Travel: Norfolk

NOEL Coward famously said: “Very flat, Norfolk.” But as I puffed up the hill from the centre of Norwich to my hotel, The Old Rectory in Thorpe St Andrew, I started to doubt his word.

Norfolk from Scotland is easy, thanks to Norwich airport, and once in Norwich there’s a lot to do and see. There’s a castle, with museum, a pub for every day, and a church for every week, two magnificent cathedrals, an arts centre, a football ground (with weekend restaurant, thanks to its owner, one Delia Smith) and shops galore. I was told Norwich is rated the fifth best city for shopping in the UK, with Edinburgh coming in 16th, and even while shopping I was aware that this original Saxon settlement’s medieval bones were showing through. There are lanes, alleys and cobbled streets, giving way to Georgian glories like the Assembly House, and Victorian arcades and modern malls.

It is a walkable city, and one of our great discoveries was the Plantation Garden, the most beautiful three-acre secret garden created out of a quarry, so deep and walled, and after some frantic sightseeing and shopping, a wonderful place to sit and catch your breath. We ate and drank well too, not least in the pubs, bars and coffee shops, the Assembly House and The Last Wine Bar, a place with a good wine list, of course, and exceptionally jolly staff. But, no time to waste, we had hired a car and there was the rest of Norfolk to explore. First, the Broads.

Hide Ad

This is England’s largest area of wetlands, with 63 shallow lakes and rivers, and here flat means low water, low horizons and wide open skies. Bird life too, for we had a brief taster of these famous Broads at the Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden, just west of Norwich. A walk through the sun-dappled woodland brought us to South Walsham Broad where we took a boat ride, puttering out on to the water, and seeing many species of birds, boats and dwellings, before encountering a heron, sitting on a mooring post, and giving us an extremely snooty look for invading his patch.

We retreated and made our way to Swaffham, and a different landscape of heaths, forests and farms, or breckland as it is known. The ancient market town and stopping point for pilgrims en route to Walsingham is home to Strattons, a luxury boutique hotel with a strongly environmental bias and a quirky style. A fine Palladian villa with extensions and restored coach houses, set in immaculate gardens complete with hens and cats, the rooms are decorated in gloriously over-the-top style, some antique and some contemporary, and the bathrooms are state of the art. Food, in keeping with the ethos, is locally sourced, and with constantly changing menus, delivers a taste of Norfolk.

The sights in this part of the county include the town of Castle Acre, a Saxon settlement where an 11th century Norman knight founded his castle and priory. The town still bears signs of its medieval defences, and the castle, abandoned in the Middle Ages, is one of the most impressive Norman earthworks in the country. Henry VIII’s purge of the monasteries began the priory’s slide into desolation and ruin, creating a site that is both peaceful and beautiful today. Put your hands on this ancient, sun-warmed stone and breathe in the scent of Norfolk, the scent of gorse, lavender and the freshness of the air from the distant sea.

But for me, there was better yet to come, at Oxburgh Hall. In the Middle Ages Norfolk was the most densely populated county of all, and wealthy too. So there are great houses, great estates and smaller, exquisite, houses such as Oxburgh. Dating from the 15th century, it is a moated manor house once owned by the Bedingfield family, recusant Catholics (there is a priest’s hole into which you can crawl) who survived because of their loyalty to the Crown, and possibly because of kindly treatment of Elizabeth I when she was imprisoned in the Tower of London of which he was Governor. Here also, are the ‘Marian’ wall hangings, embroideries completed by Mary, Queen of Scots and Bess of Hardwick, when the former was imprisoned in Tutbury Castle. Admire, and be guided to the coded messages within the embroidery about rightful heirs.

Filled with images of Norfolk’s history, we moved on to another of its glories, the North Norfolk Coast, and the present day. This is where we found the Burnhams (there are seven of them, include Burnham Thorpe, birthplace of Lord Nelson) and a coastline of long creeks, salt marshes, ancient harbours, wide beaches, big skies and ‘Chelsea-on-Sea’, better known as Burnham Market. An almost perfect Georgian village, undisturbed for centuries, it now is a busy centre for holidaymakers and weekend home owners who visit the traditional shops, including the largest hat shop in England, delis, cafes, and the buzzing, super-stylish Hoste Arms. Expanded into the nearby Vine House and Railway Inn, with the addition of a spa and holiday cottages, it's a busy place and when you can get a table the menu is full of new and traditional dishes, including a great Norfolk coastline assiette of all local seafood.

Sights in this area include Holkham Hall, Sandringham, the resort towns of Sheringham and Cromer, flint-knapped cottages in villages such as Cley, Blakeney and Wells, and a coast that is heaven for birdwatchers, sailors and crabbers. There I am back to food again, and here we treated ourselves to a stay at Morston Hall, a small hotel or restaurant with rooms – there are 17 – and the base of Michelin-starred chef Galton Blackiston. The food is terrific, again based on local produce, although I found the hospitality somewhat prescriptive.

Hide Ad

So, reasons to visit Norfolk: endless skies; the Broads and North Sea coastline; ancient and buzzing Norwich; newer and buzzing Burnham Market; the sense of history; the wry humour; the seafood; the breakfast bread at Morston Hall, and so much more. I shall go again. And if by “very flat” Coward meant dull, he really should, as they say, have got out more.

Flights from Edinburgh to Norwich with flybe.com and Aberdeen to Norwich with bmibaby.com and easternairways.com. Visit Norwich (visitnorwich.co.uk); The Old Rectory (oldrectorynorwich.com); Strattons Hotel (strattonshotel.com); The Hoste Arms (hostearms.co.uk); Morston Hall Hotel & Restaurant (morstonhall.com).

Related topics: