If we could have time travelled back to the 17th century and invited to put up at the recently built flint walled manor house in the small coastal village of Blakeney we would have looked out on a thriving port trading with Europe.
But all slowly passed into history with the gradual silting up of the River Glaven, the inability of steam shipping to access the shallow harbour and the arrival of the nearby railway.
By and by surrounding flint barns were merged with the grade two listed manor house to create an hotel which operated for many years before being taken over by the award-winning Coaching Inn Group.
They immediately instigated a multi-million- pound renovation programme to restore and modernize its historic spaces and to reopen it as The Coastal Manor Hotel and Inn set amid floral gardens.
Today picturesque Blakeney is renowned for its flint cottages, scenic quay and sweeping salt marshes and serving as a gateway to the Blakeney National Nature Reserve and England’s largest grey seal colony.
The tiny and picturesque harbourside was certainly buzzing with activity the sunny July afternoon we arrived to stay at the hotel with the nearby public car park full and holiday makers strolling along the quay queuing for ice cream.
After checking in and unpacking me and my wife Jenny who had just driven all the way from our home in Monmouthshire were soon back outside and stretching our legs by heading out along a wide track through the salt marshes towards the open sea with a fiercely warm wind forcing me to hold on to my Tilley hat.
After some twenty minutes our path had curved around and we took an adjoining one back to the quay where I was sorely tempted to sample one of the tasty offerings from a seafood shack, but it was really too close to supper time back at the hotel where all was well because there was a delicious and refreshing Cromer crab salad on the menu.
The following morning, we made the short drive to the busy harbour at Wells- next-the-Sea and set out along the mile-long estuary sidewalk to the main sandy beach with its famous line of brightly coloured beach huts set against a backdrop of pine trees and big skies.
Back in Wells we shared a fish and chip lunch beside the harbour wall where kids were fishing for crabs before setting off for the National Trust’s nearby Morston Quay where we had booked an hour-long boat trip out to see the biggest grey seal colony in the UK.
Some 9,000 seal pups were born there last summer we were told.
Our skipper was Willie Reynolds, who has been taking launches out for the past fifty years on behalf of Bishop’s Boats, a family business first launched in the 1960s.
Willie told us all about the sea birds flying all around us as we headed out towards the seal reserve in company with a small flotilla of other wooden built launches.
We left the hotel around 10.30am the following morning, crossed the road and headed out to join the coast path on an elevated bank above the surrounding marshes for a two-and-a-half mile loop around to Cley-next-the Sea.
Its famous early 19th century tower windmill overlooking Blakeney Point and the sea served as a fine and welcoming landmark as we headed in towards this quaint and traditional North Norfolk village.
A stroll along the narrow High Street brought us to the old George and Dragon Inn where after quite a warm walk we stepped inside for a couple of pints of fresh cut lime and soda water.
To our surprise barman, Jacob Skipper, said there would be no charge because it was like asking people to pay for water, so we gratefully accepted his random act of kindness.
Refreshed we decided to retrace our steps and follow the road back to Cley because this relatively quiet route was only one and a half miles long with a pavement all the way.
But by the time we were strolling down Blakeney’s narrow quiet and picturesque High Street towards the centre of the village overlooking yachts and small boats we decided that we had had quite enough walking for one day and the idea of lunch on our hotel’s flower-filled decking and a quiet afternoon was by far the best plan.
