Natty Norfolk
Swathes of cloudless blue, rolling crop fields, long flaxen beaches and clean, friendly villages; Norfolk doesn't disappoint.
A week away is different to everybody. Here's a few locales on our itinerary you might find interesting.
Felbrigg Hall
With a history stretching back before the Norman invasion of 1066, the Felbrigg name can be traced back to the invading Danish millennia ago. Not everyone can boast that.
Lovely house and gardens plus 520 acres of parkland to explore. Good old National Trust.
Blickling Hall
Nicely manicured 5,000 acre estate topped off with a Jacobean Hall circa 1616. Colourful gardens with other exhibits. Check out the print room. For me personally, being a time-served compositor it was like stepping back in time. National Trust.
Cromer
A popular seaside town with an award winning pier, a zoo stuffed with exotic animals (not our thing) and a RNLI station with a very interesting museum (our thing).
Cromer in a nutshell; walk on the pier and try to catch crabs in a bucket if it takes your fancy. Amble along the promenade or get some sand between your toes. Grab a pint and some Cromer crab then head off to the Hillside Animal Sanctuary for some rescued cuties.
Hillside Animal Sanctuary
Incorporating the Hillside Shire Horse Sanctuary, animal lovers amongst us will adore this place. I know we did.
Established in 1995, Hillside now caters for over 4,000 abandoned, unwanted and cruelly treated animals.
There are acres of pens, paddocks and runs to explore, plus barns, tearoom and shop. And amazingly it's all free.
So please be very generous and feed the donation buckets. All these animals deserve a better life.
North Norfolk Railway
For those old enough to remember steam trains, there is nothing like a chug down memory track.
Coal smoke hanging in the air, shrill whistles, carriage doors slamming and the yell of 'all aboard!'. Nostalgia at its best.
The North Norfolk Railway runs from the Georgian town of Holt, on to Weybourne, terminating at the Victorian seaside retreat of Sheringham.
We steamed from Holt spending the day in Sheringham before returning. There are glorious sea views on route and look for hares and deer in the fields.
At Sheringham station look for the pigeon wagon. The model pigeon at one end signifies the carriage was once used to release carrier pigeons carrying important messages during World War One.
In truth, I wish we had spent the day jumping on and off the numerous locos that travel the line. Sheringham is very similar to Cromer. Pretty enough but not that interesting. Maybe it was the hoards of people in the August heat that made me yearn for somewhere more serene.
All in all though, a very nice day out.
Blakeney Nature Reserve
Even in the grey Blakeney (National) Nature Reserve is a place of natural beauty.
England's largest seal colony at Blakeney Point makes for a choppy boat trip. Make sure you book before arrival. We didn't.
A sanctuary for wildlife, you can explore hectares of marshes and beach, twitch with the bird watchers or walk the many trails that snake through the reserve.
Whatever you do, it's a spot to just chill for while.
Norfolk Broads
It's hard to imagine that these waterways were once medieval peat excavations. Flooding in the 14th century linked several rivers creating the Broads now loved by thousands of visitors.
We took a two hour boat trip from Wroxham, navigating the River Bure and Wroxham Broad. It was OK but there are only so many expensive houses you want to look at.
For a better experience, get away from the populated areas. Bure Marshes National Nature Reserve looks a good place to start. Dawn and dusk are great for photographers.
Something to consider – if you rent a boat for a holiday, the Broads get very busy. I have a client who went home early because they had difficulty finding moorings at night.
Muckleburgh Military Collection
I must admit I do have a fondness for militaria. Maybe it stems from making Airfix kits over fifty years ago.
If you too have passion for big boys toys, sorry, I mean big persons toys (you have to be woke these days), then the Muckleburgh Military Collection at Waybourne is a toy box worth delving into.
The collection is housed on the former Royal Artillery Anti-Aircraft Training Camp. We spent four hours wandering collections of medals, uniforms, hand-held weapons, gas masks and of course, the big stuff.
Fascinating and engrossing, there are weapons of destruction from all time periods and countries. Most are still in running order and in demand by the film industry.
One must do is the trip around the camp in a military lorry. You'll see the radar station, anti-aircraft guns and sea views. £3 well spent.
Visit muckleburgh.co.uk and plan a visit. You can even drive a armoured personnel carrier if you have deep pockets.
RSPB Snettisham
A fitting end to a lovely week discovering Norfolk; RSPB Snettisham. Overlooking the Wash, these mudflats are home to Oystercatchers, Knot and Dunlin.
The incoming tide pushes the birds into flight which flock together creating spectacular murmurations or wader spectaculars as they are sometimes known.
Consult a local tide timetable and arrive an hour before high tide to allow time to walk from the carpark. The murmurations are truly memorable.
