If you have been following our blog, you will know by now that this is the first season that we have let Oaktree Cottage.
So we were delighted that our first guests had such an enjoyable short break…
“Fantastic Cottage.
Superb Location.
Had a wonderful stay, and hope to be back later in the year.
THANKS.”
Since the railways first connected the fishing village of Cromer with London, Cromer crab has been famous for its quality.
Last year’s inaugural Crab and Lobster Festival in Cromer and Sheringham was so successful, that this year it is back, and bigger.
The focus of the festival is over the weekend of 20-22nd May, when there will art trails, cookery demonstrations and tastings, live music, a classic car rally, a beer and cider festival, and the second World Pier Crabbing Championship!
The festival then continues with a month-long restaurant trail with a firm seafood focus.
Book your stay now, and, who knows, you could be the next world pier crabbing champion…
We’ve been booking self-catering holidays for years now, and the biggest put-off for any property, whether advertised in a brochure or a web site, was not being able to get a view of what it was like inside and out. Call me paranoid, but I wonder what there is to hide!
Well with the Internet, there is no excuse not to show everthing, which is why we have added video tours of the main rooms (see Accommodation > Look Around).
At least you’ll know we have nothing to hide!
We have spent the last week in the cottage putting a few finishing touches in place – new carpets in the bedrooms, a new wood-burning stove in the lounge, and some additional pictures and mirrors in the rooms.
We also had appointments with some of the well-known holiday agencies to investigate other marketing options. The feedback was excellent – if we decide to go down that route we would be listed in the ‘top-end’ brochures, and graded as a 4 four-star property, which is as high as a traditional cottage could achieve.
Since we have only been open for business for a couple of weeks, and the bookings are coming in, we’re going to stay independent for now. We feel it maintains a more personal service, and allows us to keep the prices lower by avoiding the commission charged by the agencies.
Still it’s good to get the feedback that we’ve got it right!
As of this week we are formally taking bookings from early March.
As we have only just opened for bookings we currently have great availability – but if you would like to book a specific week then please make your booking soon as we expect the peak weeks to book quite quickly…
One of our grandest neighbours has to be the Stody Estate, which manages the adjacent farmland and woodland.
However, throughout May, the estate takes on a very different importance, as this is when the gardens (10 minute walk from the cottage) are open to the public. The gardens were created in the 1930s and are one of the foremost Rhododendron and Azalea gardens in the country, and also incorporate a spectacular Japanese water garden.
The gardens are open every Sunday throughout May, as well as the May Bank Holiday (30th). If you are planning a self-catering holiday in the spring, check out the Stody Estate Gardens and if you are a fan of country house gardens it should feature on your itinerary!
Unless you have had your eyes to the ground in recent weeks, you will have seen the distinctive ‘V’ formations of migrating geese in the skies.
The pink-footed geese, in their tens of thousands migrate from Iceland and Greenland each year for the milder climate of East Anglia. While the birds are not especially pretty on an individual basis, seeing a whole flock at take-off, or flying in multiple ‘V’ formations is certainly a seasonal spectacle that is worth seeking out.
Great places to see them up close at the moment include Pensthorpe (see the floodlit feeds from the comfort of the heated hides!) and Holkham.
We’ve just spent Christmas in Oaktree Cottage as part of our preparations for letting, and also as a base while meeting up with friends and family over Christmas. We completely redecorated one of the bedrooms, furnished the entire house, and generally performed a ‘test drive’ on the house.
As expected, we encountered a couple of teething problems – most notably leaky sealant around the bath, and the need to re-line the chimney – the first now fixed, and the second at the top of the ‘to-do’ list, along with new carpets in bedrooms.
We also took some interior photographs of the rooms which are ready to use, so look out for updates soon.
The most encouraging aspects were the comments from friends and family, and more objectively from area managers from a couple of holiday companies – all essentially supporting our view that we have a gorgeous and characterful cottage that will be ideal as a holiday home… Added to which we had a fantastic time, and really had to tear ourselves away!
Oaktree Cottage is available for booking next year – so get in quick!
Whilst not as famous as Glastonbury, the Thursford Christmas Spectacular brings in as many visitors each year from all over the country.
Even though it’s too late to get tickets for this year’s show, if you are planning to be in the area next year then think about booking now.
To give an idea of what to expect, this year’s show has a budget of £3 million, a cast of more than 100, including dancing penguins and a forest of Christmas trees – with costumes alone costing more than £250,000.
If you are planning to take a Norfolk self-catering holiday in November or December next year, then add this to your to-do list…
If you are in the area over Christmas, be sure to go into Holt, ideally around dusk, to check out the lights. This year they were turned on by Jake Humphrey of BBC Formula One fame.
The lights are better seen than described, but consist of thousands of white fairy lights tracing the rooflines, gables, and windows of the town’s many Georgian buildings.
If you can make it into Holt on 15th December, you will also be able to enjoy the late night opening of the town’s many boutique shops, which includes complimentary food and drink in many stores.
See www.holtchristmaslights.org for all the details.