Expect seals, birds and big beaches
Vast beaches, big skies and open countryside. East Anglia is the perfect antidote to months of claustrophobic lockdown. That’s why last summer saw the floodgates open as the holidaying crowds poured into the coastal and inland enclaves of Norfolk and Suffolk. Hotel rooms were full, beach car parks were packed and self-catering cottages in quiet, rural villages saw back-to-back bookings throughout the season. This year looks set to be no different.
For James Player, owner of Norfolk’s Blakeney Cottage Company (blakeneycottagecompany.co.uk), the start of 2021 has been the busiest ever for summer bookings. His 160-strong portfolio of properties is already 99 per cent booked for July and August. Martin Wickham of Original Cottages (originalcottages.co.uk) says Suffolk is also in high demand with peak week bookings already 70 per cent higher than this time last year, and coastal villages such as Walberswick and Orford bordering on full occupancy.