Beaches, boutiques and bistros in Norfolk

From the vast sandy beach at Thornham to the stately Holkham Hall, food, frivolity and a genuinely British experience awaits at the end of the A149 in north Norfolk.

The most popular town in the area is the infinitely fabulous Burnham Market, where village green idyll meets expensive taste. The better shops include Anna, which stocks major labels including Joseph, Norfolk Living, possibly the county's best home ware shop, and the aptly titled Hat Shop, East Anglia's premier destination for fascinators and wicker sun hats.

A pre-beach morning spent wafting in and out of the town's picturesque boutiques is truly satisfying and with several top restaurants serving up fresh seafood and mountains of local produce, lunch is definitely a must.

Fishes, which also boasts several well-appointed rooms, can come up trumps for lunch, serving classical coastal dishes with a new and exciting twist. The mackerel wasabi comes highly recommended, as does the daily selection of bespoke bread rolls.

Heartier fare can be found just down the road from Fishes at the Hoste Arms. The grand 17th-century Coaching Inn offers a great breakfast deal for non-residents, traditional Sunday lunch and is popular with Norfolk local Stephen Fry.

Just along the coast road from Burnham Market is Brancaster, or rather Brancaster Staithe, Brancaster Overy and Brancaster Deepdale, a less Chelsea-fied area of the coast. Dogs, muddy children and fleeces can be found at the Jolly Sailors, where visitors and local fishermen while away evenings sipping on pints of Old Les and eating chips.

A perfect place to go for an active holiday doing some sailing, Brancaster Staithe is home to the Hard, which boasts rustic charm and vast swathes of mud flats. Foraging for samphire winkles and even the odd crab along the stretch of brown is highly amusing and makes for a well-earned supper. If you're lucky, it might even be possible to find some wild fennel on the roadside and the intermittent potato plant.

The beauty of this part of the coast is that you can choose to have as much contact as you like with reality; and it is not uncommon to go for days at a time without seeing another human being.

Strolling along the Hard and then on to the Norfolk coast path at sunset is sublime and offers some breathtaking views across the sea to the right and over unspoilt British countryside to the left, with the massive sky bathing everything in orange.

Boasting some of the finest coastal waters in the UK, north Norfolk is not short on beaches and Holkham, Thornham and Holme offer fine opportunities for a dip in the ocean.

As well as being a place of a stunning beauty, which leads to the realisation of how small man is in the face of nature, Holkham is the site of a rather grand stately home. Holkham Hall is open to the public, with the grounds free of charge to visit.

A working country estate, Holkham Hall holds regular shoots and has been intrinsically linked to the prosperity of the region for hundreds of years. The well-kept gardens are ripe for exploration and the state rooms are as breath-taking as the scenery.

Stretching on for four miles, the beach is clean and fresh, with dunes proving perfect protection for a spot sunbathing or a picnic. One word of warning, do make sure you check tide timings before heading out as the main path to the beach is difficult to cross at high tide.

An alternative spot for a sandy afternoon is the beach at Thornam. Tucked away down a winding path past the Life Boat Inn, the beach here is less-frequented than Holkham and has more of a rugged feel about it. The beach is hidden through open countryside and only accessible on foot, though it is definitely worth the effort when you climb the last sand dune and see the vast North Sea.

It is also an idea to slip off the beach and into the pine wood for the walk back home, but do bear in mind that the beach is a conservation area and some parts may be blocked off for flood defences and to protect the region's rare wildlife.

On the edge of Thornham is Titchwell, a tiny village that houses Delia Smith's favourite restaurant, Titchwell Manor, and the RSPB Titchwell Marsh Bird Reserve, making the quiet oasis a hive for twitchers.

The Manor itself looks rather colonial and offers accommodation as well as breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner to non-residents. Friendly, unpretentious service is always guaranteed and the menu changes on a regular basis, though favourites such as Brancaster crab and Holkham venison feature heavily. The innovative deserts are not to be missed and are well worth sacrificing a starter for.

Other places of note along this part of the coast include the charming Wells-Next-The-Sea, with its cobbled streets, traditional sweet shops and popular jetty, Wells present something of a more conventional seaside experience. A must-visit in the town is the second-hand bookshop situated just outside the centre. Part pottery studio, part bookshop, part family home, its easy to spend hours chatting to the artist owner.

Further inland and possibly the best bet for a rainy day is Holt. One of the larger towns in the area, with almost as many boutiques as Burnham Market, Holt has plenty to offer. After picking up a few antiques, visiting the delis and popping into the delightful Moo Moo's, afternoon tea at Byfords can be a welcome treat.

Carrying the tagline "Keeping Norfolk Curvy", Byfords serves up traditional afternoon tea with cucumber sandwiches, carrot cake, scones, crumpets and a pot of the finest Darjeeling.

Even if the sun fails to appear, north Norfolk remains one of the most beautiful places in the UK and not even the weather can stop beaches, boutiques and bistros from delighting the wide-eyed city visitor. This is truly the definitive place to holiday in England.

Rebecca Amir