We started our Norfolk holiday on mid-summers day,if only someone had told the weather that! We definitely weren’t going to let a bit of cloud and drizzle spoil our day and all set off in our usual high spirits.  I met Carol and Mandy at Brazen Hall Barns and the staff for our first holiday since 2019 was complete.

I’d forgotten how stunning Brazen Hall Barn is, a clever and spacious barn conversion with 7 luxury en suite bedrooms and a large open plan living space with light streaming in from the plentiful windows and French doors looking out over the Norfolk countryside.

Mandy and I set off for Gressenhall Farm and WorkHouse to meet up with our first 2 guests, Mr and Mrs M, whose daughter had arranged to drop them off there to start their holiday.  The weather was still determined not to recognise it was Summer, so once we had all greeted each other and said our goodbyes to Mr and Mrs Ms daughter, we headed straight to the cafe for a welcome cup of tea and a sandwich.

Mr M had been born, lived and worked in Norfolk before moving south and he was fascinated to learn that the Gressenhall Farm and Work House was part of Norfolk Museums as he had once worked for them in a different museum.  Gressenhall started life as a Workhouse and since it’s closure has been a care home until the 70s when it became the Norfolk Museum of Rural Life – which a large part still is.  They have also bought the workhouse to life with artefacts, displays and stories of real people who lived and worked there.  We spent a few hours exploring the museum and grounds before departing for Brazen Hall, a short 20 minute journey.

Our other guests, Mr and Mrs D, had already arrived at the property and once we had showed our guests to their rooms, we had a cup of tea on the terrace until the weather reminded us it was not having any of this Summer business by drizzling a little bit.  We moved inside to continue our chat.

We woke up to bird song and glimmers of blue sky.  The guests had made their breakfast choices the evening before and decided they would like breakfast around 9am.  Some opted for cereals and toast, Mrs M went for the full English and I decided I’d like poached egg on toast. My poached egg choice led to a discussion about the best method for a perfect poached egg and I recalled the method I use which I’d learned from a cookery programme and always worked for me.  Carol adopted the method and was delighted with the results (if you’re interested my Perfect Poached egg method is below).  As we ate our breakfast we looked at the bird spotting sheet to fill in as the week progressed.

As you might have guessed from the title of this blog, today was bird themed and as I walked into the garden I was greeted by the sound of excited rooks.  I looked across to the small church and saw what they were getting into a tizzy about, they were mobbing a buzzard.  The buzzard was persistent but no match for the mob of angry rooks and eventually he “buzzed” off – see what I did there?

I have heard all about MindforYou’s Joy Inside sessions carried out over Zoom during the lockdown, but I had never seen or been a part of one.  The guests and I were in for a treat when we connected with the lovely Rosie, who had put together a bird themed session full of interesting facts, pictures, music, songs and a just for fun quiz.  Of course, the grand finale had to be the Birdie Song, neither Carol nor I could resist demonstrating the actions, much to the amusement of the guests!

The weather surpassed itself today as we woke up to clear blue skies.

After our breakfast the guests enjoyed a relaxing morning doing as they pleased.  Mrs M went into Fakenham with Mandy for an hour, to check out the shops and Mr M decided to do a jigsaw.  I’m sure Mr M was relieved when Mrs M returned with just the one bag! Mr and Mrs D chose to take their time and relax.  Before long it was time to set out for Wroxham on the Norfolk Broads.

The sun continued to shine as we made the 50 minute journey to  Wroxham Hotel, situated on the river with glorious views.  We made the most of the weather by sitting outside on the terrace, watching the world go by as we enjoyed our sandwiches.  It was a perfect day for messing about the river and as we sat Mr M recalled stories of his grandfathers time skippering a boat called The Queen of the Broads many years ago.

The weather was undecided this morning so the ladies, Mrs M, Mrs D and Mandy decided on a shopping trip to Downham Market.  The rest of us stayed at the accommodation listening to music, completing a word jigsaw and generally relaxing.

Mr M and I went for a walk in the field adjoining the property and watched a Red Kite in the distance.  We also found a feather from a large bird which Carol assured me Mandy could identify.  The sun was trying to break through and when the ladies returned we all enjoyed a coffee in the garden.  Carol was right, Mandy correctly identified the feather as a Buzzard wing feather – we googled it to confirm.

It was soon lunch time and we all travelled just up the road to The Crown at East Rudham.  We were greeted by a friendly waitress and shown to our tables.  Throughout our holiday we have received warm and friendly welcomes wherever we have visited, Norfolk is definitely pleased to see people  visiting once again.  After a tasty sandwich lunch we set off for Sandringham, Norfolk home of the Queen and only a 20 minute drive away. 

Sandringham is set in a forested estate with wide avenues leading up to it.  Once again we received a friendly welcome at the ticket office and Mr & Mrs M, with Mandy accompanying, took a buggy ride to the house where Mr and Mrs D and I met up with them.  The rain has started to fall so we were glad to get inside the house and joked about having a cuppa with the Queen.  The room guides were excellent as we wandered from room to room, all socially distanced and very well organised.  Although the rooms are grand there is a homeliness about the house and you can imagine the Royals enjoying their Christmases here.

After breakfast,packing and loading up luggage we left Brazen Hall Barns for the final time this holiday.  We headed for Pensthorpe Nature Reserve, just a few miles away.  We sat in front of the huge picture window observing many different species of ducks and birds on the large pond outside.  Mr and Mrs D walked around the reserve and Mr and Mrs M simply enjoyed the view.  It was a marvelous way to end the holiday and very fitting to end with seeing a huge variety of birds who live or visit our shores.