Norfolk 2011

So, as I sit on the sofa recovering from a) my horrid cold and b) watching Lincoln City lose to Cheltenham this afternoon, I thought I would write a wee post about our holiday. We packed our days, as usual, so I won't bore you with a blow by blow account, but I will give you our Norfolk recommendations...

After a trip to Sandringham and the Norfolk Lavender Centre, we found our way to our first lovely B&B. This was the slightly scary painting on the side our their house...

...we are in the country after all! And this was their friendly horse...

We moved to another lovely B&B two days later. During our trip we visited so many great places, including Norwich...

...where I stood in front of the famous Maddermarket Theatre, an important place in British Theatre History. You didn't think I'd be able to switch off entirely, did you?

Holkham proved to be a big favourite, both the house and the grounds...

...and the beach. Gwyneth Paltrow walked along this stretch of sand at the end of Shakespeare in Love. Here is me 'doing a Gwyneth'. I went one better though and took the plunge into the north sea cheered on by my tough Scottish husband. It was freezing and despite D's protestations that 'it gets better the longer you're in'...I got out! Was suitably proud of myself, however.

We saw a lot of wildlife on our trip, including all the usual farmyard stuff, with some amazing horses, but also a lot of sea life. Here I am with the doggie from our second B&B. This picture makes D laugh as he is super scared of dogs while I am a bit blase! But in this picture it looks as if the dog is going for me :-)

For our final night, D had booked a surprise. As we drove up the drive of Brovey Lair, I had no idea what I had come to. As it turned out this is the home of one terrific chef and her husband, who acted as our personal chef and butler for the night. Despite the fact that it is really a family front room, this place has been voted the best fish restaurant in Britain. And it certainly didn't disappoint. Amazing food, amazing atmosphere, amazing weather, amazing rooms to sleep in, amazing breakfast by the pool.

I could bore you with more photos, but I won't. A good time had by all despite my cold. Norfolk is a pretty part of the world, with lovely villages, beautiful houses and an incredible coastline. And it's only 2 hours from Lincoln.

And so it's back to university tomorrow to sort out a couple of things and then we're off to Edinburgh for the Royal Wedding weekend. Have a great week one and all.

CSW