For more information and to book please visit www.mrandmrssmith.com or let us arrange your whole trip, by calling +44 (0)20 8987 4312 or from the USA dial 1 866 610 3867.
This flat-as-a-pancake county is filled with historical houses and wild countryside, and criss-crossed with waterways. It also has perhaps the most fascinating, breathtaking and romantic coastline in the country.
Partly because it’s so flat – you can see the weather changing, the light and clouds moving across the sky, the tides zooming up the beach – Norfolk gives a real sense of nature at work. Explore at your leisure in Holkham Nature Reserve, or speak to your hotel about organised trips. Seal-spotting and sailing are particularly recommended.
Our round-up of the hippest hideaways and romantic boutique hotels in Norfolk
Tucked off the high street of the market town of Swaffham in Norfolk, Strattons hotel is a family-run restaurant with rooms that's as family-friendly and eco-friendly as it is individual.
Planes, trains, automobiles, or maybe even helicopter – we tell you the best way to go.
August Cromer Carnival is a proper English village affair, with floats, bands and fireworks (www.cromercarnival.co.uk). October Champion’s Day at Newmarket (www.newmarketracecourses.co.uk).
The award-winning restaurant is one of this chic boutique hotel’s main attractions. Here they serve organic and locally sourced produce prepared in thought-provoking style, specialising in cheeses from the British Isles and wine from around the world.
Ash Close, Swaffham,
A shabby-chic hotel a pebble’s throw from sandy Holkham beach, the restaurant here ain’t half bad. Owners Lord and Lady Coke choose the best ingredients the surrounding area has to offer, such as Cromer crabs, Brancaster Mussels and venison, beef, game and eel from their Holkham Estate.
Park Road, Holkham, Wells-next-the-Sea
A vast Georgian manor-house hotel whose USP is its extensive kitchen garden where herbs, salads and baby vegetables are grown. Dine on this super-fresh produce while enjoying the breathtaking views from the terrace, including owls swooping in the twilight.
Grimston, King's Lynn
A bright, modern former coaching in, this bar/restaurant/hotel overlooks the quiet tree-lined green known as The Buttlands and offers stylish drinks/food/shelter in contemporary surroundings.
The Buttlands, Wells-next-the-Sea
This pub in Burnham Market is probably Norfolk’s best-known gastro destination, and quite right too: the award-winning food here – locally produced and lovingly cooked – is fabulous.
The Green, Burnham Market, King's Lynn
A traditional village pub with a top-draw restaurant attached, or should that be the other way round? Menus at this cosy, award-winning eaterie reflect what is best and freshest each day. In summer there is a strong Mediterranean influence, and if you come in winter, expect warming dishes from northern Europe.
The Common, Itteringham
A great place to stop off if you’re in the area, this country pub is packed full of memorabilia gathered by the owners over the years. There’s a roaring fire in the winter, the sound of peacocks in the summer and a chance the resident cat will come and sit of your lap all year round.
Stow Bardolph, King's Lynn
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