I’ve been fortunate enough to go to many places that I have loved. I adore the Greek islands and distinctly remember going to the River Styx where Achilles was dipped into the water by his mother to give him his superhuman strength. I have honestly never seen water so clear and pure in my life (I don’t, unfortunately, have superhuman powers in the hands I ran through the water though). I love, love, love Tuscany and Venice and all things Italy. In fact, I don’t there is a European country I have been to that I haven’t thoroughly enjoyed. I like the US, I love Manhattan, Connecticut, Georgia, California and really want to visit Colorado, Vermont and Montana. I will be honest and say I think parts of China are pretty, Shanghai is amazing but I would not rush to return. But my favourite place? That has to be somewhere relatively close to home and is by far and away my happy place.
That place is Holkham in Norfolk. For me, it’s a magical place. I have been there many times with my husband and as a family with our son and the dogs we’ve had over the years and every time we have been it has been just blissful. I love Holkham Hall, the most amazing Palladian stately home. The house is wonderful, and I do enjoy a tour around it especially at Christmas when they do some amazing events for the festive season. We took our son to perhaps one of the most special Santa in his grotto events I have ever experienced and it has lived on in his memories too. The whole house is decorated beautifully and there is a full production with elves, Mrs Claus and the man himself which takes you on a magical journey through the story as depicted in the house. It’s simply fabulous. You can get lost in the history of the house as you wander round, gazing at the artwork that was brought back from successive European tours by the aristocratic Coke (pronounced Cook) family who still live there. As with many of these buildings, for me there is a very thin veil separating us from the generations past who have walked around. The people who worked there scurrying around via their hidden stairways and those who lived and visited there, enjoying its beauty and the no doubt sumptuous events held there over the years.
For me, though, it is the grounds that I adore. I love to see the giant herd of deer wandering around the grounds as much as I love to wander along by the river that runs through the estate. Very often, we as a family have hired bikes and explored the grounds that way. They are vast, naturally, and we have sometimes gotten a bit lost…but that is how we have found some truly lovely spots there such as a hidden folly that we were able to wander around. It is a working estate with farmland all around it, and the Earl of Leicester makes good use of all his assets for the benefit of the local area. He is a significant employer in the area, and with how superbly the estate is cared for you know that the local people appreciate it. Certainly anyone we have spoken to when being there have had an air of pride at being there about them.
Part of the estate is also the breath taking Holkham beach. It defies description, really, with its vast swathes of sand sandwiched between the North Sea and a pine forest. Indeed, you walk through the forest from the car park and it is a wonderful sight as you emerge and see the seemingly never ending vista of sand. It is quite a walk to the sea it must be said, and in truth we have rarely made it as there are some great water inlets that you can just as easily paddle in, and when the tide is in even have an unthreatening swim! It’s always breezy even on the hottest days which is perfect for me, and dogs are welcome at certain spots. Seeing their joy in being on the sand and in the water is definitely part of the charm as far as I am concerned. I do feel, with how welcome dogs are made to Holkham, that perhaps the Earl prefers them to people and I can’t blame him. It’s one place in England where I can honestly say the sky feels as big as I feel it does in the US. Other than the odd RAF plane rumbling (or shrieking) overhead, there is nothing to interrupt the endless peace that can be found on that beach.
The nearby small town of Wells is also one of my favourite places, probably because of its association with Holkham (a lot of it is owned by the Earl), and it also has a glorious beach. About a mile walk from Wells, you can wander down to Wells beach and if you’re feeling energetic, walk through the forest which is parallel to the beach. If you keep going, eventually you get to Holkham and there is a route which will take you through the estate, through its forest also, and back to Wells. It’s a long walk, there are cafes along the way which provide a lovely respite, but I can’t tell you how utterly peaceful it is. You don’t even notice the distance. Everyone you meet along the way just seems so relaxed and happy by dint of being in that environment and I always feel any of the cares of the world that I have, just slip away. Time seems to stand still there and as I say, it also feels as though it would be possible to pop back to a different era the veil between history and now being gossamer thin.
It’s a great place for running with its own Parkrun every weekend, and somewhat of a challenge because there are some steep inclines on the estate but it truly is a great run because of the environment it’s in. In the summer there are all sorts of events there from street food festivals to evening outdoor cinema events and a wonderful bat walk. You get to see dusk settle across the estate as you listen to the sonar of the bats. It’s all done with the absolute remit of not interrupting the bats and the knowledgeable guides meant I learned more about bats than perhaps I ever wanted to know – like different types of bats make different types of sounds. Who knew? And it didn’t feel remotely creepy as I would usually find that time of day. There’s always something about dusk that I find quite melancholy but I truly don’t at Holkham.
So, Holkham is my happy place. It is somewhere I can go, sit down and immediately feel relaxed. As soon as I get there, I smile. And I hate to leave it. Perhaps one day, the Earl of Leicester will let me rent a room or a house on the estate so I can live there in absolute perfect harmony with the environment, the history and just the sheer grandeur of the place.
Louisa Simpson 