We've taken a little time and care to compile this section and you should check it out either before or during a visit to Weaver's Cottage - there's information here not in the guidebooks and a special 'Owner's Tips' section for tucked away treasures.  OS Maps can be bought at the local Spar Store in Docking Village.  Have fun.

The beaches in the area are truly remarkable with the whole coastline of North Norfolk chock full of seaside villages all with something unique to offer.
 
From Snettisham onwards onwards to Holme there are some good sandy beaches.  Snettisham has to be visited just as the sun goes down to witness the sky alive with swarms and swarms of birds in the skies.  People come especially to see the spectacle and It is really worth it.
 
Hunstanton and Old Hunstanton beaches are worth visiting with old beach huts and the famous 'layer cake' cliffs to the north.  It's worth a visit just to see the surfers and kite flyers.
 
Turning onto the North Norfolk coastal road duck into any of the beaches at Brancaster and Holkham.  Both have good facilities in the summer and Holkham is quite the most beautiful beach I have ev er seen.  Dunes and sand stretches as far as the eye can see - great for the kids or a long weekend walk or even a horsehide.
 
There are pretty harbours at Brancaster Staithe where you will find a little hut that sells the fantastic locally caught crayfish baguettes for £3.  Wells next the Sea is good for kids to go 'crabbing' and again the beach is stunning.  Locals and visitors come in the autumn evenings to see the thousands of geese flying in from the Arctic.

Farms and Countryside Interests

Snettisham Park Farm is a place worth visiting.  When I visited there was a local farmers market too serving great Norfolk sausage hotdogs.  This is working farm but really geared up for visitors - and it is fun and I don't have kids. Lots of breeds of sheep, pigs and goats and even a llama that trys to spit at passers by....nice. Horse and pony rides, a safari over the estate, an enclosed adventure playground and a cafe for teas.  When I went there were claves to get up close too and a session where visitors can bottle feed lambs - very popular.  Open all year from 10. www.snettishampark.co.uk
 
Pensthorpe Waterfowl Park - Nr Fakenham is 200 acres of lakes with some formal landscaping and then more freestyle areas and meadows to wander around.  And obviously lots of birds.  Always worth a visit but especially during the summer where the place is full of chicks, goslings, ducklings etc....careful of the over protective 'pecky' parents! Nature trail and cafe. Open all year round. www.pensthorpe.com
 
Great Bircham Windmill - this is fun to go to with kids.  Treasure hunts, cycle hire, bakery and gift shop and farm animals.  The sails turn on windy days and there's alot of stairs to climb. Open during the holiday season. www.birchamwindmill.co.uk 
 
Blakeney - Bishop's Boat Seal Trips - yes, you go off in a boat and mix with the seals.  My nephew did and loved it.... and so did my sister.  www.norfolksealtrips.co.uk
 
Swaffham Wind Turbines - something a little different. The single largest wind turbine in the UK with tours climbing 300 steps.  Picnic area and cafe. www.ecotech.org.uk/tourism

Walks, Nature Reserves and Bird Watching

Stop anywhere in this area and you'll find a relaxing walk.  But there is, of course, the famous Norfolk Coast Path linking Hunstanton and Cromer.  And the old Roman Road, Peddar's Way, that traverses south from Holme to Thetford.
 
Norfolk is a mecca for birdwatchers with reserves all along the coast - Titchwell - the most famous.  There's a fantastic binocular shop (In Focus) directly across the road from this reserve.  One we only know about from the locals and not marked on any map is a small birdhide at Abbey Farm in Flitcham set up by the owner's of the farm but open to the public.  We tracked the progress of a family of little owls here last summer and with lakes there's plenty to see.  Just follow the track along Abbey Road and you'll see it signposted.

Stately Homes

Holkham Hall  www.holkham.co.uk - the estate is vast  - there's a car park but we've gone off piste in our own car and driven all the way round discovering all sorts of treasures - at dusk we've often seen barn owls here.  Houghton Hall www.houghtonhall.com has its own resident herd of white deer.  And there's the impressive Sandringham Estate www.sandringhamestate.co.uk .
 
Golf - a nine hole course and floodlit driving range at Fakenham Driving Range - very friendly and all welcome 01328 856614.  For the funsters and kids there's a nine hole par 3 course at Old Hunstanton.
Cinemas in King's Lynn and Fakenham.
Nine pin bowling and swimming at Fakenham.
Cycle Hire at Fat Birds Don't Fly in Hunstanton.

Get a map and you'll find these special treasures.

Try the drive into Anmer.  Near Houghton Hall there are woodlands that have a herd of wild deer - there's about 20 of them and generally if you creep about quietly you'll find them in The Blackground very close to the Hall.

Spooky disused airfields dot the area from the Second World war - Sculthorpe (which was very nearly where the US had thier nuclear warheads based instead of Greenham Common), Great Massingham and West Raynham.

Or try finding the remnants of a disused church in Bircham Tofts.  Find Church lane and then look for the shape of a church completely covered in ivy...go closer and climb inside the grounds and you'll find the ruins. Weird and great all at the same time.

Or try feeding a huge amount of ducks at the pond in Stanhoe.

If you find yourself in King's Lynn try ducking into the old port areas - still working but for the most part disused but impressive and a bit spooky.

Farmer's markets - every Saturday in King's Lynn and every 4th Saturday of the month in Fakenham