Over a bank holiday weekend in early 2024, I was feeling rather sombre, having just learned about the sudden passing of Alyn Wallace, the great landscape astrophotography pioneer and educator.  I just wanted to be on my own under the stars.  I had a few people message me to ask if I wanted to head out shooting on the Saturday night, when we were expecting some decent skies in part of East Anglia, but more than ever I needed the solitude so I politely declined (always feel bad about that, and I don't mean to be unsociable, but I don't think I would have been particularly entertaining company anyway).  If you're one of those people - sorry.

So a couple of hours before dusk I started the 2 hour drive up to the North Norfolk coast to Brancaster Staithe, the marshy harbour separated from the majestic Brancaster Beach by a complex web of tidal creeks, marshland topped with tufts of grass, and mudflats.  I'd visited only very briefly at night before, to suss out the harbour area, but never been on the marshes, so some intense Google Earthing earlier in the day had indicated some potentially promising areas from which to shoot, albeit I wasn't entirely sure how the Spring tides would impact access.

As with many of these coastal locations, I was accompanied through the night by the most amazing sounds of the wildlife - exotic sounding birds and, at one point, a sustained gurgling noise whose origin I couldn't fathom.  Clouds came and went, but that didn't matter as I wasn't after any award-winning shots - I just wanted to be immersed under the heavens, taking it all in and allowing the previous day's news to slowly sink in.  

In the early hours of the morning I noticed some pinks on camera towards the north, and sure enough we had a brief aurora display, which I was able to timelapse; it looks like I missed the best of the display by 20 minutes or so, but I was pleased to have captured something at least.  I'm amazed how many times I visit north Norfolk and end up with capturing a display - I think my hit rate for that is well over 50%!  I began to head home at about 2am, through thick fog all the way.  I was tired, yet completely restored.

This image is of a curious houseboat that sits almost impossibly in one of the creeks on the marsh.