A slice of suffolk

North Norfolk has always been a love of ours, from the idyllic countryside, hollyhock doorways, beautiful coastal paths and fabulous seafood; it has it all. In fact it gives Suffolk a run for its money.

Our stay at The White House certainly didn’t disappoint. Avidly watching the reconstruction and refurbishment of this beautiful building I was so excited to visit and see for myself, the beauty that has been reinvented in this wonderful house.

Situated a ten minute drive from Burnham Market and a stone throw away from the North Norfolk coastal road, its in a fabulous location. With eateries in abundance, quaint villages to visit and such a laid back family friendly vibe, this area is a real love of ours.

Finding the hotel was tricky, in actual fact our SatNat took us over a field track, yes a field. Fortunately in a four wheel drive our car could cope, but be aware. We later discovered there is a road route, just one our trusty Landrover nav couldn’t pick up. It turns out google maps are on the case!

You cannot fail to be wowed by this place. Its sits in an enviable position, in the middle of Sussex Farm, and when I say every last detail has been thought of, I mean EVERY LAST DETAIL.

The views from every door and window are breathtaking.

We stayed in room 9, which offered space for the four of us. Cleverly the room was designed with curtains separating the children space from the adults, which was great for privacy and handy for masking the sound of the kettle boiling and the television. A little excited were the children when they discovered complimentary haribo and hot chocolate for late night treats; and we were equally as happy with luxury biscuits and a great tea-pigs selection. Every room has a Nespresso machine and pods, a Roberts radio and beautifully luxurious Goose down and silk bedding. Plus, a Hypnos mattress. ONE HAPPY LADY.

I love that the children’s beds were ‘proper’ beds, not a sofa bed or ‘put me up’ which can sometimes be the case.

The details in the bathroom were equally as decadent. A fabulous shower, lovely complimentary toiletries, and yes, a roll top bath. Always on my must have list!

A real sense of trusting and respect is apparent at The White House. With 12 bedrooms, its possible to book one room, multiple rooms or book the entire house. Whichever way, the bar has an open trust policy, and likewise the other areas of the house are communal. You’re free to play board games, open a bottle of wine at your leisure or simply wander the grounds, whatever takes your fancy.

A well behaved dog is also welcome, we loved seeing Ted the cockapoo, running around outside and playing with the children.

The dining room was gorgeous, the breakfast menu extensive and ingredients all locally sourced. The attention to detail that has been applied to every aspect of this hotel is commendable.

So would I stay here again? Absolutely YES. Would I recommend, TOTALLY.

A wonderful night away to remember. We are all chomping at the bit to get back!

Thank you The White House, you didn’t disappoint.

Follow @stayatthewhitehouse

I want to start with staying, if your bag is rolling countryside, complete rest and relaxation away from the crazy busy lives that we have, this place, is your thing. Admittedly we did have to involve ourselves with some mild food preparation tasks, but this generally involved throwing together soft cheeses (brie being our french fav) french stick, olives and various continental meats.

We flew Easyjet, and I will say I couldn’t fault them, we booked the flights back at the beginning of the year and I think the general idea is; the earlier you book the cheaper the seats. I never prebook our seats online until the night before but, if you’re flying with children you will always be seated with them, one adult to one child ratio at least. Fortunately for us, we were all placed together both ways.

We took a hire car from Toulouse airport, which we pre-booked in the UK with Hertz, this was so straight forward, if you’ve wanted to hire a car abroad but not quite had the confidence to; do it. The freedom that it gives you is amazing, especially with little ones, they love the adventure. We didn’t book with SatNav but thank goodness we got it, it made life HUGELY easier, I think possibly if you stick with a highly rated reputable hire company most cars will come standard with this, I’ve since learnt.  The village, Beauville where the Chateau Montoussel is located is 45 minutes from Toulouse.

Montoussel is utterly magnificent, take a fairly tale castle, line it with pots of hydrangeas and add the most beautiful view for miles of the local countryside and you have a little insight to the beauty of this place. We were greeted by Baloo, the labrador and Will, one half of the chateau’s husband and wife owner’s.

