13/04/2025
After my meet and sleep with Ralph and his parents, I had a few days at home where my fiancé and I attended meetings with service providers for our wedding 🤩, and on the 29th of March I made my journey to Hilgay in Norfolk.
- For backstory, in early February I went on a meet and sleep away in Norfolk to meet two lovely ladies who wanted me to care for their two furbaby sons Jasper and Alfie.
The meet and sleep went very well and I fell instantly in love with the boys. They were so well behaved and so well trained by their mums; they were full of spaniel energy and lots of affection for people 😊 -
Hilgay is a lovely little village. I absolutely adored its rural aesthetic and cosy, “everyone knows everyone” neighbourhood vibe 💕
On arrival to the house I was met with kisses and waggle-bums with plushy toys outstretched - signature spaniel behaviour - I was so happy to be there after my long journey, and immediately, all my negative energy was gone 😊
These boys are so wonderful to be around and are such lovely company, especially at night time when I start to miss my lot back home- they would always be wanting attention, to have some enrichment, to play with their toys, to be in the garden and play fetch with me, or to go on their regularly scheduled walks 🥰
I loved how involved and full-on their days were. They had EVERYTHING they could possibly wish for provided by their parents. Even enrichment tools, which many owners don’t think about for gundogs. But they are extremely important if you don’t want them ripping things up or screaming at all hours 🤣
We had a marvellous time together, and partway though the sit, the cleaner, Kayleigh, told me about a walk nearby that tapered off into a nature walk! so that evening I took Jasper and Alfie in that walk and I can confidently say that I have NEVER seen so many species of wildlife in such a short amount of time outside 🤩 Holy Mother, it was breathtaking. As a person who gets physical joy from seeing animals, this walk was something I’d dream up in my head when I’m sleeping 💕
At first there was nothing but insects and robins, but then I saw sheep 🐑😍 adorable!, then I heard male pheasants and caught the hens as they ran into the bushes; I heard and saw jackdaws flying above me, there was a woodpecker in the tree across the dead hedge, hammering its beak into the old oak tree in the next field across from us, and blue t**s, great t**s and black caps were flitting from one hazel tree to the other, instantly alerted by the dogs.
We kept going and I soon saw a water vole in the stream that ran the length of the path. It went on for miles.
Then we hit a part in the road where it was full of mud that a tractor has obviously churned up. At this point I noticed white-tailed deer in the long grass in front of us, separated by chicken wire. The dogs watched intently as the deer shuffled around, analysing us from the safety of the growing crops. They were so beautiful. I am vehemently against invasive species taking over our ecosystem, but they were so enchanting, I couldn’t help but admire them 😊
We continued on and every meter we experienced more life; birds of prey were starting to emerge as dusk was taking hold. The sky was turning orange above us as I listened to the unmistakable call of a sparrowhawk, mixed in with all the other bird vocalisations; robins, blackbirds, t**s, pheasants, corvids… it was a wonderful orchestra of twilight birdsong.
I took a moment to capture some very blurry photos of the deer in the field, but lots more of the breathtaking scenery. The male pheasants never stopped crying the entire time we were there; all different individuals at different stages of the walk, but they were always there in the background. Once it got quiet and it seemed silent, one of the males would break it with their call, reminding me that I was not in Gravesend anymore.
The countryside was so peaceful. I can see why mum wants to move out into it. There’s nothing quite like being right in the center of nature and listening to all the different creatures living their lives.
We eventually got so far away from the entrance of the walk, we saw cows. Around 15 Holstein fresian heifers and nearly adolescent calves, grazing on the grass.
As we continued to walk and I admired them, one of the boys whined, alerting them to our presence. The biggest mama turned to face us, and even as we moved forwards and turned a corner, she never broke her line of sight, always watching us, fiercely guarding the young ones, who were resting under a tree a bit further away.
As we turned the corner and continued along the path, the big mama and two other heifers called to the calves, who subsequently ran over to them. The heifers then made a circle, closing the youngsters inside.
I’ve never witnessed this behaviour before and was enthralled by it. I couldn’t look away until Jasper pulled at me to keep going, then I broke my gaze and carried on.
We made it a few metres further and then started to head back the way we came from. It was getting dark and the boys hadn’t had dinner yet. We almost lost track of time completely.
On our way back we saw and heard more birds, I caught a glimpse of two muntjac deer in a field (so there were two species of deer there) and managed to see a hare for a few seconds before it hopped away. Absolutely fantastic!
We saw more pheasants, caught a kestrel in a tree, saw several rats racing around in the low light and watched as a crew of four mallard drakes flew over us, honking all the way.
It sounds untrue but not long after we got to see a gaggle of geese stick a landing in the field where we had previously seen the white-tailed deer, which was amazing 🤩 They landed in silence and then immediately erupted into dreadful noise 😂
A few more encounters took place before we found the entrance we came from; I saw various bats fluttering around the large tree (probably pipistrelles, serotines and/or barbastelles judging by their appearance and flight patterns)
Then I saw a sparrowhawk. Whether it was the one I’d heard earlier or not, I’m not sure, but it was fascinating to watch hunting on the tall grass, then it caught something and flew up into a tree out of sight.
And finally, I saw four common brown rabbits in a field that then saw us and darted into the safety of the hedges; followed by a close encounter (snoot poking through the fence close) with a curious red fox, who didn’t run away, even when Jasper and Alfie started whining and pulling to get closer. He just sat there and watched us. Precious creature.
Once we got home, we had dinner (it was about 21:45PM) and then went to bed.
This was unquestionably my most unbelievable petsit this year, just because of the sheer amount of wildlife I got to see in just two evenings in Hilgay, after discovering the nature path, thanks to Kayleigh.
Please enjoy the photos I captured in Hilgay, Norfolk of Jasper, Alfie, and the beautiful Norfolk countryside 👇🏻
