Introduction

Salt in your hair, sand on your shoes and nowhere you need to be. At 1 Malthouse Cottage, days unfold between Thornham’s winding lanes and wide coastal skies: coffee still warm as you wander towards the marshes, a picnic tucked into your bag, the tide deciding your route. Then home to the Aga’s warmth, something delicious for supper and a bottle of wine shared as daylight fades. Made for just four, with all the ingredients for a little Norfolk romance.

Inside

1 Malthouse Cottage wears its history proudly. Timber beams criss-cross overhead, old wooden doors sit happily alongside deep green walls and worn leather, and the wood burner turns the sitting room into a cocoon once the light begins to fade. The kitchen has a character all of its own, with its range cooker, butler sink and chunky timber worktops - the sort of room that calls for something bubbling away on the stove while everyone gravitates towards the table.

The main bathroom sits downstairs, where blue panelling and a freestanding roll-top bath bring a little indulgence to the cottage’s rustic charm. Upstairs, two bedrooms sleep four beneath old timbers and muted tones, with the master enjoying its own en-suite shower room, somewhere peaceful to disappear to when the day is done.

Outside

The garden is pleasingly unfussy. Sheltered by towering hedges, its lawn and gravelled corners catch pockets of Norfolk sunshine throughout the day, with a table beneath the parasol for lunches that need little ceremony and a bijou bistro spot hidden to one side when only coffee and a book will do.

Then there’s Thornham itself. Step out from this little pocket of privacy and one of North Norfolk’s best-loved villages is yours to wander, from its pubs and good food to the creeks, marshes and paths that unravel towards the coast. Come evening, the old flint walls and glow of the fire make a rather convincing argument for heading home.

There is roadside parking available to the front of the property.