Twitchers can twitch well at Titchwell on the north Norfolk coast. It is one
of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds’ most visited reserves with
something for everyone in all seasons. There is beach and dunes and tidal
marsh seawards; and coming inland, freshwater marsh and reed beds and wet
grazing meadow with judiciously placed hides.
All year there is a chance to see barn owls; in winter, wild fowl like widgeon
and Brent geese and golden plovers wing in; spring, the avocet come to
breed; in summer, marsh harriers quarter the reed beds in which the bearded
tits nest; in autumn, rare passage migrants pass through – ruffs, godwits,
little stints and curlew sandpipers.
From the outside, the hotel is not particularly attractive, unless you are a
fan of Victorian brickwork, as it was built in 1890. The bar, lounge and
dining area is also personally not to my taste, but is to that of the owner
Margaret Snaith, who clearly likes big leather sofas, and glass tables and
white walls making it a bit minimalist. And I’m not a great fan of those big
white lilies whose scent can be quite over powering like (I imagine) the
scent in a Turkish bordello. But the saving grace, as far as I was concerned
on a cold and wet early March afternoon were the real fires, dutifully
roaring.
Margaret and husband Ian bought the place in 1988 and with son Eric as the
chef, it is very much a family run business. Over the past 20 years the
Snaiths have made it into a stylish place to stay and a popular place to
eat. The bar does tapas all day and a wet and windy afternoon was made most
pleasurable by being able to read in front of the fire, drink IPA at an
agreeable £2.50 a pint and snack on cockles, real pork crackling (don’t
choose if you have dodgy teeth) and marinated sardines, all of which were
under £3 a dish.
There are 26 rooms, half of which are at the back away from the A road from
Hunstanton to Cromer which may make it a bit noisy in the summer if you have
one of the rooms at the front. But you should ask for one of these first
floor rooms if you want to look out across meadow and marsh and dune to the
beach and the North Sea beyond. The rooms at the back are light and airy and
have been built recently in a quadrangle around an attractive herb garden.
They have tiled floors, heated ones in the bath room, and the furniture is of
washed pine and the fabrics reflect homely and rustic Norfolk tastes. Each
is named after a herb in the garden. One detached room is offered to
honeymoon couples and is called the Potting Shed - not the most romantic of
names. But it packs some ‘wow’ as it is large and luxurious and features a
huge bed and a heart-racing stand alone roll top bath, all in all an
inducement to consummation …
Many of the pictures that grace the walls of the hotel, both the public areas
and the rooms for guests, are moody originals reflecting the extraordinary
light of this north Norfolk coast. They are by local artist Claire
Riseborough and she has captured the shifting layers and patterns of the
land and the sea and the sky in an abstract way. Walking in the late
afternoon on the beach, with the rain having blown away, the greys and blues
and mauves of the big wide sky were stunning, and the reflected light in the
pools of the salt marsh made the water look like liquid mercury. On the
beach, sand from the dunes was being blown seawards, curling and twirling in
mesmerizing patterns. It’s no wonder that artists like Claire are attracted
to this coast.
Dogs are welcome in some rooms at Titchwell and ours were well pleased with
their own towel, bean bag and bowl with tasty little doggy snacks in it.
Cats, budgies and even a hamster have stayed and Margaret is eager to make
everyone’s stay as comfortable as possible. She is present and pleasant,
just the sort of person you want as front of house manager.
The evening meal was taken in the conservatory restaurant in which the rattan
furniture was more to my taste. Candlelight is all very well but it was so
dim that I had difficulty locating my Bloody Mary. But when my eyes became
accustomed, I appreciated the straight forwardness of the menu BEEF, SQUID,
LIVER, LAMB, etc (followed by a brief description of how it was prepared and
what accompanied it) and the rounded prices.
It seems pretentious to have a dish at £8.95; nobody sitting down to a meal in
a decent restaurant is going to quibble over five pence. As is the trend,
much of what was on offer was locally sourced – a half dozen Brancaster
oysters £9 and Brancaster mussels poached in white wine, cream, lemon and
thyme £6 as a starter or £9 as a main dish. Although not available when we
stayed, regular main courses are local lobster, crabs from Cromer and
venison from Holkham.
Being within whiffing distance of the North Sea, it seemed appropriate to have
fillet of wild (can you also farm them?) seabass, salt cod rosti, honey
braised chicory with black olive oil for £17 and deep fried haddock with
hand cut chips and minty mushy peas for £11. A crisp Valle Dorado Chardonnay
from Chile at £15 a bottle was enjoyed both with these main courses and the
local oysters and mussels that preceded them. A complimentary chilled pear
and orange smoothie refreshed the pallet nicely between courses.
The following morning the sun shone brightly – a little too brightly for the
conservatory. But a large patio umbrella was manoeuvered by Garfield from
Jamaica so that we didn’t have to squint at our fresh fruit and yoghurt. The
full English was completed with excellent slabs of granary toast cut by hand
with ample butter (not wrapped in foil – a pet hate) and lip-smackingly good
homemade marmalade with just that hint of tartness that sets you up for the
day…
