmland with some wonderful sea views. hour long treks are organised, and all treks are accompanied by staff from the school.
[edit] History
West Runton’s oldest residents are the fossils of animals, birds and insects that regularly appear out of the eroding cliffs on the beach. The cliffs of West Runton were once part of the Cromer Forest Bed formation which is exposed at intervals along the coast of Norfolk and Suffolk, from Weybourne to Kessingland. The forest bed ages between 700,000 to 500,000 years ago in the Quaternary period. West Runton’s most famous resident from that long ago period is the 'West Runton Elephant'. In 1990 the fossilised remains were first discovered down on the beach after Winter Sea’s had eroded the cliff. By 1992 at least 25% of the Elephants skeleton had been recovered, and then in 1995 the Norfolk Archaeological unit, with a grant from the National Lottery, and some commercial sponsorship managed to recover almost the entire skeleton. The archaeologist were able to learn from the fossil that the elephant was a Mammoth (Mammuthus trogontherii) and male, stood about 4 meters high and weighed about 10 tonnes. He was about 40 years old, when he probably got stuck in a shallow swampy river channel. His carcass was scavenged by Hyenas as there teeth marks were found on some of his bones. The Mammoth’s fossils have now been preserved and it is hoped some time that they will return to the village in the form of a display. Moving forward Evidence of early antiquity in West Runton are Few. However evidence of roman habitation were found just south of the village up on Beeston Regis Heath in 1859 when a complete set of Quern-stones were found dating from roman times. Quern-stones were used to grind materials, the most important of which was usually grain to make flour for bread-making. Up on Beeston Regis Heath there can be found circular pits called 'Hills and Holes'(from the 1st edition of the Ordanance Survey map of the area). they are thought to date from phehistoric times. During the Saxon-Norman to Medieval periods these pits were dug to obtain iron ore which was then smelted in a furnace to produce iron. In The Domesday book the settlement of Runton, Norfolk is given the name of Rugutune and Runetune.
Sea Defences at West Runton consist of, revetments, angled sea wall and a rather predominent wooden groyne stretching out to sea. This does stop longshore drift but is used mainly as a wave break so the boats can enter the sea easier from the land.
