North Norfolk Living – Covering the coast, Aylsham, Holt, Burnham Market & surrounding villages – North Norfolk Living

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Winter 2025

Winter 2025

Winter 2025

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Holkham Hall by Candlelight
6th December 2025
Enchanting, magical and oh-so-Christmassy. Amanda Loose enjoys a festive feast for the senses
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Cromer Pier’s Christmas Show makes waves once again with plenty of live music and laughter
2nd December 2025
This year’s festive spectacle is packed with seasonal song and dance, standup comedy and magic – all at the end of the seaside town’s famous pier, says Harriet Cooper
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‘Tis the season
16th November 2025
From pantos and canine carols to Christmas concerts and shows, there really is something for everyone, says Sarah Hardy – oh yes, there is!
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Festive trails, trains and Santa!
16th November 2025
From enchanting light trails and illuminated trains to breakfast with Santa, there’s much to enjoy in North Norfolk this season
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A cracker of a Spectacular
12th November 2025
Thursford has pulled out all the stops again with a Christmas show that’s packed full of creativity, talent and some serious sparkle, says Harriet Cooper
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Local Christmas markets, fairs and pop ups to shop
12th November 2025
Enjoy the fun of the festive fair!
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Talk of the town: Wells-next-the-Sea
12th November 2025
Join Rachel Bowles for a day in Wells-next-the-Sea, where sweeping sands, maritime heritage and cosy cafes combine to create a town that shines just as brightly in winter as summer
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The village that time forgot
12th November 2025
Local author Caroline McGhie travels back to early 20th century North Norfolk to share the inspiration behind her debut novel The Sitter
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✨Holkham Hall by Candlelight: a festive feast fo

✨Holkham Hall by Candlelight: a festive feast for the senses✨ #pressvisit As the sun set, we followed the festoons of pretty lights, serenaded by a honking chorus of pink-footed geese overhead. Enter via the big red bow and the scene is set - welcome to the magical, candlelit world of Christmas at Holkham Hall. ✨Take your time and take in all the details, we were advised by the lady who greeted us - and we did. So, look up, look down, look again; at the trees decorated with twinkling lights in the Marble Hall, with the sound of ‘O Holy Night’ beautifully played on the harp; at the wonderful floral-inspired festive tablescape and decorated dining room by local florist @hannah.hunnam. Think poinsettias suspended from the ceiling, a tree adorned with dried flower baubles, hydrangea heads and more. ✨Enchanted, we continued through the State Rooms and will share just a few highlights here and in the carousel. ✨Sights… The Statue Gallery’s gingerbread house by @alice_king_stylist, complete with a ‘hundreds and thousands’ chair; the dreamlike ‘Night Before Christmas Suite’ in the South Sitting Room; Santa’s desk and ledger (with lists of names!) in the South Dining Room, with a spectacular breakfast spread by @fakefoodworkshop, and an ‘elf-ed’ portrait 🎨 🎵Sounds… mischievous elves, the ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’ and robin song; a moving sound and light installation in the Chapel by Audio Resolution. Do pause here to take it all in. 🌲Scents… flickering candles and Christmas trees galore, the 14-foot tree in the Saloon dressed in all gold, echoing the room’s gilding. 🍫Tastes… alas you can’t, of course, but there’s a chocolate banquet by @theediblemuseum in the Old Kitchen. The artistry is incredible with a Christmas feast made entirely from chocolate, including the pigs in blankets. Look for the gravy boat! ✨The Countess of Leicester, Catherine Zoll and their talented team of creatives, makers and volunteers have truly outdone themselves this year. Holkham Hall by Candlelight? It’s a magical Christmas masterpiece - just don’t let those naughty elves loose on it! 📍Holkham Hall by Candlelight continues until 30 December, select dates. @holkhamestate

The skies have it… Bright blue skies; vibrant

The skies have it… Bright blue skies; vibrant sunsets; ombre and the prettiest pinks. Norfolk’s big skies are truly magnificent so here’s a celebratory carousel of delightful December days and evenings past of skywatching (and listening, where those honking geese are concerned!) Cley-next-the-Sea l Brancaster Staithe l Blakeney l Wells-next-the-Sea l Burnham Overy Staithe #skywatching #bigskies #northnorfolk

