One big family, one barn: Rural bliss for every age group in Norfolk's Barsham Barns

Imagine a barn that for 300 years was used for extracting milk from hundreds of great, lumbering cows. And then said lactose-extracting shed is renovated and its new raison d'etre is not sheltering bovines but big family parties like ours.
Its former life might have been the easier gig. It's no mean feat housing two toddlers, a handful of youthful OAPs, a bundle of thirtysomethings and one teenager, who is largely allergic to the rest of the group. Somehow though, a seriously spruced up milking parlour is just the ticket for our weekend in a wet and windy Norfolk.

Moooo-ving in: This former milking shed in North Barsham has been transformed into one of the Barsham Barns collection

We're at Barsham Barns, a collection of seven luxury self-catering properties of varying sizes across two locations in the county's north. Long Meadow, our barn, sleeps 8-10 and has four bedrooms decorated in shades of duck egg blue,  pale pinks and greys and includes a sweet kids bedroom with bunk beds.
All this is lovely and beautifully decorated but the real stroke of genius comes with the secret den that is accessible by a small flight of stairs and sits high above the kitchen and main living area. As spaces for fifteen-year-olds go, it feels like a bespoke solution created just for my niece. She retreats there when the oldies (that includes the thirtysomethings...) get too 'boring' and social media comes calling. She decides to sleep up there.

 

Such is the ceiling height of the original barn area in Long Meadow, it has a certain posh air hangar quality to it. Thanks to a formidable heating system including a wood burner that we kept regularly sated with hunks of wood, it still manages to feel very cosy. The neutral colours, huge slouchy sofas, soft lighting and enormous floor-to-ceiling windows on one side of the living room make it hard to leave, especially when the skies above this portion of Norfolk are throwing down buckets of rain, and with some force.

Space to roam: Relaxing in Long Meadow was all too easy...the four bedrooms (right) were decorated from the gentlest of palettes

We refuse to let rain halt play and venture out anyway, driving through lush countryside bypassing upmarket villages such as Brancaster, Titchwell and Thornham. Visiting during the autumn harvest, Norfolk's fields are swollen with corn, wheat, barley and sugar beet, trees are heavy with fruit. The vernacular architecture is exceptionally pretty; houses clad with stones or pebbles that have, somewhere down the line, been lifted from the coastline.
The village of Burnham Market remains a star attraction. Centred around the green, it is a smattering of bakers, cafes and clothes shops - mainly independent - and the much lauded hotel and pub the Hoste Arms. I confess I was a little underwhelmed by it...perhaps I'd read too much and expected something a little more. It is a perfect English village scene but also an enclave for the wax jacketed-wealthy, which dulled the charm somewhat.
A short distance away is the enticing 18th century Holkham Hall, a gilded feather in the National Trust's cap. Indeed the Trust's chairman Simon Jenkins has described the property as 'The perfect English house from the Golden Age of the Grand Tour, surviving intact in its original setting and with the founding family still in custodianship.” Be warned though, it is closed throughout winter aside from festive events so stick to spring/summer if you want it to be an integral part of your visit.

Holkham Hall, Norfolk

Seaside beauts: The pier at Cromer and 'Wells next the sea'...or Wells-on-sea as it's more commonly known

The proximity to the North Sea, which remains resolutely taupe in colour during our stay, means that there are fish shacks galore dotted around. We pass signs for 'Mervyn's Mussels' and work up an appetite for shellfish that is forgotten later on in favour of batter-wrapped fish in Wells-next-the-sea. The high street in Wells - Staithe Street - eases visitors down to the Quay, which was once one of the busiest ports in the region. Perch on the harbour wall or wander up Beach Road for a view of the grass-topped salt marshes and the boats in the quay.
Directly south of Wells, four miles inland, lies Walsingham, a village affectionately known as 'England's Nazareth' for its pilgrimage heritage. It's a quick car ride or a more joyful 30-minute pootle along on the Wells & Walsingham Light Railway, the longest 10 ¼” narrow gauge steam railway in the world, which shuttles between the two.

Bracing walks in Weybourne: The North Norfolk coast - awash with craggy clifftops, pebbles and wide expanses of sand, is the area's best asset

Even in our increasingly secular times, 300,000 people still visit Walsingham's famous shrines every year. Whatever your religious viewpoint, the grounds of the Abbey are a fascinating leap back to medieval times. The Priory ruins and the surrounding 20 acres of woodland, which are carpeted with snowdrops in springtime, are a serene place to while away a few hours.     
The arching skies, stretching beaches - Sheringham, Holkham, Weybourne among the most beautiful - and green pastures of North Norfolk conspire to give an overwhelming sense of space, something that is hugely appealing for visitors. Fortunately for us, there is a similar vibe inside the milking shed. There was room for the generations to roam...everyone could find a comfy chair, a place at the table, a spot in the hot tub (although it is shared with the other properties).