Feeling crabby? Head to Norfolk.

I am a lucky girl. I grew up in the county of Norfolk, East Anglia, England. It's a beautiful region and is one of those rare places where you can find yourselves in the depth of the countryside one minute, then five minutes drive away you'll be on the water's edge on a beautiful, deserted beach. I grew up about half an hour inland, in a tiny, wincy village called Ringland. Beautiful hills, miles of fields to run, ride and play in, a breathtakingly pretty 15th century church and a comfortable house to play hide and seek in. After decades there, my parents decided that they would like to spend their retirement on the coast. Ideal for my father to spend his days stalking out birds, perfect for my mother who loves to walk and scan the beaches for pebbles. To cut a long story short, they moved up to the North Norfolk coast last year, did some fantastic work on their lovely little house and now wake up every morning feeling lucky to be where they are. And they deserve it. As for me, like I said, I'm lucky too. Whenever I'm tired, stressed, ready for a holiday...CRABBY, in short, I head home. There is no better place.

There is a place on the North Norfolk coast called Cromer. Ever heard of the Cromer Crab? Well, apparently these crabs are some of the best in the world and though I haven't yet visited all the corners of the earth, I've tried many, and these Cromer guys are definitely the best so far. The entire Norfolk coast line is in fact well known for its crabs and even lobsters and if you're ever in England and like a decent bit of shellfish, do take a day to go up there and make up your own mind!


The most amazing thing about my parents' new home, other than it being a little village just a stone's throw from the aforementioned Cromer, is that it is literally a three minute walk from the beach. It's a pebbly beach and makes for an excruciating yet effective foot massage but it's also the perfect spot for watching crab boats come in. When I was last there in early August, I had the extra pleasure of a visit from my younger brother, Jack (otherwise known as Pigswill.) Jack and I are both early risers so we made it our business to head down to the beach at the crack of dawn to welcome the fishermen in from their early morning jaunts on the crazy wild waves of the North Sea. No need for swimwear, I'd just head straight on into the water fully dressed because trudging back up to the house dripping wet in squelchy sandals is TOO MUCH FUN. The other very special thing about these early morning wanders is that, if you time it for when the crab/fish boats are just coming in, you can take your pick from what is literally fresh out of the water before the rest makes it into town to be dressed, wrapped and sold for at least twice the dawn price. Excellent.



The other thing we have in abundance up in North Norfolk is samphire, which is essentially a glorifed seaweed. It really does taste of the sea, but not in the same salty, vinagery way that oysters do. (I used to love oysters, that all changed but it's another story.) Samphire is delicious served with a little butter and, of course, a local crab. Don't buy it in town, rather hunt along the coastline for the little wayside vendors who sell it at literally a quarter of the price. Needless to say, we stocked up on a little of this during my holiday (if my parents are reading this, then I'm not sure they'd use the word 'holiday' to describe the 15 day tornado that hits whenever I rock up in their little haven of peace and loveliness) and teamed it with a local crab and some crayfish which had made the long journey down from Scotland for dinner.