Per week
from 951.00 to 2751.00 GBP
Former fashion designer, Lynne Johnson and her lighting consultant husband, John, have lavished both their skills on this cluster of five homely but stylish converted barns near the glorious beaches and sophisticated market towns of the North Norfolk coast. The Johnson’s parenting experience is evident in the balance they’ve achieved between style and family-friendly comfort with simple contemporary furnishings that easily ensure stress-free living- even with toddlers in tow! These cottages are ideal for families who enjoy independence and privacy but will appreciate the strikingly beautiful indoor heated pool, toddlers play house and pre-bookable service that aid relaxation when it comes to holidays with toddlers.
Wagtail: is a spacious one level cottage which sleeps 4 with a Kingsize bedroom, and one small twin room. The cottage benefits from an open plan living/dining and kitchen area which ensures busy mums and dads can keep an eye on the little ones whilst whipping up a spot of lunch. The two bedrooms are light and airy, the double with a large king sized bed and room for a cot there is a contemporary family bathroom, plus a private outdoor terrace- ideal for alfresco dining during the summer months whilst the front of the house leads to the communal gardens.
Kids love the local steam railways, wildlife centres, dinosaur park, aquarium and seal spotting boat trips. Lynne can arrange cycle hire with tag-alongs and baby seats. A number of nearby National Trust houses have family friendly restaurants, play areas and playgrounds. Other family-friendly dining options include lunches at The Victoria, Holkham and The White Horse at Brancaster, or excellent fish and chips on Wells Quay. Nearby Walsingham Farm Barns sell a fantastic range of speciality foods direct from small suppliers, along with some excellent fresh-made ready meals. Alternatively, use pre-bookable baby-sitting and try the excellent Galton Blackiston's Michelin starred Morston Hall.
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Check-in time: 17:00
Check-out time: 09:00
Reservation Deposit: 35%
Balance: 60 days prior to arrival
Check-in time: 17:00
Check-out time: 09:00
Reservation Deposit: 35%
Balance: 60 days prior to arrival
Check-in time: 17:00
Check-out time: 09:00
Reservation Deposit: 35%
Balance: 60 days prior to arrival
click to view full-size image
John and I moved
from cosmopolitan Islington to this wonderful peaceful backwater in 1998. John had family ties with North Norfolk along with many happy memories of childhood holidays here and we wanted to bring up our
daughter in a greener and more relaxed environment.
Over the past 11
years we have lovingly restored what was a dilapidated
farmhouse with a pile of ramshackle barns into award-winning luxury eco-cottages, preserving many of the
historic features and recycling original materials along the way. With the recent acquisition
of the surrounding 168 acres of farmland and Natural England’s Higher Level
Stewardship scheme we are revitalising the landscape too.
We had very little
experience of the tourism business when we first opened: I trained at the Royal
college of
Art as a fashion designer
and John is a specialist lighting consultant lighting art galleries around the
world. Our backgrounds have bought a unique edge to our business and certainly
John’s engineering skills have been essential in developing our unique
combination of renewable energy technologies at Home
Farm.
We never seek to impose
ourselves on our visitors but we are available to offer first hand experience of
discovering the best places to visit and experience. We deliver discreet and
friendly service and someone is usually on hand to deal with life’s little
emergencies. We constantly look for ways to surpass expectations whether it is in
supplying baby friendly extras or locally produced food delivered to your door. We focus on high quality with a
strong green ethos as part of our sustainable lifestyle strategy. We aim to
deliver a memorable Norfolk holiday experience for all who visit
and offer somewhere great to stay.
Lynne Johnson
We have a passion for boating so Norfolk really comes alive for us from April once the sailing season begins. However we also love the wide open sandy beaches and sultry marshland walks in the winter months. We were not birdwatchers before we settled here but with all of our hedgerow and tree planting we are continuing to notice a myriad of new visitors to the fields and gardens. Other favourite things include the wonderful autumnal tree walks held at Blicking Hall and Sherringham Park. A picnic on Holkham beach is pretty hard to beat but the excitement of horse racing at Fakenham has also provided a number of memorable days out with friends. Pensthorpe and Sculthorpe Moor are also favourite haunt - I could go on and on, best to come and see for yourself.
