THE long, slow curve of Norfolk’s coastline fades almost imperceptibly into the North Sea. It’s a mysterious, intoxicating land scape where low chalk downs, peppered with woods, fields and flint villages, merge into vast stretches of beach and marsh.
The sea, luminous under huge skies in the distant haze, works quietly on the shore. The soundscape is not the crashing breakers and hectic gulls of the ozone coast of the West Country, but the bubbling cry of the curlew, high-piping oystercatchers and, if you are lucky, perhaps the low, distant boom of a bittern.
Of course, there are storms, swells and tidal surges and, when an easterly wind blows up, it can be as bracing as Skegness. Yet this only adds to the sense of remoteness, of being on the edge of things, of escape from the everyday. Not surprising, then, that Norfolk has held such an enduring appeal for the Royal Family. Members have been coming here to relax and unwind since 1862, when Queen Victoria bought Sandringham—a 7,700-acre estate, graced at the time by a rather more modest house, tucked between the sea and Sir Robert Walpole’s Houghton Hall—as a 21st-birthday present for the then Prince of Wales, later Edward VII. The Prince moved in with his new wife, Princess Alexandra, and liked it so much that he soon decided he needed more space to accommodate a growing family and indulge his taste for lavish entertainment—despite the fact that the original hall had 29 bedrooms.
この記事は Country Life UK の June 07, 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Country Life UK の June 07, 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
