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21st March 2013

Easter fun in North Norfolk

We look forward to Easter at Cranmer because the signs of spring and the promise of better weather is looming on the horizon. It’s also the time of year we start to see lots of activities taking place in the North Norfolk area so our guests have plenty of things to do when they visit.

Over the Easter break weeks, there are lots of family led things to do and here’s just a few ideas we wanted to share with you:

SANDRINGHAM HOUSE
Visit the house where the Queen & members of the Royal family spend their Christmas holidays. Sandringham House opens up to the public from the 30th March and is a fantastic day out. You can take a tour of the house and fantastic grounds plus visit the museum where there are collections of Royal vehicles, photographs and memorabilia. Visit Website

HOLKHAM HALL
Holkham Hall will be running Easter activities between Good Friday and Easter Monday. The old kitchen will take you back to Victorian Times as cooks prepare and Easter Feast, where you can join in too by trying tasty treats, making decorations and helping Branston the butler lay the grand table.

You will also get the opportunity to guess the weight of a giant Faberge-style chocolate egg, which has been especially made by The Chocolate Deli for Holkham’s Easter event.

Other activities include a treasure hunt plus plenty of games and crafts including the opportunity to make your own Easter hat.

Holkham will also be opening up a fantastic new woodland play area for kids on the 25th March so make sure you visit this whilst you are there! Visit Website 

PENSTHORPE
Between the 28th March – 14th April, Pensthorpe will be running an Easter Eggstravanasa which consists of a self guided trail that will take you around the reserve so you can uncover some fascinating facts about nature in the Spring time. There are lots of games to play and questions to answer, whilst also learning how the natural world ties in with Easter Traditions. There’s a prize available for everyone who manages to answer all of the questions. Visit Website

CREAKE ABBEY
Easter Egg hunts and craft activities will run from the 28th March – 14th April. Children will be taken on a magical tour of the abbey ruins, around the shops and nearby lanes to hunt down an Easter Egg whilst craft activities will include making a cute wooden spoon bunny or chick, creating hanging springtime bugs and limited edition Easter pictures to colour in and decorate. Visit Website

GRESSENHALL FARM & WORKHOUSE
There are lots of Easter fun activities taking place at Gressenhall between 28th March – 14thApril. Take part in a new for in Art Attach! Meet our shepherd to find out more about our sheep and lambs and also have a go at creating life yourself by making a newspaper post and planting a runner bean seed which you can take home to grow. Visit Website

We also have a fantastic coastline and our beaches are great for exploring at this time of year. There are plenty of little rock pools to hunt around in to find small crabs, fish and shells. If you are really brave, you can also paddle your toes into the icy waters of the sea too!

During the run up to Easter we will be updating our Facebook Page on a daily basis with other ideas on what you can do in North Norfolk over the Easter Holidays, so make sure you like our page to keep informed. 

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12th March 2013

Seasonal Recipe

Joseph from The Art Café in Glandford, has kindly shared his popular Rhubarb & Custard Cheesecake recipe with us. 

Early or forced Rhubarb is much pinker and sweeter than the rhubarb harvested later on in the year, so is best for this recipe.


FACT: Did you know that Rhubarb is actually a vegetable as it’s a stem of a perennial plant?

Rhubarb & Custard Cheesecake

Serves 8 – 10 people depending on how sweet you are. 

FOR THE BASE
You can either use a good quality shop brought shortbread biscuit or make your own using the following ingredients:

150g Plain flour
100g Margarine
50g Caster sugar
Pinch of salt 
1tsp of ginger powder

Cream together the margarine and sugar, then add the salt and ginger. Mix together and then add the flour, Knead using your hands and roll out into a rough but even shape and bake for 15 minutes at 160 degrees c.

After they are slightly golden take out of the oven and allow to cool completely. Once cooled, whizz them up in a food processor to turn into crumbs and add a touch of almond essence.  Spread into the desired final cheesecake tin and flatten as much as possible then bake for 7-8 minutes again at 160 degrees c. 

