For people with a fascination for maritime history, North Norfolk is an area full of nautical surprises. Burnham Thorpe, for example, was the birthplace of Vice Admiral Lord Nelson on September 1758 and there is still much to see in the area associated with Britain’s greatest naval hero. However, with its small harbours, ports and miles of picturesque coastline, the sea and sailing is an integral part North Norfolk’s history and on a weekend break Norfolk, there are many sites of maritime interest to explore.
With a good selection of North Norfolk Hotels within close proximity to these sites where some of Britain’s most influential seafarers grew up, it is easy to absorb quite a lot of the maritime history in a short space of time.
Some of the names may be more familiar than others, but all have left an imprint on Britain’s maritime history. Take Sir William Hoste for example, who grew up in the area, or Sir Cloudesley Shovell who was Britain’s second highest ranking naval officer during the reign of Queen Anne. He was born in the small north Norfolk village of Cockthorpe.
With a number of Norfolk Luxury Hotels in this area, you can stay in style and find out more about the seafaring history. Suggested reading is a book entitled Norfolk Maritime Heroes and Legends, which lists all of the county’s best known sailors over a 400-year period. Among them, for example, is Richard Woodget, who is buried at Burnham Norton and was captain of the Cutty Sark, or John Fryer from Wells-next-the-Sea who was Master on The Bounty at the time of the infamous mutiny.
If you are staying at a hotel in North Norfolk, just ask about local maritime figures and a few names will crop up straight away. And if you visit the stately home of Felbrigg Hall, one of the residents over the years was the famous Vice-Admiral William Lukin.
There is so much to see and do in North Norfolk, whether you visit in summer or winter, but for those with an interest in maritime history, it’s not difficult to follow a nautical trail around this part of the county and unearth some fascinating facts about nautical figures in the process.