Weekend away
A WALKING AND GLAMPING COMBO ALONG THE NORTH NORFOLK COAST PATH HAS ALL THE FUN OF CAMPING WITHOUT THE CHORES
Last year Mark and Gin Wilson-North set up MarGins, with four clever Aussie tents that Gin fills with proper campbeds (with duvets, throws and even hot water bottles), comfy chairs and a well equipped camp kitchen. There’s also a whole host of little extras and creature comforts – fresh fruit, flowers on the bedside table, books and magazines to read, home-baked bread and local goodies in your breakfast hamper. But that’s not even the best part – they pack up the tent and reassemble it at another campsite further along the route and take your bags for you. You spend the day walking with nothing more than a daypack, a companion and your dog ( bed, bowls, towels and treats all catered for).
Where we stayed
Burnham Deepdale campsite is a flint’s throw from the coast path. Hedgerows and wildflowers separate pitches in the paddocks. It has nice wet rooms for humans and even an outdoor warm-water shower for dogs. Along the well signed coast path are plenty of flint houses and gardens to snoop. Our second night was at High Sand Creek campsite, at the edge of Stiffkey marshes. We wandered barefoot across mudflats, through patches of sea lavender and samphire, weaving our way around the tidal channels. Over three days, our dog did many times the distance we did, swimming and ferreting around. With only an occasional glimpse of a road, it’s a joyous, largely lead-free existence for him.
What we ate
You can’t really go wrong on the well heeled, foodie North Norfolk coast, where every watering hole is a dining pub and there are villagestore delis and cafés dotted around, too. But Gin’s invaluable and carefully researched information pack, tells you the best places and where they are on your day’s route. So, we didn’t miss out on a fresh crab baguette sitting among the boats outside The Crab Hut in Brancaster Staithe ( below), knew the best place for fish and chips in Wells-next-the-Sea ( good coffee from Grey Seal roastery’s shop, too), and booked dinner at The White Horse. This excellent inn is literally down the road from Burnham Deepdale campsite, where a stunning conservatory overlooks the marshes and makes the most of Norfolk’s big-sky sunsets. Gin offers a cold platter with matching wines, left in a coolbox in your tent if even a final stroll to the pub is beyond you.
What we did
Basically we walked – everywhere. After ditching the car at our first campsite, Burnham Deepdale, we travelled on foot or by the friendly Coastliner bus service that runs regularly along the coast road. The hike from the first to the second campsite is long – nearly 15 miles, and there were tired legs by the end, but the scenery is surprisingly and absorbingly varied – windswept open saltmarsh with slithers of sand and breakers in the distance, then a huge white beach backed by dunes and pine forest; some bucket-andspade seafront, before the peace of the marshes again. Gin and Mark secure the best pitches and the first thing we saw when entering the campsite gate off the coast path at Stiffkey was our tent, all set up and equipped for another night. Bliss.
We also liked
Stiffkey Village Stores ( below) is ostensibly a local shop but has been cleverly converted into a courtyard oasis where you can enjoy coffee and cake, buy picnic supplies and even lovely homewares (if you can carry them!). We are pleased to report that a well curated independent magazine newsstand in the back had both The Simple Things and sister magazine Oh
Comely in pride of place. Like pretty much everywhere we went there was a full water bowl outside for dogs. And the bus stopped right outside to take us back to our car (sadly) at the end of the weekend.
The best thing
The freedom of being under our own steam, carrying nothing more than a daypack and with no deadlines, was a rare pleasure that rekindled fond memories of younger backpacking days. There was time to shed our shoes and soak up some sun on glorious Holkham Beach, stop for a restorative pint and have a poke around the shops in Wells, accompanied all the while by rigging rattling in the soft breeze or gulls calling overhead. Walking and glamping turn out to be an ideal combination, particularly appealing if you’re a regular camper who then fully appreciates the luxury and little extras that MarGins provide. A memorable time.