Discover Norfolk, United Kingdom
Norfolk has tranquil lanes, beautiful wetlands and brick and flint cottages. Dad’s Army was filmed here, and it is found to be the perfect murder-mystery location by many novelists.
Norfolk is a county in East Anglia, everyone that comes here, comes here specifically to see Norfolk. It has beautiful churches with weird round towers, and a lovely green country side. It is only a couple of hours away from London, so it allows people to get away from the hussle and bussle of their busy lives.
You will find great little villages here like Little Thornage and Little Snoring. The quietness of this place could make it a whole new country compared to the city. We stayed at Honeysuckle Cottage. It was previously a workers cottage before it was turned into a country home with modern amenities.
10 minutes from here is a great country pub, called the King’s Head. Some people drive miles to get here. It is well known to be a gastro-pub, yet still serves local beer like Woodfordes.
Just 15 minutes drive away is the northern coastline, along this coastline you will find the town of Cromer, the house of the delicious Cromer Crab – its succulent white meat is sweeter than any other crab! You will also find the last pier here at Cromer, with a working theatre at the end!
There are plenty other tiny little villages around here, like Clay-next-the-sea and Burnham Market, Burnham Thorpe – the birthplace of Admiral Nelson. If you continue west you will find field of lavender, these will lead you to Heacham, where Pocahontas supposedly have lived in 1616 with John Rolfe.
In the north-west of the country you will find Sandringham, the Queen entertains the royal family here. This town boasts a Victorian architecture, while the Queens residence has a homely Edwarian style with immaculate gardens, and a museum of cars and a fascinating collection of royal memorabilia. These areas are generally open from May to October to the public.
Norfolk’s other glittering gem is the Broads, they are protected wetlands made up of the network of 7 rivers and 63 lakesspreading between Norfolk and Suffolk. This paradise covers approximately 303 square kilometres, with 201km of lock-free navigable waters.
Only recently it was found that the Broads are not actually part of the natural landscape but are peat pits that people began excavating 1000 years ago. Windmill pumps and dykes were built to try to drain them, but these efforts have failed. The flooded landscape was developed into an important transport network, until the reed beds became invaluable. These days it is best to discover the area by sailing, cruising, or canoeing.
The rivers along here are lined with thatched cottages and boathouses closer to towns, further out they are replaced with majestic tree lines. Cruising down the River Bure, the trees are replaced with reeds. If the rivers weren’t dredged frequently these would clog them up.
The wetlands are also a home to hundreds of birds, swans, grebe, geese and the likes. You will even find otters here. Windmills are also scattered across the Broads. It is quite a different country side.
Norfolk is like a time capsule with its historic remnants and relaxing surrounds. It is well worth the discovery.