What’s not to love; miles of golden sand, empty beaches, steam railways in the image of the Thomas books, Boggle and friends and Bewilderwood, Bug trails and pond dipping at Pensthorpe, bike riding through Holkham deer park and Blickling Hall gardens. Our daughter Emily is now rather too grown up for these things and far too cool, however she will admit to enjoying a visit to Pensthorpe and of course a beach picnic with friends on Scolt head island which is such a hip place to hang out in the summer months. Crab racing down the slip way at Burnham Overy makes hauling out sailing boats at the end of the tide a perilous affair, but local families have enjoyed the pastime over many generations. A recent 4 year old niece’s birthday party in a beach hut at Wells was great fun, even if it did rain briefly. Ferry trips and seal spotting is a fantastic way to see the coast on a good day but a walk with bucket and spade and a picnic from one of the delis in Burnham Market or Wells is pretty unbeatable too.
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Sleeps 4 king sized bedroom space for travel cot. 2ft 6" single beds in small twin room. Every adult, child or infant must have an allocated bed or travel cot. |
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 | Many glorious beaches within a short drive |
 | The pool at Cranmer is beautiful with huge windows offering lovely rural views. The water temperature and that of the changing rooms is kept comfortable for babies and toddlers. It should be noted that babies under 12 months are unfortunately not permitted to use the pool. |
 | Babysitting by a police-checked and approved local sitter can be arranged. |
 | This child friendly cottage has cots, high chairs, baby baths, night lights, baby monitors and children's utensils. There are microwaves and hand blenders provided in the cottage kitchens. |
 | A selection of DVDs, toys and bedtime story books suitable for all ages are available. |
 | Games room on site |
 | Delicious fresly prepared ready meals and hampers of local produce can be arranged. Alternatively, buy them direct from the Walsingham Farm shop nearby. |
 | There's a new timber outdoor play area at Cranmer and a wendy house for younger children. |
 | Treatments via a visiting local beauty therapist can be pre-booked |
 | Cranmer is primarily self-catering but meal deliveries and private chef services can be arranged, see below. |
 | Stairgates where needed |
 | There are 2 all-weather tennis courts onsite |
 | Several cots and highchairs are available on request |
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Please click the text to scroll through reviews.
We had the BEST time at Cranmer Country Cottages and will DEFINITELY be returning. The cottage was perfect - really comfortable and cosy with everything we needed for the week. We loved the pool and amazing gardens and playground. There was SO much to do in the surrounding areas - beach trips, Dinosaur Adventure Land, Pensthorpe Park, Sneittsham Farm, the cinema in Fakenham for a rainy day! Really recommend this as a great place for October half term - weather was mostly lovely (cold but bright) so we spent most of the week outdoors exploring. Our favourite day was spent flying a kite on the beach. The other families and children were very friendly and my daughter made new friends at the pool and the playground. I loved having washing machines and dryers I could use, plus a dishwasher in the cottage. My husband loved the wood burner! Zoe in the office was super friendly and could not be more helpful. The lovely owner was very f ...Review dated 31/10/2017
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Very clean.
Quiet.
Lovely area.
Excellent ecological credentials.
Home away from home,Review dated 13/03/2016
Our second visit and already planning to book again. Ideal for us with a 3 year old and 16 month old.Review dated 12/06/2015
Really well thought out properties - lots of handy info, great location, handy on site facilities.Review dated 07/03/2014
The indoor pool is lovely and the outdoor play area is great. It is also very easy to get to all the beautiful spots in Norfolk from the cottages. The staff are very helpful too.Review dated 28/06/2012
We had a brilliant time! I would thoroughly recommend Cranmer to anyone - esp with young family. The Cottage was lovely, pool fab, and great location for lots to do in North Norfolk. Review dated 03/11/2009
We had a brilliant time! I would thoroughly recommend Cranmer to anyone - esp with young family. The Cottage was lovely, pool fab, and great location for lots to do in North Norfolk. Review dated 03/11/2009
Overall ExperienceChild-FriendlinessLocationHospitality / WelcomeInteriors*Ratings by verified BFB guests who stayed here with young children.
Rated by 7 guests.
