North Norfolk

To celebrate a certain two members of my family turning 65, we decamped enmasse to North Norfolk.  I don't know about you, but finding self-catering houses with five bedrooms within a reasonable price range is really quite difficult.  Now although I would quite like to have stayed in a 15 bedroom stately home, (I look at them every day, it would be nice to stay in one), we did find a most charming cottage, called Coastguard's Cottage in Thornham.  From the back garden you had uninterrupted views of the sea (if you don't count the odd twitcher).  It was a bit windy, so you glanced more than stared.  There was an apple tree in the garden - which I took a couple of apples home from - made Mary Berry's apple cake - too good by far.  We pottered in Burnham Market - I bought a little ceramix box - only to find it in East Dulwich last week - ho hum - and enjoyed a rather tasty meal in the Hoste Arms.  Wind was a common feature over the weekend, got blown away on Holkham beach and nearly all got stuck in the mud trying to reach the sea - a bit further than it looked.  Enjoyed by all.  We stopped off at Wimpole Hall on the way home - a rather depressing house - given over to the National Trust (aren't they all) in the 1970s from a widow who had lived there by herself for 30 years - and you could feel the sadness from room to room. Still the parterre looked good.