Hot tub, garden and grounds
Is 50 acres enough? Your dog thinks so. He’s off. Sniffing and snuffling and aching to join in the bubbly fun in the eight-seater, wood-fired hot tub. That’s off-limits for pets, but not to you. The cottage also comes with a two-seater.
Stay out there to eat supper from the coal-fired barbecue on the terrace, play tennis on the all-weather court, fly-fish in the chalk stream, and wild-swim in the lake.
Living spaces
Pick from a beautifully restored 19th-century barn or a romantic cottage perfect for a family of four. Take the long trails out along the river, then come home to drop your dirties in the boot room and break into the books that line the walls of the sitting room/library. Or play pool in the games room.
The barn and cottage at Wissey sleep 16 but, if there’s anyone you left behind, make sure they go green over your social snaps posted over the 30 Mbit/s rural broadband. Get together in the evening around the flickering fire and the smart TV (bring your passwords). Need to chill more? Book Susan for yoga or Missy for a massage.
Cooking and dining
There’s a range fan oven in each property but if you’d rather sink into the hot-tub marinade than dibble and dabble in the kitchen, call up great in-house chefs such as Antony Taylor from Norfolk County Catering, Jake Weatherill from Florentina Catering, Robbie Spencer-Ashworth or Kate Bagnall-Oakeley.
Fill up the SMEG fridge-freezer with lovely stuff delivered from Waitrose in Swaffham, Tesco, and Sainsbury’s. Go artisan at The Elveden Farm Shop and stick around for the café or get fresh fare from the Saturday market at Swaffham. Get your meat from Impson’s or Yallop’s and pastries from Wellbread.
Fish-and-chip supper? Get down to Eric’s at Thornham, blending traditional recipes with a modern European influence. Eat out on traditional pub food at The Bedingfeld Arms beautifully situated next to a 15th-century moated manor house. Eat old-school pub fare at The Swan in Hilborough or The Stag for a modern twist.
Book ahead for the dog-friendly Victoria, close to the beach at Holkham and offering a particularly good children’s menu. Try The Gunton Arms on a private estate amidst a deer park. Or head to menu-rich Bury St Edmunds for Michelin-starred Pea Porridge or Maison Bleue for sea trout or pheasant (watch out for shot).
Bedrooms
Plenty of room for all the family in seven bedrooms across both properties. Luxuriate in the silence of a 50-acre plot within the serenity of the Brecklands. Several rooms will take a cot or zedbed.
The Blue room is a ground-floor superking or twin with en-suite bathroom, as is the Green and Pink room. The Master Suite offers a four-poster kingsize bed and a freestanding copper bath in the en-suite. And the Connecting room provides a double bed and adjoins the master through a wardrobe, Narnia-style.
The Red and Green room gives you a double bed and en-suite shower room, while the mezzanine level, open to the rest of the barn, offers two twin beds. Finally, the Nook is a ground-floor double.
What people say
Breach the beaches
Stay on site for home massage and yoga. Walk the Norfolk Coast Path, take a magical history tour around Oxburgh Hall and Sandringham, and swing your clubs at Royal Norwich Golf Club. Breach the beaches of North Norfolk, including wild Holkham, meet meerkats at Banham Zoo, and ride the zips at BeWILDerwood.
