A weekend in north Norfolk

Make Holt in north Norfolk your base for exploring this beautiful area, perfect for beach vibes, vintage – and plenty of crab!

When the old wood-built Norfolk village of Holt was struck by a devastating conflagration in 1708, its rebuild created the picturesque Georgian townscape. Set just back from the north Norfolk coast, even in the 11th-century Holt is recorded in the Domesday Book as a notable market town linked to the pretty old port Cley-next-the-Sea four miles away. And it remains a prosperous place today, stuffed full of chic lifestyle shops, specialist food spots, plus the venerable 18th-century store Bakers & Larners – a sort of Harrods of North Norfolk, right down to a fine food hall, which attracts people from all around the surrounding area.

Holt is a great base to explore the myriad attractions in the surrounding area such as Wells-next-the-Sea, Blakeney, Sheringham and Cromer, both blessed with wide sandy beaches. Sheringham also has a lifeboat museum plus local history and art at The Mo. Cromer is renowned for the superb crab landed here by its small historic fishing fleet, as well as a Victorian pier whose Pavilion Theatre stages the UK’s only remaining old-school end-of-the-pier variety show in both summer and winter.

In Holt itself, its central core of streets are all period cottages and arty outlets like contemporary art dealer Startle and the Bircham Gallery.

Down one of the little lanes Hidden Treasures of Holt is a showcase for vintage-inspired decorative creations. A stone’s throw away on Bull Street, Hoppers Yard is the site of a former old coaching inn and ale house and now home to places like the Folly Vintage Tearoom and the quirky Spirit of Van life, which sells eco homewares.

For vintage shopping start on a little square known as Fish Hill. Cobwebs is an Aladdin’s cave of memorabilia and ephemera, from vintage domestic stuff to retro entertainment and travel collectables. Sprout mixes retro-style homeware and fabrics with re-purposed and upcycled pieces.

Next door see The Red Dot Gallery a treasure trove of art, decorative pieces and vintage glass. Just around the corner on Market Place, House & Garden brings together mid-century ceramics, vintage glassware and antique metalwork with vibrant art prints celebrating the area. A few yards away, Oola Boola is Holt’s vintage fashion beacon, and for music see the Holt Vinyl Vault.

Just along Bull Street and on to Albert Street, Sarah Jane Reloved offers further mid-century temptations whilst Shirehall Plain Antiques Centre is a two-floor period warehouse offering a huge range of wares from 20 dealers in its nine showrooms. Richard Scott Antiques has an outstanding range of ceramics and pottery and tucked away down Lion House Court, is Holt Book Gallery with plenty of vintage Biggles hardbacks!

Must-see

• Houghton Hall Just over 20 miles west of Holt and built in the 1720s for Sir Robert Walpole – generally considered Britain’s first prime minister – Houghton Hall is a stunning historic pile adorned with perhaps the finest walled garden in Britain.
• North Norfolk Railway The so-called Poppy Line offers a spectacularly scenic vintage train ride from Holt, chugging across heathland to hit the coast at Weybourne and then on to Sheringham.

Where to eat

• Meadowsweet Buckle up for the dozen-course gourmet extravaganza (for around £130) dished up in the intimate setting of this Grade II-listed house in the heart of Holt.
• Gunton Arms Set within a 1,000-acre deer park 15 miles from Holt, this beautiful restaurant-with-rooms celebrates chef Stuart Tattersall’s way with seasonal produce.

Where to stay

• Kings Head Not to be confused with the Kings Head on Holt’s High Street, this handsome Georgian inn sits near the charming Letheringsett Water Mill about a mile from Holt. 
• Byfords Bed down in the oldest building in Holt, now offering 16 bedrooms inside what was once a row of flint-faced 15th-century cottages.

Tips for the first-time visitor

• Holt hosts an outdoor market on the first Sunday of the month from April to December 
• Peek inside the 15th-century Mannington Hall, Lady Walpole runs periodic evening tours of her family home, including drinks and canapés
• For a taste of Cromer crab in Holt, try the Owl Tea Rooms
• A fun way to take in some of Holt’s history is to follow the town’s Owl Trail, marked out by 24 numbered plaques set into the pavement outside diverse historic spots

WORDS: NORMAN MILLER