🎭Cromer Pier’s Christmas Show makes waves onc

🎭Cromer Pier’s Christmas Show makes waves once again with plenty of live music and laughter, says NNL’s Harriet Cooper, aka @girlnextthesea #presstickets This year’s festive spectacle is packed with seasonal song and dance, standup comedy and magic - all at the end of the seaside town’s famous pier. It is entertaining and energetic from start to finish or as my Mum, who came with me, said, ‘it was full of bounce’. 🎭The ensemble is small - just 11 in total - led by the treasure that is Olly Day, who returns to host the Show for his 16th consecutive year. He is genuinely funny and has us all chuckling from the get-go, when he appears amongst the audience dressed as a parking warden, issuing tickets to latecomers! 🎭And so begins two-and-a-half hours of merriment. Danny Lee Grew performs a series of magic tricks in his amusing, affable way; Norwich-based Trish Dunn is a mastermind of ventriloquism; and singers Caris Kerr and Robbie Vaughn can certainly belt out a tune. The six dancers’ synchronicity never misses a beat. But what I love is that everyone pitches in - Olly and Danny perform a comic sketch at Cromer FM; the dancers can sing and the singers can dance; and Trish has excellent comic timing. 🎭And, importantly, they all look like they’re having a really great time as they take the audience from the circus Big Top to a Regency ballroom, by way of London’s rooftops and a 1950s bowling alley. 🎭This year’s LED visuals bring a whole new layer to the Show - a highlight for me is the song-and-dance number dedicated to the ‘unsung heroes’ of the sea, with archive film footage of the RNLI lifeboat going out from Cromer and the fishermen who work so hard along this stretch of coastline. 🎭As Olly reminds us during the Show, the Cromer Pier Pavilion Theatre and all those who come to see its light-hearted, nostalgia-filled, utterly unique annual shows are ‘keeping variety alive’. And we must continue. 🎭The Cromer Pier Christmas Show runs until 28 December. 📷Note, the pier photo is an archive image, there isn’t a helter skelter currently📷 @thecromerpier
@olly_day_entertainer #varietyshow #christmas

🎄Moving and magical in equal measure… 🎄E

🎄Moving and magical in equal measure…
🎄Every year, Fakenham Parish Church is transformed by twinkling trees for its Christmas Tree Festival; each tree is decorated by a local group or charity, raising funds and awareness of their work.
🎄This year’s festival - the 25th - features more than 40 trees, donated by Fakenham Garden Centre, and over its quarter century, the event has become a real highlight of the season for many. 🎄As well as pausing to reflect as you view the trees, chat to volunteers and learn more about the work of local charities and groups, it is so lovely to see families and friends visiting together - and younger visitors popping their pennies in the trees’ collection buckets and adding to the prayer trees.
🎄For me, it’s a true celebration of community, creativity and the spirit of Christmas.
🎄Fakenham Christmas Tree Festival continues until 8pm on Thursday 4 December, open 10am to 8pm daily. There’s a pop-up cafe, open until 7pm, and stalls, too.
🎄To find out more about this event, have a read of @sarahhardymedia21’s article in our winter issue - the link is in our bio.
@fakenhamparishchurch
@fakenhamgardencentre

Remembering November-ing… From sunset over The

Remembering November-ing… From sunset over The Wash, gorgeous blue skies, and our winter magazine hitting the streets, to light shows, a Christmas spectacular, festive afternoon tea at The Assembly House and a cosy Sunday lunch at The Chequers in Thornham, catching up with a friend, November you’ve been a good one (apart from that nasty bug which floored me rather). @luminateuk @sandringhamestate *press invite
@thursfordchristmasspectacular *press invite
@assembly_house
@thechequersatthornham @chestnutcraftedhospitality

