Above: Norfolk's ornate village signs – such as Thornham – depict something of the places past.
Above right: Looking
across a scenic wildflower meadow to Happisburgh (pronounced Haysborough) Lighthouse which dates back to 1790, Britain's only independently operated lighthouse
12 BRITAIN
sk anyone to picture a quintessentially British landscape and they might well envisage hills and deep dales. But the landscape of East Anglia, and in this case Norfolk, does not fit with such imagination. So famously devoid
of elevation is Norfolk, even the playwright Noël Coward was prompted to make a joke of its flatness in his play, Private Lives, “Very flat, Norfolk/ There’s no need to be unpleasant.” Norfolk may only be 344 feet above sea level at its highest point, but that is no reason to avoid it. Anyone who sees the exquisite medieval streets of Norwich, or the coast’s impossibly wide sandy beaches and intense, panoramic skies, will redefine their idea of beauty. Metaphorically speaking, this county is far from flat. The name Norfolk derived from the 5th-century Angles
who were known as the “North Folk” to the “South Folk” of Suffolk. It is bordered on its north and eastern sides by the North Sea, and to the west by The Wash, a vast estuary system where the mouths of several rivers meet. Pre-Roman activity has been unearthed at Grimes Graves, where excavations of Neolithic flint mines are open to the public. In 47AD and 60AD, the local Iceni tribe revolted against Roman invasion, and in their second battle were led by Boudicca. Archaeological evidence places Iceni at Cockley Cley, near Swaffham, now home to the Cockley Cley Iceni Village, a reconstruction of the type of village Boudicca’s tribe would have inhabited almost 2,000 years ago.
One of England’s bigger counties, Norfolk’s tranquillity
makes walking and cycling easy pastimes. Several long-distance paths criss-cross the county, including a National Trail, the Norfolk Coastal Path. Boating enthusiasts set sail for the Norfolk Broads.
Though some sections of the Broads cross the county boundary with Suffolk, they are the jewel in Norfolk’s crown. The Broads is a unique 125-mile network of inland waterways, formed in medieval times when peat was dug for fuel and the ditches later flooded. The Broads were given National Park status in 1989, to help protect the distinctive ecosystem. There are strict speed limits for all watercraft and areas where boats are banned altogether. There are yacht clubs for the sailing enthusiasts and
plenty of companies specialising in holiday hire, so you can stay on the water and enjoy the outdoors. Boats are also available just for the day. Nestled among the reeds, it is easy to forget the wetlands are punctuated by areas of solid ground, with villages, pubs and preserved windmills. Although many of Arthur Ransome’s popular Swallows and Amazons books have a Lake District setting, he also immortalised the Broads in Coot Club and The Big Six. Lesser known but similarly charming are the Fens, to
the west of King’s Lynn, on the borders of Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire. This marshland was drained and the water re-routed in order to create land for arable farming. So many acres of East Anglia were given over in this way
PHOTOS: VISITBRITAIN IMAGES/PICTURES COLOUR LIBRARY/NEIL HOLMES/DAVE PORTER
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