When the Cley reserve first started issuing entry tickets, he said his mum would have handed them out, along with a cup of tea or a cake.
If she knew them, they would be invited for lunch.
He said: “It’s unbelievable.
“Nobody will ever see the changes I’ve seen in the 70-plus years I have been here – going from a few visitors to 130,000 people visiting the centre and becoming probably, dare I say it, maybe the most famous nature reserve in the country.
“It’s the foresight these people had. How did they see how it was going to become popular?”