🌲Deck the halls🌲 ✨This Christmas brings

📍Join Rachel Bowles in Wells-next-the-Sea, a to

📍Join Rachel Bowles in Wells-next-the-Sea, a town that shines just as brightly in winter as summer
☕️Start your morning @banginwells at the top of Staithe Street. Its menu is designed to set you up for the day, from full English breakfasts to vegetarian and vegan options. Linger and watch the town wake up.
🛍️Wander down this bustling street, where you’ll find an array of independent shops perfect for winter browsing including @nomadandthebowerbird @ocotillo.uk @norfolknaturalliving @glitter_and_mud @bringingtheoutsidein
🎭Discover @wells_maltings. Built in the 1830s as a malt house, it’s now a community and theatre space, with a heritage centre which tells the story of the town, from its medieval fishing and trading roots to its reinvention as a holiday resort.
👣Collect a Wells Town Trail sheet from the Maltings Visitor Centre and uncover the town’s history as you explore. The self-guided walk winds through narrow streets and along the quay and is suitable for wheelchairs and pushchairs.
🍴Treat yourself at lunchtime @frenchsfandc, the family-run fish and chip shop that’s been a Wells institution since the 1920s. Gluten-free and vegan options are available.
⚓️Step inside Wells Lifeboat Station. The new boathouse, completed in 2022, is built for the future with a modern slipway for rapid launch. Explore the viewing gallery, browse the shop, and discover how today’s crew respond to call outs around the clock. @wellsrnli
👣Wrap up for a bracing walk along the sandy beach with its colourful beach huts. Note, always be aware of an incoming tide and local hazards - seek reliable local knowledge if you are at all unsure.
🧁Pause for an afternoon pick-me-up @wellsdeli, on the quay. Choose from homemade soups, pancakes, cakes, gluten-free and vegan options, and more.
🍷End your day @northnorfolkcellars with views of the harbour, where you can enjoy a glass of wine from sommelier Bert Blaize, alongside artisan cheese and charcuterie boards.
🛏️ Stay @theglobeatwells, a hotel and pub blending historic character with modern comfort, overlooking The Buttlands. This tree-lined green is framed by elegant Georgian houses. 📷 @girlaroundnorthnorfolk

✨Lights, windows, action! ✨Six of the local

✨Lights, windows, action! ✨Six of the local festive events I love to visit which bring plenty of festive joy, lights and Christmas creativity… ✨The crab pot Christmas tree in Wells and the rest of the town’s lights (don’t miss The Buttlands and Staithe Street) ✨The crib scene at Little Walsingham (installed during the first week of December) ✨The biennial Cley Advent Windows trail (1 December to 1 January - take a torch) ✨The wonderful lights and window displays in Holt ✨The illumination of the magnificent spire at St Mary’s Church, Snettisham (13 to 31 December) ✨The lights in Burnham Market, twinkling in the trees on the greens and on shops with their decorated windows including @oldschoolbooks_burnhammarket, pictured… actually, seeing the lights across our region in towns and villages (check switch on dates before making a special journey, I’ll be sharing a few dates in our stories soon) ✨Thank you to the volunteers, organisations and businesses who put on wonderful displays across the county for us to enjoy. 📷 Crib scene, St Mary’s and advent windows images from previous years.

✨🌲We went on an enchanting festive journey…

✨🌲We went on an enchanting festive journey… ✨#pressvisit Thursford’s Enchanted Journey of Light is just magical. 🌲Enjoy a wander round Fantasy Land and see animatronic penguins, dancing bugs, polar bears, giant teddys and Santa’s helpers hard at work, before heading outside to a field of glowing lantern statues, which this year has been given a joosh with new Christmas characters, bringing the number of illuminations to over 1000. ✨As you stroll through an underwater kingdom, across the plains of Africa and into a magical land of sweets, it certainly feels bigger and brighter than before. 🌲The Enchanted Journey of Light runs from 3 to 24 December, select dates. Customers who purchase tickets to the Enchanted Journey of Light or Santa’s Magical Journey (which is the Enchanted Journey of Light trail and a visit to see Father Christmas; select dates to 23 December) can also access the new adventure playground (for an additional fee) which reimagines the magic of a vintage funfair. @thursford_ #christmas #christmasinnorthnorfolk