FOR THE TOPPING

600g fresh Rhubarb (forced is better as it has more flavour) 
300g light soft brown sugar
Juice of 2 lemons 
Drop of red food colouring (optional) 
3 tbsp Agar Agar flakes
450g cream cheese
250ml custard (either home made of shop bought)
150ml double cream 
4 tbsp caster sugar

Chop and wash the rhubarb into rough chunks, place in a deep pan with the light brown sugar and a dash of water and heat until “thick and mushy” then add in the agar agar and leave to cool (add the colouring here if desired) 

Put the lemon juice, cream cheese, custard, double cream and caster sugar into a blender and mix until completely smooth, and add the mushed rhubarb until “tart” enough for your taste.  Blend once more and pour onto of the biscuit base. 

Leave in the fridge to set for 4-6 hours (or pop in the freezer if you are pushed for time)

Serve and Enjoy!

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21st February 2013

A flexible events venue with a green twist

The Green Room was the final barn to be fully refurbished at Cranmer and opened in October 2012. The aim of this room was to offer a fully functional events venue that’s available to local businesses to book and use for meetings and events whilst also being an intimate venue to host yoga classes, showcase holistic therapies and exhibit local artwork and photography displays.

In addition to this, the Green Room is also available for our cottage residents to use, to hold celebrations and parties. It’s even a great private dining area which can be utilised when large group bookings can’t all fit in one cottage dining area and they need some extra space.

This flexible venue combines traditional and contemporary features and can accommodate up to 25 people. It’s equipped with state of the art technology including a large flat screen TV, AV equipment & WIFI internet connection. Specialist lighting has also been installed to offer ambience lighting to suit any occasion.

The venue is self-contained with toilet facilities and a small galley kitchen and all facilities are situated on the ground floor making it wheelchair accessible.

As part of our Green Tourism Gold Award and to support our green ethics, the venue is eco-friendly and powered from our on-site wind turbine and solar panels. In addition to this, we offer recycling facilities, supply recycled pens, pencils and paper, ensure that any unused water is used to water our plantsand only serve fairtrade tea and coffee.

If you’d like to learn more about using the Green Room to host an event, class or party, we’d be delighted to discuss your requirements and organise a venue viewing. Contact us by calling 01328 823135 or drop us an email to bookings@norfolk-luxury-cottages.co.uk 

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7th February 2013

A busy winter at Cranmer

Now that February is here and the nights are beginning to get lighter, it feels like we’re beginning to emerge from the depths of winter and look forward to spring.

We love the early signs of spring cropping up around Cranmer, the odd snowdrop scattered around the grounds, buds beginning to appear on trees and signs of daffodils beginning to emerge from the ground give us a sure sign that the warmer weather isn’t too far away.

Whilst we look forward to the coming months, we can also look back and say that we’ve had a rather busy winter. November saw us launch The Green Room, which is our purpose build events and meetings room. It’s been designed to cater for business hire during the week as is also available for cottage residents to hire to hold family celebrations or use as a private dining room when the cottage space just isn’t enough.

We’ve also had an influx of visitors to the cottages over the winter period. Christmas is always a busy period for us because North Norfolk comes alive over this festive period, but it’s also been a very busy January too.

To make the New Year rather eventful, the inclement weather hit us in January covering Norfolk with a good covering of snow. It certainly made the North Norfolk countryside look picture perfect.

In addition to all of this activity, we’ve also been busy refurbishing some of our cottages. Swallow’s kitchen and Woodpecker’s bathroom and former bunk room are currently undergoing new transformations and we’ll be unveiling the new look very soon.
Looking ahead into February, half term is looming along with Pancake Day and Valentine’s Day too! There are lots of half term activities taking place throughout North Norfolk and it’s not too late to book a break with us.

Don’t also forget that Mother’s Day is on Sunday 10th March. Why not treat your mum to a well-deserved break away. We’re currently offering a free bottle of champagne OR a box of locally made handmade chocolates from The Chocolate Deli Company in Walsingham with any short breaks booked over the Mothering Sunday weekend* Simply use voucher code 4FF61 if you’d like the bottle of champagne, or 1KE5C for the chocolates when you booking your break.

The Hoste Arms are also offering a fantastic mothering Sunday package. Champagne afternoon tea followed by mini facial and back massage £70.00 per person – contact Hoste Beauty Spa to book. Tel: 01328 737022. It’s the perfect gift for the perfect mother!

To keep up with what’s happening locally to us, make sure you keep checking our Facebook page as we regularly post up local events, activities news and information.

Don’t also forget sign up to our newsletter to receive our exclusive offers and latest updates.  

