Journey of discovery in secluded Norfolk
The Queen always spends Christmas there, Britain's first prime minister, Admiral Nelson and Pocahontas (really) were residents, Dad's Army was filmed there and dozens of novelists have chosen it as their ideal murder-mystery location.
If you haven't guessed - it's Norfolk. This county in East Anglia gets no passing visitors; it's not en route to anywhere - except Norfolk, so everyone there has made a beeline for the place.
Norfolk's quiet lanes, brick and flint cottages, unusual round-tower churches and countryside of colourful hedgerows are just a couple of hours by car or train from the bedlam of London, and it could almost be another country.
Approaching my country cottage rental in the tiny village of Little Thornage I pass the hamlet of Little Snoring, which sounds like an even sleepier place. My home for the long weekend is Honeysuckle Cottage - a pair of cottages for farm labourers before being converted into a smart country home with all the modern amenities.
A 10-minute walk away is the King's Head, a great country pub that other people drive miles to get to. Surrounded by fields, its gastro-pub reputation attracts customers but it still serves a suite of local ales such as Woodfordes, Wherry and Adnams.
A 15-minute drive and we're on the north coast and settling down to a plate of Cromer crab in the faded Victorian grandeur of the seaside town of Cromer. Although small, Cromer's crabs are full of succulent white meat that's the sweetest of any crab. They're the same species as elsewhere in Britain but there's something special about the local waters and what they feed on that make them exceptional.
Cromer's other highlight, besides the beach, is the last pier with a working theatre at the end, featuring Gerry and the Pacemakers and a Roy Orbison tribute act when I visit.
Further west along the coast, sand gives way to marsh, reed beds and beautiful villages such as Cley-next-the-Sea and stylish Georgian towns such as Burnham Market. Nearby Burnham Thorpe is the birthplace of Admiral Nelson and the pub named after him still has the chair he supposedly always sat in for a pint.
Continuing west, there are the Provence-like lavender fields of Heacham where, in 1616, Pocahontas lived with her husband John Rolfe.
And then in the north-west corner of the county is Sandringham, one of the Queen's many homes and where she entertains the royal family for Christmas dinner before they all settle down to watch her on the TV.
Sandringham's architectural style has been uncharitably described as a grandiose Victorian seaside hotel rather than a royal residence but inside it has a homely Edwardian style that's cosier than a stuffy palace. This is why it's said to be the Queen's favourite home.
The gardens are immaculate and the grounds and woodland sprawl over about 240ha, much of it free- access Country Park. An extra perk for visitors is the private museum of cars, curios and royal gifts, a fascinating collection of royal memorabilia. The house, museum and gardens are generally open to the public from May to October.
After its beautiful countryside, Norfolk's other glittering gem is the Broads. They're Britain's largest protected wetlands spanning Norfolk and Suffolk, and made up from a network of seven rivers and 63 broads (lakes). This boater's paradise covers 303sqkm of lakes, rivers, dykes and marshes, with 201km of lock-free navigable water.
In the 1960s it was discovered that the Broads were not a natural landscape. They are artificial because each broad is actually a flooded peat pit that people began excavating 1000 years ago. Windmill pumps and dykes were built to try and drain them but this failed. Making the most of what must have been a medieval eco-disaster, the flooded landscape was developed into an important transport network, before there were roads, and the flourishing reed beds became invaluable for thatching local houses.
It's quite impractical to explore the Broads by car. Sailing, cruising, canoeing, cycling or hiking are the sensible options. So I take to the water in the village of Wroxham, the epicentre of motor- cruiser hire.
I hire a boat from Norfolk Broads Direct which builds its own boats and has cruisers from two to eight berths and rents day boats by the hour. My 12m cruiser is a six-berth Fair Sovereign design, a bit intimidating at first but a real treat once you get the feel of it.
Emerging from the boat yard the river is lined with thatched cottages and boathouses. But within 15 minutes the houses have been replaced by open countryside with tree-lined banks and I turn into Wroxham Broad. What seems like a sudden vast expanse of open water is a haven for yachts tacking back and forth so I creep around the edge to avoid the erratic novices before rejoining the river.
Cruising further down the River Bure, bank-side trees are gradually replaced by feathery reed beds that creep into the river and would clog it if it were not dredged routinely.
Leading off the river, dykes meander into the marshland that is a constant chatter of birds. Waterfowl are everywhere, on the river, on the banks and in the air - swans, grebe, mallard, geese, heron - but I'm envious of the canoeists who can turn into the tiny backwaters inaccessible to motor craft. They paddle off into the reeds and seem to disappear and I hear tales of people discovering secretive otters and bittern.
Apart from the smart cruisers, there's a cosy old-world feel about the Broads that is quaintly captured in the series of children's novels, Swallows and Amazons, by Arthur Ransome. The Coot Club is evocatively set on the Broads in the 1930s and is the perfect onboard read.
Windmills are scattered across the Broads and give an ancient pastoral look to the landscape, though they pump water rather than grind wheat.
After joining the Thurne River we cruise on down to the village of Acle and moor next to the Bridge Inn for the night. If we carried on downriver we would arrive at Great Yarmouth on the east coast. Instead we picnic on the boat and toast the beautiful evening sunset with a few gin and tonics, which somehow seem more in keeping than a pint of beer.
FACT FILE
Norfolk Country Cottages - norfolkcottages.co.uk
Norfolk Broads Direct - broads.co.uk
Norfolk: Slow Travel, Laurence Mitchell, Bradt Travel Guides, 2014
Sandringham - sandringhamestate.co.uk
