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My Happy Place: North Norfolk
I sat and wrote notes for this post sitting sun drenched in the back garden of the North Norfolk cottage we hire every year at Easter. Return to London imminent, emotions running high, it made me realise what a strong tie we have with this special place already.
I have started getting the feeling leaving Norfolk that I did when we left our family holiday home in New Zealand at the end of very holiday as a child. The sadness at leaving somewhere special and familiar and having to wait for what seems forever to
Curiously, for us this is all part of the plan. To create a happy place for our girls where they feel at home, where we create layers of life long memories…year on year, and form ties with a place that they will always remember.
We have been coming to this cottage every year for 6 years. In our third year here the girls made friends with two divine girls who happen to have fabulously lovely and fun parents and we now book both cottages on the estate together every year. ‘Our’ cottage is on the Estate of Mt Amelia in Ingoldisthorpe,
This is the place where the front door is open all day, where the girls are dressed and outside exploring before I’ve managed to roll myself out of bed in the morning. Where they are best of friends all week long and amazingly the sun always seems to shine.
There are three holiday cottages on the estate ,and the beautiful Georgian house at the top
There is a field in front of the house of the cottage which is effectively a woolly Maternity ward, and our girls regularly witness the glorious (actually…probably slightly gruesome) spectacle of baby lamb birth. They visit them twice daily in their little hay nursery and spend
Over and above the wonderful place we stay we have come to truly love North Norfolk. What they say about Norfolk light is all true. The evening sun streams in over fabulously flat land and creates something quite magical. The views and horizons seem endless, which for inner city London dwellers is awe inspiring.
Beaches, food, fresh air, village names that are cause for great hilarity (great
– Brancaster Beach. Gorgeous white sand beach that stretches for miles. There is a kiosk for hot food and most importantly ice cream. We are told by lovely local friends that if you turn left on the beach and walk for 20 mins you can sometimes see the seals basking.
– Old Hunstanton Beach. A warning…very windy but beautiful and a brilliant spot for kite flying!
– Wells-next-sea. Very
– Holme Dunes. Amazing birdlife and home to the Norfolk Wildlife trust. You can walk through the wetlands or drive to the end of the track behind the beach for a walk and see literally not another soul for miles.
– I’m an Interiors stylist and have a self confessed obsession with antique markets and car boot sales. I always find some propping treasures at
– There is a farmers market in Docking every Weds where we go for seafood, meat, great cheeses and vege. Oh, and craft for the girls (they love a bit of local handmade merchandise!)
– Horseriding at the North Norfolk riding school in little Walsingham. The girls get a lesson and then a little walk out on very amicable ponies. They love this beyond words and while you are in town you get to visit the amazing Walsingham farmsshop and the Chocolate Deli for
– Burnham Market. The Mayfair of Norfolk. Beautiful and absolutely worth a visit. Have a drink outside in the sun at The Hoste.
– Holkam Hall. The most wonderful aristocratic pile. The movie ‘The Duchess’ was shot here and it has all of that awesome austere style. There is a fabulous adventure playground and a really lovely museum. We go there often.
– Snettisham Park Farm. Brilliant in spring for the little ones…there is regular lamb feeding.
– Pensthorpe
– Castle Rising. If you have and interest in Medieval history, this castle is a must see.
We spend most of our time cooking, eating fish and chips in the evening sun, or attempting a spring BBQ here but there are some great pubs in Norfolk.
Our favourite two are the Rose and Crown in Snettisham (voted pub of the year in the good pub guide 2015) and we always end the trip with a group dinner at The Lifeboat Inn in Thornham.
On our return to London, we religiously spend two weeks scanning agents websites for a small Norfolk home of our own, but always end up rebooking Mt Amelia immediately because, really we can’t bear the thought of not going back.
If you asked my girls which holiday they look forward to most every year, I know what they would tell you. They already have it planned, in their heads and its just as good when we finally get back there.
Roll on April
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