This trip has been planned for a long time now and was part of my birthday present. As mentioned before I turned 30 on the 29th April and surprisingly (or not!) the World still spins around, the birds still sing and I am still the same as pre the 29th :)
Our first stop was the Sandringham Estate - country retreat of Her Majesty The Queen.
The house is set in 24 hectares of stunning gardens! It was absolutely amazing and it felt very special to walk around the rooms while Kate and William were getting married.
The main ground floor rooms, regularly used by the Royal Family, are open to the public and the decor and contents remain very much as they were in Edwardian times. There are only few rooms opened to public; downstairs reception rooms and dining room where the Queen and family have their Christmas Dinner. It felt very special to walk on the same floor and look at the same surroundings as The Queen when she is there.
The nearby Museum at Sandringham holds an extraordinary collection ranging from the very large - the 1939 Merryweather fire engine - to the very small - tiny Indian doll dancers in the Curio Cupboard - and from the grand - gifts in pearl and exotic hardwoods given to The Queen on State Visits abroad - to the personal - the clock used in the Royal Pigeon Lofts at Sandringham to time Her Majesty's racing pigeons
My favorites must be the 1924 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost and Charles MG, lovely colours and they look so special.
After a fantastic day we decided to drive to our destination. I booked a lovely and specious family room in Blakeney - The White Horse. The village is absolutely beautiful and I have taken only few pictures but you can imagine the views, houses and gardens!
Heidi enjoyed her sea side stay!
There was a beautiful cottage, an amazing front garden wherever you looked.
I loved the sea side theme all around Norfolk. The county is very isolated and it feels like it has its own life, sometimes you felt like the clock has been turned back! - especially if you could not make payment by cards or there was no cash point on every corner. This is a real get away place!
The road leading to Blakeney Quay.
Beautful Wisteria claiming on this beautiful cottage.
Heidi takes her teddy everywhere. The blue door is the entrance to our family room which was almost like a one bedroomed cottage (big bedroom, living room and bathroom) but without the kitchen and yummy breakfast cooked in the hotel. I found it more convenient than renting a cottage.
The Blakeney Quay.
The main attaraction for our 4 year old was going to the beach and making a sand castle! It was very sunny but so windy!
We managed to build a sand castle and it was very difficult to drag my daughter out of there.
I convinced her to run to the Sea with me and splash in water. She was very excited but as soon as she got all wet it was time to pack up and go.
We managed to find a car boot sale! It was a Stately car boot sale in aid of Norfolk churches. The car boot was located on beautiful grounds of Houghton Hall in magnificent deer park.
It was the most amazing car boot I have ever been to! It wasn’t your average bric-a-brac. Aristocrats and landed gentry from across the country sold off their old croquet sets and Victorian watercolours. We did not manage to get masses of stuff but I bought some beautiful fabrics and some china for my collection.
On the last day we decided to go on a real steam train which runs from Sheringhamto Holt.
In my opinion, the Teddies took far too much luggage!
Vintage, fire buckets on every station.
The back yard is not always very glam but you must love the green, old goods carriage.
The interior of the whole train was amazing and the train stations were beautifully kept.
The views were stunning as part of the journey was alongside the coast.
