Nature at Hickling Broad

Hickling Broad is a year-round haven for wildlife.It is easy to spend a day walking around Hickling’s trails or, in summer, gently while away a couple of hours taking in the Broad’s hidden corners on one of the summer wildlife water trail boat tours. Hickling has many common cranes, along with bittern, marsh harrier bearded tit

Swallowtail Butterfly at Hickling Nature Reserve

The Swallowtail butterfly is now only found in the Norfolk Broads. The first Swallowtail Butterflies in Norfolk have emerged at NWT Reserve at Hickling, with the first sighting of the year taking place on 6 May. This is very early for swallowtails; they are usually expected around the middle to end of May, continuing into

Walking the Norfolk Coastal Path

Here at the Dairy Barns, we welcome many guests walking the coastal path. Most spend 4 or 5 days in Norfolk walking from Hunstanton to Great Yarmouth, so we are towards the end of their route.  A warm welcome at the barns is always guaranteed if you stay with us. Along with a hot shower,

Sunny March Days In Norfolk

Part of what we offer here is lots of local knowledge and tourist information. Breakfast is a key time for this, where we chat and suggest days out and ideas for anyone looking for inspiration. So today, as an example, we have guests doing all of the following – I wish I could join them!

Picnic Spots by the River

We are now offering “Afternoon Tea” Picnics to take with you when you stay. We’ve collected a few local spots that would be perfect for a picnic. These are our favourite places by the water, but you can go to the beach, or we can suggest a quiet spot on the farm. Our picnics are

Our Best Local Farm shops

We are so lucky to have a great selection of Farm shops in Norfolk, perfect for grocery shopping when staying in one of our self-catering cottages (I know a supermarket delivery is convenient, but farm shops are far more interesting) and ideal for a treat or evening nibbles when staying in bed and breakfast. Staying

Winterton Village Walks

On a cold and blustery January day, mum and I went to explore Winterton. It is a coastal village about 15 minutes by car along the coast. They have created a booklet of circular walks in and around the village that incorporate some beautiful countryside, sand dunes and beaches. We did a 3.5-mile walk which

Snowdrops at Raveningham Hall

Although not on our doorstep, mum and I went for a drive out towards Beccles to Raveningham Hall to see there much talked about snowdrops. It was a cold and windy day, but we wrapped up warm and headed out, it took about 50 minutes to get there, and the gardens opened at 11 am.

Walking the Coastal Path

We are very lucky to have the costal path so close to us, I  can walk to Sea Palling in 25 minutes (you can cheat and drive/park in the village).  There is then the coastal path to Waxham Barn which is 20 minutes from Sea Palling and they serve great tea and cake as sampled by

Bluebells at Blickling

BLUEBELL WALKS AT BLICKLING HALL Blickling Hall, Blickling, Aylsham, NR11 6NF Start off by parking at the main Blickling Hall, as the house is just stunning. Here you can buy tickets for the house and gardens. You can walk to the Bluebell Wood from here, but it is a long walk across the other side

A Visit to Vera’s Coffee Shop

We have a super farm shop and garden centre just outside Stalham called A.G.Meales, its about 10 minutes from us.  We use their tomatoes and mushrooms for breakfast along with lots of their fruit and vegetables. They also stock a great range of local meat products so if you are staying in one of our