*Offer is available from 7th February until 8th March for all short breaks that fall over 10th March 2013. 

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7th February 2013

A busy winter at Cranmer

Now that February is here and the nights are beginning to get lighter, it feels like we’re beginning to emerge from the depths of winter and look forward to spring.
We love the early signs of spring cropping up around Cranmer, the odd snowdrop scattered around the grounds, buds beginning to appear on trees and signs of daffodils beginning to emerge from the ground give us a sure sign that the warmer weather isn’t too far away.

Whilst we look forward to the coming months, we can also look back and say that we’ve had a rather busy winter. November saw us launch The Green Room, which is our purpose build events and meetings room. It’s been designed to cater for business hire during the week as is also available for cottage residents to hire to hold family celebrations or use as a private dining room when the cottage space just isn’t enough.

We’ve also had an influx of visitors to the cottages over the winter period. Christmas is always a busy period for us because North Norfolk comes alive over this festive period, but it’s also been a very busy January too.

To make the New Year rather eventful, the inclement weather hit us in January covering Norfolk with a good covering of snow. It certainly made the North Norfolk countryside look picture perfect.

In addition to all of this activity, we’ve also been busy refurbishing some of our cottages. Swallow’s kitchen and Woodpecker’s bathroom and former bunk room are currently undergoing new transformations and we’ll be unveiling the new look very soon.
Looking ahead into February, half term is looming along with Pancake Day and Valentine’s Day too! There are lots of half term activities taking place throughout North Norfolk and it’s not too late to book a break with us.

Don’t also forget that Mother’s Day is on Sunday 10thMarch. Why not treat your mum to a well-deserved break away. We’re currently offering a free bottle of champagne ORa box of locally made handmade chocolates from The Chocolate Deli Company in Walsingham with any short breaks booked over the Mothering Sunday weekend* Simply use voucher code 4FF61 if you’d like the bottle of champagne, or 1KE5Cfor the chocolates when you booking your break.

The Hoste Arms are also offering a fantastic mothering Sunday package. Champagne afternoon tea followed by mini facial and back massage £70.00 per person – contact Hoste Beauty Spa to book. Tel: 01328 737022. It’s the perfect gift for the perfect mother!
To keep up with what’s happening locally to us, make sure you keep checking our Facebook page as we regularly post up local events, activities news and information.
Don’t also forget sign up to our newsletter to receive our exclusive offers and latest updates.  

*Offer is available from 7th February until 8thMarch for all short breaks that fall over 10th March 2013. 

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23rd January 2013

Latest news from Manonabeach

Earlier this month we told you that manonabeach (www.manonabeach.com) was visiting the North Norfolk coastline to video some of the beautiful beaches we have.

We’re delighted to share his latest images and videos of Holkham beach which are currently on his Facebook Page and website.

Enjoy!

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8th January 2013

Banish the winter blues and escape to the North Norfolk Coast

January can be a drab month, it’s the post-Christmas hangover month for many. The weather can be dark and dull and many hit the gym or start a diet after indulging over the festive period and dieting can be really depressing. Did you know that the third January in the month is classified as Blue Monday, because it’s apparently the most depressing day of the year?
To beat these winter blues, how about a break away from the norm? We’re currently offering a massive 20% discount on all breaks that are taken before the 1st March 2013*
Our luxury cottages offer a sanctuary for you to relax and experience a little piece of paradise, regardless of the weather!
Being situated in North Norfolk, we are lucky to have the rugged North Norfolk Coastline on our doorstep. There are numerous walking routes where you can enjoy the fresh air, blast away the cobwebs and get the exercise you promised yourself when making your New Year’s Resolutions.
If the great outdoors doesn’t appeal then how about exploring some of the local market towns North Norfolk has to offer where you can peruse the shops and enjoy locally sourced produce from nearby pubs and restaurants.
Don’t forget that when you are staying at our cottages, you have access to our fantastic facilities which include a games room, heated indoor swimming pool and tennis courts. We also have the Green Room available to hire for private functions and parties, so if you’re thinking about organising a family get together or surprise party contact us for more details.
Your 20% discount will automatically be deducted when making your booking online.
Check availability and book online here >>> 
*Offer isn’t applicable for breaks booked w/c 8th & 15th February 2013 and breaks must be booked by 31st January 2013.
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8th January 2013

The Shaw Method Swimming Course

Improve your swimming – or learn to swim – “from the inside out”
We are delighted to offer for the first time, The Shaw Method Swimming course which will run between the 4th– 7th March.

