A view of promenade, town centrem, and pier, Cromer, seaside town in Norfolk, England (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Nestled at the very top of Norfolk is a charming seaside town that seems to have been forgotten by time.
Cromer, as remote as one can get in Norfolk, sits defiantly atop the headland, a solid 50-minute train journey from Norwich.
Over a century since its golden age as a retreat for affluent Victorian beach-goers, the town has retained much of its original charm that attracted figures like Arthur Conan Doyle.
Guest houses sit on the cliffs; fishing vessels come and go; life moves at a wonderfully leisurely pace.
The Mirror travel editor Milo Boyd spent a blissful weekend in a stunning seafront Airbnb, immersing himself in all the pleasures the town has to offer.
The seafront is just breathtaking (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
At the heart of the seafront lies Cromer’s crowning glory – the pier. The 151m long Victorian structure proudly displays a sign at its entrance proclaiming it ‘2024 Pier of the Year’, having won the title for the third time at the National Piers Society awards.
The pier stands as a symbol of resilience, with some form of structure having existed there since 1391. During WWII, the British Government blew a hole in its centre to prevent invading forces from using it as a landing strip, inadvertently using so much dynamite that debris landed in the town centre.
The repaired pier nearly found itself submerged in the North Sea eight years post-war, when a fierce gale caused significant damage. Seven major repair jobs following storms since then, coupled with commercial resilience that has seen it remain open while half of the British piers standing in the early 20th century are now closed, leave it in excellent and buoyant condition today.
On Milo’s visit, the bar was bustling and the side rails were filled with crab fishers dangling bacon into the sea. Regrettably, the UK’s last remaining all-season end-of-pier show had concluded several weeks prior, set to return next June for another three months of dazzling spectacle.
The living room of the Airbnb was bright and spacious (Image: Courtesy of the Airbnb Community)
Milo said: “Had I visited during the early war years, we might well have been showered with bits of pier when leaving our very central, very-close-to-the-seafront Airbnb. Alex and Peter’s ‘stunning Cromer beach house with sea views’ provided very much that. It is a three storey property on Jetty Street which sits about 10m from the front, offering incredible views of the long sweep of Cromer beach from its kitchen/living room. I’d chosen the home from Airbnb’s ‘Guest Favourite’ selection of properties that’d ranked 4.9/5 or higher.”
After enjoying peaceful slumbers in the four-poster beds occupying two of the four generous bedrooms, the group sipped coffee and observed as dogs frolicked in the shallow waters of a sea that hosted a handful of surfers throughout the day.
Milo admitted: “Even for a cold-water weakling such as myself, the proximity of the home to the beach made a dash into the churning October waters too good a chance to pass up. One tip picked up between swells from a Spanish arts student up from London is that £25 for two hours hire of wetsuit and surfboard from the seafront shack may not be a great price.”
The four-poster beds at the Airbnb are hugely impressive (Image: Courtesy of the Airbnb Community)
The Airbnb was also ideally situated to take full advantage of some of Cromer’s other attractions. The most notable of these is undoubtedly the crab.
It’s believed that the relatively shallow chalky waters off Cromer’s beaches offer clean, unclouded nourishment to the crustaceans, giving them a distinct and sweet taste. This, along with the catchy alliteration, has elevated the Cromer Crab to a status of global renown.
Milo’s party opted to sample this local delicacy, taking a brief three-minute stroll from the Airbnb to No1 Cromer: a classic fish and chip shop on the ground floor with a more upscale restaurant above.
He said: “A charming young waiter regaled us with stories of how his grandfather is now keeper of the Cromer lighthouse as we happily tucked into the restaurant’s delicious offering. The crab received two thumbs up from everyone in our party and the blackboard providing provenance details of the fish (from the Norwegian vessels Gacialis and Romeon, ‘caught in the clear waters of the Barent Sea) nods of approval from us all.”
Cromer in Norfolk has so much charm to discover (Image: Courtesy of the Airbnb Community)
Accompanied by a baby, Milo’s small group spent a significant portion of the weekend basking in the comfort of Alex and Peter’s charming Airbnb property, relaxing on the expansive corner sofa to tackle a stack of board games. The guest book was brimming with contented customers who had spent one or two weeks either seeking refuge from the capricious English summer weather in the cosy home, or venturing out to explore further North Norfolk attractions.
Just outside the town, the Tudor-built Felbrigg Hall is a must-visit for National Trust property enthusiasts, and its walled gardens are a delight even for those who aren’t. When their group visited in October, comically fluffy-legged chickens were running through the gourd patches beneath a bustling dovecot.
Heading either direction down the coast from Cromer will lead you to excellent seal watching spots like Blakney Point and Horsey, the latter also boasting a famous water pump that has stood over the Broads for more than a century.
You can book your stay here.
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