Historic Holkham

s you drive east along the A149 from Burnham Overy Staithe, you are treated to tantalising glimpses of the salt marshes and coastline plus north Norfolk's famous big blue skies, but, following an S-bend, as the B1155 swings in from Burnham Market, you enter a different world.

- David Brown

Coming in from the right is the substantial wall of the Holkham estate, marking a contrast with the open countryside. Locals used to jest that the "Great Wall of Holkham" could be seen from outer space. It can't compete with the Great Wall of China but certainly represents a change of environment from natural to human-made. You can catch glimpses of the estate with its large herd of fallow deer roaming freely within the parkland. The prime view is from the top deck of one of the doubledecker buses that ply the Lynx Coastliner 36 route between King's Lynn and Fakenham via Hunstanton and Wells-next-the-Sea. Alight at the bus stops by the park gates and a fascinating array of options are opened to be explored offering a glimpse of the past, present and future.

Another of the local, good-humoured sayings was the original Holkham estate was so poor that two rabbits would fight over a single blade of grass. A continuing history of land enrichment by generations of the same family means you will rarely find better soil.

Today, the parkland offers a great place to walk among shaded avenues, admire the walled gardens, join group activities such as the deer and wildlife safari, or stand in awe at the vast, Palladian splendour that is Holkham Hall - an Italianate dream country home built when expense was not limited - providing an unusual aspect in the Norfolk countryside.

The house was built between 1734 and 1762 by Thomas Coke (pronounced Cook), 1st Earl of Leicester. He was inspired by his six-year grand tour of Europe and wanted somewhere impressive to display his precious works of art and books. On the tour, the young earl had met Lord Burlington and William Kent, who fired his imagination for the construction of the grand hall. The design was created by Coke and Kent, with Matthew Brettingham, to replace the family’s more modest Hill Hall Elizabethan manor on the site.