Glamping In Norfolk

11 Sept 2020

Glamping In Norfolk


*squints* is this a travel post? 


We. Went. Away. Like away. On holiday. Granted, it was only 30 miles from home and for 3 nights but I am absolutely owning this as a holiday. Take that 2020. 


Like a lot of people right now, once we’d let go of the original 2020 travel plans (miss you Berlin & Lisbon, sob) and lockdown began to ease, we started looking at getting the hell away from home. Like, love you house, but it had been six months. Time to get away from our own four walls… and, well, walls in general really. 


Enter: glamping. 


Glamping has been something I have wanted to try for a while now but admittedly has been pushed to one side several times in favour of holidaying abroad. So it seemed that the summer of 2020 was the perfect time to finally bring it to the top of our holiday plans. 


My friend Lizzie pointed me in the direction of Canopy & Stars which ngl, is a little bit like glamping porn. That site is covered in hundreds of beautiful looking glamping experiences and I lost several hours flicking through all the pictures. 


We didn’t want to go too far so we settled on rural Norfolk and the beautiful Oyster Catcher on Bagthorpe Farm. Two biodomes; one bedroom and one split into a kitchen and bathroom complete with roll top bath


Glamping In Norfolk

Glamping In Norfolk

Glamping In Norfolk

Glamping In Norfolk


I gotta say: I am a glamping convert. As far as I could tell, it was all the best bits of camping minus all the faff that can come with it, with the comfort of a bed and flushing toilet. And there’s just something fun about a room under canvas. It was a simple few days but really good for the soul. 


The sun was blazing on our first evening so we settled down with snacks and wine and watched it lazily droop behind the trees. The moment the temperature dropped, we got the fire going and heated up (on the camping stove, not the fire) the sausage casserole that Gary made before we set off. The evening was really peaceful and still, and we whiled it away eating, chatting, stoking the fire and admiring the view. And obviously, it would have been rude not to toast a marshmallow or two. Once it was dark, we wrapped ourselves in blankets, pulled the reclining wooden chairs closer to the fire, and tilted back to watch the stars take over the night sky. It was beautiful. 


Glamping In Norfolk

Glamping In Norfolk

Glamping In Norfolk

Glamping In Norfolk

Glamping In Norfolk

Glamping In Norfolk


We were woken up rather early the next morning by a) the cows mooing and b) rain thundering down on the canvas -slightly less peaceful but to be expected when camping in the countryside! Storm Francis was on his way but he wasn’t going to get in the way of a good time. We drove to the local village to have lunch at Bircham Café. Like true Brits-on-hol, we sat outside whilst the winds built up, periodically saving a napkin from being whipped away. Lunch there was surprisingly fancy; we shared a charcuterie board to start, Gary the seafood linguine and me the Mediterranean veg salad for main and we both opted for the raspberry and white chocolate mille-feuille for dessert (we had to google the name and then were disappointed in ourselves because god dammit, we’ve watched enough Bake Off). 


We collected some supplies from the store next door (a random spread of quiche, scotch egg, olives & salads) because the wind was really building and we suspected we would be hunkering down once Storm Francis arrived later on. 


Back at camp, I decided to try out that gorgeous looking roll top bath which required more patience than the usual bath-running. Gary got the fire going in the wood burner and then I had to wait for about 45 mins for the water to heat (although it was beautifully hot – the bathroom was like a sauna) and then another 45 mins or so for the trickle of water to fill the entire bath. Technically a faff but I was in no rush. I’d come armed with a Lush bubble bar and Storm Francis had well and truly arrived by the time I sank beneath the pink, bubbly waters. It was incredibly cosy sat in a steaming hot bath whilst the tent shook in the winds around me. 


Glamping In Norfolk

Glamping In Norfolk

Glamping In Norfolk


The winds were intense. We had no choice but to zip up the tents, lock down the garden furniture which were literally blowing away, and light a shit load of candles. Whilst we did wonder whether the tent was going to withstand the night, and it was very difficult to sleep, we did have some serious hygge vibes. It’s impossible not to feel cosy when there’s a storm outside and you’re wrapped in a blanket with a fire going, and reading your book by candlelight. 


By the next morning, the high winds had blown out and we decided to have a stomp through the countryside. We stopped off at Bircham caf̩ for lunch again (just sandwiches this time) and accidentally fell into the pub on our way back. We were amazed by how still it was again in the evening, particularly after the night before, so decided to just hang out at camp and enjoy the sunset and stars again. I had another bath and then we threw together a random collection of ingredients in with some pasta and got settled by the fire Рyes, we 100% came away from the weekend stinking of smoke.

 

After we packed up on our final morning, we took a little detour to Brancaster beach which is huge and sprawling and beautiful. It was pretty busy but big enough that everyone could have their own space. It was nice to see kids playing and dogs having the time of their lives running up and down. We had a lil picnic and read our books for a bit before heading home which, because we hadn’t gone too far, was just a short drive! 


Here’s to more chilled staycations during this strange year. 



Glamping In Norfolk

Glamping In Norfolk

Glamping In Norfolk

Glamping In Norfolk


 

Comments

  1. Thanks for sharing, this looks amazing fun, glad you had a sort of holiday to. I have wanted to try glamping to as it might be easier than camping :)

    Nic | Nic's Adventures & Bakes

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