The Surprise that was Sandringham

(Backblip)

Today's was an early start, with umbrellas at the ready. Our first stop was Norwich city centre. Unfortunately the heavens opened as we disembarked from the coach, so we ran through an Art Nouveau shopping arcade, a covered market, and tried to visit a church with a tapestry in it. Bad luck: it was closed. We felt we had no choice but to retreat to a glassy building nearby and have a hot chocolate. Wow, it was disgusting! GG and I thought that maybe it was supposed to taste bitter (and authentic) but the fact that it was lukewarm didn't help.

Eventually we left, and found a department store, Jarrold's, designed by the same architect as the earlier arcade. We had some fun in there. GG bought fancy 'face jam' and I chose soap. GG wanted a clutch bag. I chose her a nice one, but she had to put it back when she saw the price tag, a mere £370!

After the excitement of choosing a sandwich in a healthy-looking takeaway shop, we had to get back to the coach and drive the seemingly endless distance to Sandringham estate. This is the Queen's royal residence and country estate in Norfolk. To be honest, I'd been dreading it. At the wishes of friends in the 1990s, I'd viewed the interiors of Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle. You probably know the format: entrance by timed ticket, no time to stop and stare, far too much red carpet and general bling. Not My Sort of Thing.

This visit could not have been more different. To be fair, we did have to wait to go in, but we had two guides, and a delightful walk (or buggy ride) to the house, where were given audiovisual guides if we wanted them, and as much time as we wanted to explore. Only a few rooms are visitable, and a corridor full of shooting paraphernalia, and another full of Indian spears, but I learned a lot and didn't feel rushed at all. There were also helpful (human) guides in every room. While it clearly wasn't the average person's house in the country, it was not stuffed with gold and diamonds and follies, either. All in all, I was impressed by the lack of fairytale fripperies. Apparently, the Queen's family owns the Sandringham and Balmoral estates privately. They are not Crown Property, and could be sold at any time.

The estate is now managed by Prince Charles, so the planting is becoming more organic, and there's some restoration in progress. The walk by the lake to the church with its silver altar front was delightful, but the skies remained leaden. We walked back from the church to the visitor centre and shop. The tea was ok, the gift shop expensive. I didn't buy any Sandringham souvenirs, nor lavishly illustrated books.

When we got back to the coach, the driver was singing, to entertain the guests who'd got back early to escape the rain. He is a larger-than-life character who likes the Wurzels, amongst other bands of the olden days. I grew quite fond of him, it cannot be an easy job keeping they many customers satisfied at the same time.

To sum up: if visiting Norfolk, Sandringham estate is well worth a visit. Allow plenty of time. Be prepared to see lots and lots of trees, far more than I ever imagined.