Land of mists and magic: a purple sunrise at Thurne Windmill on the Norfolk Broads
PEOPLE who live outside Norfolk and get their ideas about it from television programmes nearly always assume that the backdrop is more or less identikit, a matter of flat fields, wide skies, picturesque churches nestling among the reed beds and, once you get to the eastern side, seal-strewn beaches. In fact, the county is as differentiated as anywhere else. This is a big place—70 miles from Elm in the remote north-western corner down to Gorleston on the eastern coast in sight of the Suffolk border-with variations to match. The gap between one of the dinky north Norfolk market towns, with their stratospherically priced second-homer cottages, and some of the downbeat Breckland hamlets is as wide as the gulf between Hampstead and Brixton.
Thatched boathouses on Hickling Broad.
Characteristic tall Dutch gables and warm red brick at Blickling Hall
Norfolk. Merely typing the word on a computer screen gives me a little twinge of satisfaction, a sense of coming from somewhere unlike anywhere else and revelling in the fact of your upbringing. But already some distinctions need to be drawn, for I was born and brought up in Norwich-smack in the middle of the county, yet, in some ways, not at all like the countryside that surrounds it: different accent; different politics (there is a long tradition of electing Labour MPs); much less inward-looking than some of the distant villages, where a day trip to London is a very serious business. In my teens, Norfolk was full of people who had never left the county in their lives. Even now, one or two of them precariously survive.
The heart of a disparate county: Norwich's many delightful roads include Princes Street.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der April 27, 2022-Ausgabe von Country Life UK.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der April 27, 2022-Ausgabe von Country Life UK.
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A Nose for Nature -With an uncanny ability to detect elusive species in the wild, dogs are poised to play a vital role in conservation and biosecurity.
Ꮓiba seems to be the perfect colleague: hard-working, efficient and fun to be around. However, Ziba isn't a person; she's a conservation detection dog, especially trained to sniff out the presence of rare bats and birds. The sixyear-old German shorthaired pointer is one of an increasing number of dogs helping to conserve wildlife. Similar to sniffer dogs employed to detect drugs or explosives, these detection dogs are using their extraordinary sense of smell to identify anything from great crested newts to pine martens.
Duck and Cover - With a comical and heart-warming call, the eider or 'cuddy duck' is a convivial bird that was highly favoured and protected by Northumberland's patron saint, says
Anyone who has spent time on the rugged, castle-fringed coast of Northumberland will be familiar with the call of the eider duck. The male emits a fluty 'ahoooh' that sounds amazed and a little censorious. The female responds with a throaty cackle-Dame Barbara Windsor to the drake's Kenneth Williams, if you like. There's something good humoured, fond and comforting in the eiders' calling. It evokes feelings of nostalgia even in those hearing it for the first time.
Not to be sneezed at
The ritual and performance of snuff, the 'titillating dust' that has fuelled creativity and enhanced social situations since the 16th century, is still popular today, discovers
Where her tears fell, asters grew
Small-flowered asters, with their quiet beauty and clouds of starry blooms, are the final shout of autumn, advises
You had me at Merlot
The British wine industry is growing at a rate of Nebuchadnezzars, altering the palate of the countryside market, finds
And they're off!
Four historic country houses with long-standing racing credentials come to the market in prime sporting areas of Berkshire and Oxfordshire
Hooked on classics
A new generation of designers is learning the language of Greek and Roman architecture, finds
England at its best
The Exmoor National Park Authority is celebrating its 70th birthday. Kate Green recounts what makes this 'high country of the winds', of deer, dark skies, tough ponies and resilient farmers, so special
Once upon a time in the west
Having returned to the fabled Grimersta lochs and streams of Lewis for the first time in 40 years, our correspondent finds himself reliving the glory
Meet the tusk force
The Chinese water deer, with its distinctive tusks and delicious venison, has thrived here since escaping from deer parks in the 19th century. Paula Lester stalks one for her supper
