Looking west from the top of Happy Valley – Image by George Baker 1960 © Norfolk Museum Service. The image is not of the best quality but it shows Cromer’s Happy Valley as it was in the 1960s. Notice how open it is with the shelter at the bottom – now demolished. Growing up in Cromer long before computer games and smartphones became the primary source of entertainment for young people, I spent most of my free time outside in…
Flood tide at Morston Quay North Norfolk I visited North Norfolk’s Morston Quay recently and found that the National Trust (NT) had affixed an explanatory display board to the side of the lookout building detailing the Trust’s controversial plan to build a new visitor centre on the eastern edge of what is now the car parking area. The NT’s plans have prompted strong opposition from Morston residents and the sailing fraternity, who feel that the ancient harbour should not…
Deepdale Festival 2024 Thursday 26th to Sunday 29th September www.deepdalefestival.co.uk “Chris puts together another incredible line-up for Deepdale Festival 2024 In late September, Deepdale Camping & Rooms will be welcoming incredible artists and festival goers to the lovely surroundings of Burnham Deepdale for their annual music festival with a heart of folk – Deepdale Festival 2024 For anyone who has attended the festival previously, it won’t come as a surprise that Chris Haycock has put together another fantastic line-up, including…
The North Norfolk village of Stiffkey made the national news yesterday (01.11) when the case of the Stiffkey footbridge was featured on BBC Radio 4’s PM programme. Some months ago, the National Trust decided to remove the footbridge across a creek on Stiffkey Marshes. The bridge facilitated access to the marsh and is considered by the locals as a safety feature, allowing egress from the marsh if someone is cut off by the tide. The Trust is the custodian…
The old lifeboat house at Wells-next-the-Sea North Norfolk What I am about to write about is a phenomenon that has affected not just North Norfolk. I am sure that other parts of the UK, where tourism forms a significant portion of the economy, will have noticed a marked increase in visitor numbers. Norfolk’s tourism industry suffered severely during the pandemic, with many jobs lost, business closures and millions of pounds removed from the local economy. Post-pandemic, the recovery has been…
I posted an article at the end of 2019 that began: “Almost there! 2020 beckons and I wonder what that will bring for North Norfolk and the rest of the world. What a year 2019 has been. Political turmoil has gripped the nation this year, in fact for the past three years, but things in that regard should now settle down and we will see less of politicians on our television screens.” Well, I got that wrong! A global pandemic…
Christmas & Winter Exhibition 2022 at BIRDscapes Gallery Glandford North Norfolk starts Saturday 3rd December.
North Norfolk’s Holkham Hall This weekend’s Sunday Times Style magazine featured North Norfolk as a possible mini-break venue. The front page header reads: “Cornwall! Norfolk! Whitley Bay?” I turned the page and read: “North Norfolk increasingly plays host to an arty, intellectual crowd.” Very nice of them to say so! The article continued to heap praise: “Champagne sands and some of the most beautiful gardens in England make the North Norfolk coast a desirable retreat”. The gardens featured are those…
I have received an email from North Norfolk’s BIRDscapes Gallery at Glandford regarding its reopening. “Hello from BIRDscapes, We are really pleased that with the Covid situation seeming to be improving daily, we will soon be able to welcome you back to BIRDscapes and our new Spring Exhibition. We will be opening at 11am on Saturday 24th April with an exhibition devoted to the joys of spring, which will continue until Sunday 16th May. We are all looking forward to…
The North Norfolk port town of Wells-next-the-Sea has been named as being one of the best places to live in the UK by the Sunday Times. In its supplement on the 28th of March the newspaper described the location of Wells-next-the-Sea in North Norfolk: “This bewitching stretch of coast has charms of its own – golden sands, creeks and marshes bathed in ethereal light, endless horizons and wondrous wildlife.” Wells Maltings arts centre also came in for praise as did…