We were taken to our gite (The Mutley) which was everything I expected. Decorated surprisingly modern, but still with the rustic french charm; it used to be an old chicken barn, which has been lovingly restored by the owners. The views from our gite were gorgeous, with floor to ceiling windows, which we loved, really bringing the beauty from outside, in. The kitchen was well equipt, we had a huge four poster bed in the main bedroom and the sweetest twin bedroom. My children love sharing a bedroom on holiday, lots of giggling and evening chats took place, which is so lovely. We had a terrace, a bbq, and next door a utility room, which, as sad as it sounds, to do the odd bit of washing here and there allowed me to return home after two weeks away with only two loads of washing. Happy days!

We spent our days lounging around the pool, which was used by all three gites, and exploring the local area. Places we loved, and are well worth visiting, are the markets; the best and biggest being the one in Revel, the lake at Ferreol (great for watersports, pedalos and sunbathing) the Toulouse Space Centre is a brilliant day out, we loved the 3D iMax cinema, which documents a real life space adventure. The Canal Di Midi, the castle at Carcassonne and the village of Saint Felix, so picture postcard perfect and is VERY insta-friendly! Travelling with a nine and five year old its so very important to us to ALL get out of a holiday. As much as we all love the pool, we love to really get a feel for the country we’re visiting and to mix with the locals providing the children with a fun, but educational and cultural experience. It was so sweet listening to them trying out the language, looking up little words in the french phrase book, I think they really enjoyed that aspect, as well as picking their tasty treats from the boulangarie, the pain au chocolat’s were a hit!

What I loved so much was the complete peace that this place provided, you could literally drive for miles without seeing another car or person, just miles and miles of sunflowers. Now this, I can handle.

I think overall it was the title touches that really made this place our haven, I prepared a shopping list back in the UK, so that Will could do my first shop for me, I arrived to fresh bread, milk and all of the essentials, including wine! The freshly delivered basket of veg on our first morning, as a treat. The picnic blankets, parasols and picnic baskets available for us to use at any time, to take out for the day, the locked wooden picket fence around the pool which allowed us to relax in the evening, allowing the children to explore without worrying that one will take a dip without us watching, and the sweetest silkie bantams greeting us in the morning. The owners were always on hand to supply directions, tips and advice whenever we needed it, but also providing us with the space and privacy needed on a holiday, the list really is endless.

Please do contact me for any further information, I would be happy to provide any further knowledge I have on this area, I have also added some helpful website links for accommodation, flights, and car hire.

But for now,

Au revoir!

Emily xx

www.gites-chateaudemontoussel.com

www.homeaway.co.uk

www.hertz.com

www.easyjet.com

I’ve found myself describing this dreamy place as the ‘pot of gold at the end of the rainbow’. It really does have that ‘escape from it all’ ambience. Situated on the heritage coast line, Walberswick is a place of all things unspoilt and traditional. From the rugged san dunes, it’s beach and the charm of the handful of pretty gift shops, selling upmarket seaside trinkets.

As you drive in a plethora of rambler’s await you, venturing  through the attractive flora and fauna and enjoying the vast rustic landscape. Down at the harbour the major draw is the crabbing, Walberswick being the unofficial home of this sea sport. To say this is a competitive past time is a little of an understatement. I have vivid memories of my husband accompanying my daughter on a Brownie crabbing trip to Walberswick, it turns out laying on the footbridge really does give you the very best perspective on the crabs, he literally was covered in muddy sand from head to toe, all in the name of holding the ‘super crabber title’.  In the summer months the footbridges are crammed with plastic buckets and crabbing lines and little legs making the relentless trips backwards and forwards to ‘The Parish Lantern’ gift shop for more bait supplies.

Across the water you catch a glimpse of Southwold and can indeed make the foot ferry trip over the river Blyth to enjoy the sights. Or for those feeling a little more energetic, you can take the 45 minute walk through the village and across the Bailey Bridge onto Southwold Harbour.You must try the fish at the fresh fish hut harbour side.

