Thursday 9th July 2026 - Walled Garden, Influx at the Sea Marge and Is this the Start?

Members of the Overstrand Gardening Club, met at Felbrigg Hall on Tuesday afternoon for a guided tour of the walled garden.  This was a treat for members; we didn’t have to pay to enter.  Driving into the extensive parking area, I didn't expect it to be so full. Rather than trying to park towards the Hall, I opted for the first area with available spaces, not far from the entrance.  As far as I could see, there is only one pay station for parking.  This was not a problem for me to walk, pay, get a ticket, walk back to the car and return to the walled garden entrance. 

I think I was the only one in our group who had never visited the walled garden before.  I was unsure what to expect and therefore, it came as a pleasant surprise to discover how extensive the area is.  Our guide, Julie, pointed out features and plants of particular interest as well as providing us with information covering the garden’s history.  All the plants were labelled with their Latin names.  I thought this was a bit snobby not to provide the common names too.  After an hour, we returned to the entrance with the option of going back to look in more detail.  A warm afternoon compounded by the lack of a breeze within the walls, some of us opted for refreshments while others returned to their cars.  I thoroughly enjoyed the garden and would consider visiting again.  I would only do this, if I could pay for just the garden and not for a combined ticket covering the entrance to the house (which we’ve been to and I don’t want to see again), as well.

There have been reports in the media of how hospitality businesses are suffering in the current economic climate.  If this is the case the current warm sunny weather must be giving the Sea Marge a boost.  Our ExWI group meet here once a month and yesterday the restaurant, bar area and extensive patio were all very busy.  Despite this, the service was efficient, with the staff coping well with the influx of people. 

As you can see from the photo below (taken yesterday morning), there has been activity at the east end of the promenade.  I’m not sure I should say, ‘activity’ because apart from scraping some sand from the end of the slipway, nothing else was happening.  Could this be the start to the repairs to the sea wall?