Conventional approaches to teaching swimming focus perhaps too early on what the arms and legs should do. By using the Shaw Method, rather than starting to work on a whole stroke, you’ll discover how to connect to yourself and the water which will improve your balance, alignment and breathing. Rather than just getting instruction from the pool-side, you will be shown & then helped in the pool to experience what is required.
Having built your confidence – and feeling more comfortable with these fundamentals – you will then be guided progressively through the basic steps necessary to coordinate two swimming strokes: breaststroke and either back crawl or front crawl. You’ll learn how to glide through the water, how to generate power efficiently and, most of all, not to waste energy. Understand why it’s not recommended to actively breathe in: it disrupts the rhythm and flow of swimming. Cherish the vision of the path to swimming more enjoyably, creatively and sustainably and know what skills need developing and how to continue practising.
Our private heated swimming pool is the perfect, relaxing venue to gain confidence in the water. 
About the instructor
This course is run by Jonathan Drake. Jonathan is an experienced teacher of the Alexander Technique and Tai-chi, and author of three books on Alexander Technique. He is passionate about holistic approaches to improving fitness and well-being using Alexander Technique principles. These include running and walking, rowing, skiing and skating, and swimming. Swimming did not come easily to him & he felt cold and uncomfortable in water as a young person. This all began to change when he started having Alexander Technique lessons. In 1999 he met Steven Shaw, pioneer of the Art of Swimming and then the world of swimming, its joys and possibilities of connection to self and the water, began to open up to him. Jonathan has assisted Steven on Art of Swimming holidays in Iceland and at Champneys in the UK. He is a member of the Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique and a Swimming Teacher Association qualified teacher
For more details about this course, visit our website, Email lynne@norfolk-luxury-cottages.co.uk or Telephone (+44) 01328 823135
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8th January 2013

What does the beach mean to you?

Rumour has it that manonabeach www.manonabeach.com  is staying in the area this week. Manonabeach has a fab website covering journey’s on most of the UK’s best beaches including Norfolk’s favourite family beaches at Blakeney, Brancaster & Holkham.  In his short films he asks the question “what does the beach mean to you?” for many the beach is the ultimate escape delivering a sense of well-being or just space to breathe.  It really does illustrates perfectly why the English beach is a great place to be at any time of year. The Norfolk coastline has a wonderful unspoilt feel with wide open spaces softly lit by huge skies.
Here are some video clips from manonabeach’s website showing visitors who recently visited Blakeney
Wherever you are staying, we hope you have a great break on the North Norfolk coast and we look forward to more of your video clips soon!
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19th December 2012

Offshore Wind Farm boosting local economy

Sheringham Shoals Offshore wind farm, based 10 miles out to sea, is one of several offshore renewable wind farms that are being constructed off the coast of Norfolk.
These projects are normally faced with hard opposition, but  Wells-next-the-sea have really embraced the opportunities the wind farm can bring.
Wells, is a quaint seaside town which heavily relies on the tourist trade. It has had a port for over 700 years and a small fishing fleet still work out of the harbour. When the Sheringham Shoals project was in planning phase, it was decided that the Wells outer harbour would be the obvious choice to transport technicians and engineers to and from the wind farm. There are approximately 150 people working on the wind farm construction and once it’s fully operational it will be run for at least 50 years.
It was reported recently on a local BBC documentary that local businesses in Wells have benefitted from the wind farm activity. Local accommodation providers have regular visitors staying both in and out of the season. And it’s not only accommodation providers who are reaping the benefits,  a local butchers and greengrocers also receive regular large orders to supply a floating hotel, situated just off the coast of Wells, which accommodates between 100 – 150 people who are working on the project. There are plenty of other small businesses such as a chandlery and many others who have also seen increased trade outside of the holiday season.
The town’s economy has been boosted as a result of the wind farm and it is hoped that with the long term strategy in place, this green energy technology will leave a lasting legacy.
Our cottages are close to Wells and with our great green credentials we have benefitted from corporate and associated business from family and friends employed in Wells as part of the offshore wind technologies installations.  It’s exciting to know that renewable resources are having such a positive impact to our local businesses. 
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