GARDENS
HOUGHTON HALL
Winner of the Christie’s Historic Houses Association ‘Garden of the Year Award’ in 2007, the 5 acre Walled Garden is one of Houghton’s most popular attractions.
In 1991, the present Lord Cholmondeley set about creating a new area within the walls of the old kitchen garden as a memorial to his grandmother, Lady Sybil Cholmondeley. With help from his then head gardener, Paul Underwood, and – later – award winning designers Julian and Isabel Bannerman, the space was divided into several contrasting ‘ornamental gardens’. These include a spectacular double-sided herbaceous border, an Italian garden, a formal rose parterre, fruit and vegetable gardens, a glasshouse, a rustic temple, antique statues, fountains and contemporary sculptures including Jeppe Hein’s “Waterflame”, Stephen Cox’s “Flask II”, and Richard Long’s “Houghton Cross” currently positioned on the croquet lawn. www.houghtonhall.com
EAST RUSTON OLD VICARAGE
An exotic garden in an exposed prairie landscape by the North Norfolk coast
A beautiful, 32 acre modern garden containing many garden rooms with herbaceous borders, gravel gardens, sub-tropical gardens, a box parterre, sunken rose garden, Mediterranean garden, Desert Wash and a large woodland garden — there really is so much to explore. www.eastrustonoldvicarage.co.uk
HINDRINGHAM HALL GARDENS
Hindringham Hall is the most delicious little moated manor house straight out of a story book with its medieval moat and fishponds, working walled vegetable garden, formal and informal borders wrapped around a brick and flint Tudor Hall.
The current owners have developed the gardens over the past 25 years and open to visitors twice a week between April and October.
Make time to walk round the medieval fishponds and take tea in the Café beside the moat, smell the roses, watch the swans, listen to the birdsong and enjoy the peace and beauty of this special garden. www.hindringhamhall.org
WILDLIFE
With its gently rolling countryside and wooded lanes, wildlife sightings (even from the car) are a big part of what makes the Norfolk countryside so interesting, but you don’t have to go far to see some truly wonderful wildlife sights.
holkham national nature reserve
A haven for wildlife and in particular ground-nesting and over-wintering wildfowl and waders. The reserve was designated as a National Nature Reserve in 1967 and was managed by Natural England until 2012. In 2017, the Holkham Estate was awarded Approved Body Status under Section 35 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act. This makes Holkham one of a very few privately owned estates in England to hold this status which enables the estate to manage the Holkham National Nature Reserve.
sculthopre moor nature reserve
One of the country’s most accessible reserves, Sculthorpe is internationally recognised for its wildlife. The reserve is located in the beautiful Wensum Valley just a few miles from The Yellow House, near Fakenahm, and is a marvellous, peaceful place with a huge variety of wildlife in a rich and unusual mosaic of woodland, fen and reedbed habitats.
Boardwalks make access easy for everyone, and lead you through the reserve, visiting all the best areas. Bird feeders and nest boxes are sited along the way, adding further interest and there are viewing platforms, places to sit and relax along the way.
The reserve is rich, full of wildlife and varied but, at only 18-hectares (45 acres), is easy to explore and it offers everyone a real opportunity to get involved with the natural environment. Small but perfectly formed, a real gem of a reserve, and it’s a great place to go for a stroll.
seals at blakeney point
Blakeney Point is home to England's largest Grey Seal colony and many summer breeding birds. The best way to get close and personal to the wildlife on Blakeney Point, is to book a trip on one of the locally operated ferry trips departing from Morston Quay. Please note: it is not possible to walk to see the seals on Blakeney Point.