Author Archives: Dave

Thursford Christmas Spectacular

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…

Holt Christmas Lights & Late Night Opening

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.

On the starting blocks

Well, after a long search for the perfect holiday cottage, we have completed our puchase of Oaktree Cottage.

We wanted to find a traditional brick and flint cottage, but with a layout that was suited to modern living.  The traditional layout of Norfolk cottages in the 17th to early 19th century was “one up and one down” with most of the daily living going on in the downstairs room, and sleeping upstairs.  Consequently, most conversions (and many holiday homes) have compromised layouts where typically either the bathroom, second bedroom (or both) are accessed through the main bedroom.

Fortunately, Oaktree Cottage had been sympathetically extended so that a more practical layout could be achieved, where all rooms are accessed from a hallway.  Being equipped with central heating also means that it is cosy even if you don’t want to light the fire.

We are now in the process of putting in new furniture, and refreshing the decoration to make sure that it is a welcoming home-from-home.