Walberswick is everything you would want from a middle-class coastal village,and its small scale gives it that indulgent quaint village atmosphere. For eats the Anchor pub keeps things real AND local, only using produce from local allotments and village gardens or The Bell Inn, which is run by the Adnams brewery. A mobile fish and chip hut also makes its daily visits in the summer months, serving award wining fish and chips and of course the ice-cream van for a quintessentially British ’99. Today we took sandwiches, there’s nothing our children like more, when it’s chilly, are little labelled sandwiches in a lunch box and bundling into the back of the Landrover for snacks and hot tea.

The coastline is so accessible from Walberswick, from the highlights of  Dunwich, to Mismere RSPB and Aldeburgh, so it’s a great place to stay if you’re thinking about hiring a holiday cottage. You might even be lucky enough to bump into a movie director or two, with the likes of Paul Greengrass and Richard Curtis all owning their little slice of gold.

So if you’re a person, like me, who likes a slow more authentic experience, untarnished by the commercialised hype of the modern world, Waberswick is definately for you and yours. I’ll happily take on anybody that doesn’t think it’s picture postcard perfect.

With hopes that you find your ‘pot of gold’.

Have a happy and adventurous weekend,

Emily x

Being one of my favourite places in Suffolk it seems only natural for me to start here.

Branded by the press as a paradise for the Range Rover snobby elite, the Hunter wearing city type on weekend escapes and a middle class utopia, on the face of it, it’s all of those very things. At the weekend the tweed clad middle class city dwellers escape their hectic lifestyles to their second homes, taking up parking spaces, over subscribing restaurant tables and cluttering the weekday peaceful streets into a frenzy of mayhem. The once ‘only independent’ shopping experience has extended to an array of chain stores, including Tesco Metro, WHSmiths and dare I say it (whispers in case the residence of Southwold are reminded of the harrowing experience they have recently endured) Costa Coffee, a coffee shop chain which caused uproar within the town.

But is this really what’s at the heart of this pretty seaside town?

On entry to the high street you could ask what all the fuss about, it merely seems an above average pretty seaside town (minus the tat and tacky factory outlet stores selling porcelain crockery that nobody wants and dodgy watches that only work for the duration of the holiday) but you’ve only scratched the surface.

Southwold’s charm begins with the pretty bunting flying high over the roof tops, almost like you’re entering never never land, a space that you already know is just going to be ‘good for the soul’. The array of one off shops extend from quirky antique and second hand shops, pottery painting, one-off shoe shops and artisan bakeries. All working surprisingly visually in complete harmony with the chain stores, that almost seem to look better here.

Not a Range Rover in sight (well maybe a couple) but the feeling of this place and the people within it is far from the snobby cliche its made out to be.

Towards the sea is where the magic really happens. Pretty pastel beach huts adorn the promenade, occupied by a mix of over excited families, elderly couples (yes is is possible to prepare a roast in your beach hut, they’re highly skilled with years of experience!) owners (they’re the lucky ones, they sell for up to a quarter of a million) and holiday makers. All enjoying a quintessential seaside experience, encapsulating the essence of everything there is to love about the seaside. Ice-cream by the bucket load, fab coffee, fish and chips and only a stone throw from the high street pubs that do GREAT take away beer (thank the lord for Adnams).

Beach huts, Gunhill.

The beach.

Beach hut, Gunhill No 211, West Hampster.

The short walk to the promenade offers you an experience that takes you back, coins set along the prom railings, adorned with the memories of those that have once graced the pretty seaside town, memories old and new. So humbling. A buzz surrounds the only arcade the pier has to offer, the good old 2p machines being the most popular place to escape to from the beach when the weather turns. You can treat yourself to a rather delicious fish and chip supper (a little on the expensive side, so be prepared) take a seat in the purpose built benches that act as a wind break from the sea.

From crazy golf, to crabbing at the harbour, boat trips, great restaurants (for a whole other blog) walks along the sand dunes (you can even take a walk over to Walberswick, which is just lovely) and horse and cart rides, Southwold really DOES have it all.

Old Fishermans hut, Harbourside.

If you are a beachy family that can appreciate the finer things in life, you enjoy great food, the hubbub of a town thats bound to make you smile, Southwold is for you. Its certainly for me.

I plan to tell you so much more about this place I call my haven.

But until next time have a wonderful weekend guys,

Emily xx