Halloween at Happy Valley

Follow us behind the scenes to a Halloween Week at Happy Valley. As Hallows’ Eve falls on the week of October Half Term, it is no surprise that our mini mascots are employed to take part in the mischief and mayhem.

The sun has dawned on Summer and now the moon, wide eyed in wonder, looks down at the scene unfolding. Tiny dew drops of rain can be seen building up on cobwebs of woven silk; nature plays its part as spiders and bats are ready to take their role in this spooky festival.

As the cold air lingers and a foggy mist descends, Annie and Barnaby step into their positions magnificently by brewing the potions (tea and hot chocolate!) and preparing the cauldron for a family feast (pumpkin cookies!). With no cat or ghost in sight, Timber the dog is roped into the day’s ritual and as pumpkin is going spare, he is happy to oblige.

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Our first call to arms, is to find our coats, wrap up in a layer of protection from the howling winds, and step into the woodland of whispering trees to find the perfect chestnuts and conkers for our collection. We place these and the acorn leaves into the magician’s hat and utter a chant or two.

With spoons and (adult-supervised) knives at the ready, we carve out some fun by etching into the round, plump, pumpkins at our feet. Scraping out the fluffy, orange innards, we scoop this into our pot and place to one side (this will be noted on our post-Halloween-pumpkin-blog). Our future architect and nine-year-old carpenter, picks up his drill and creates a fiery sky of stars by drilling holes into the pumpkin’s thick skin.

Adorned with a witch’s hat and magic at her fingers tips, Annie brings a glimmer of sparkle to nature as leaves and conkers are coated in gold. The shimmery glow coming from the puddle below hints at the evening to come and a cackle echoes in the air, reverberating throughout the land. It’s almost time.

The candles are lit, sparklers ignite, pumpkins are placed, with fairies and sprite. Our two, adorable children transform into Witch and Magician. Skulls’ eyes are aglow and to the new, log cabin we go. Come friend, come foe, come ghost, come all, this year’s Halloween will be the best of them all!

If you would like to join us for a weekend of magic and fun, we have some last minute availability due to a local lockdown for our unfortunate guests:

Availability: Friday 30th October – Monday 2nd November 2020

Cabins: Woodpecker (£395) or Denver Rest and Tawny Hut (£320) - NOW FULLY BOOKED

To book, please contact hello@happyvalleynorfolk.co.uk / 01485600719

With love,

Katy and Kirsty xx

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halloween at Happy Valley Norfolk
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Autumn Equinox

Today is the Autumn Equinox, aka Mabon, a powerful time of the year where day and night dance in perfect balance, where the sun and moon equally share the sky. We open the doors to Autumn and give thanks and honour the harvest just gone. Even when the harvest wasn’t quite what was expected there’s always something to be grateful for.

A time of balance between the seasons. Holding this transitional space without fear is on our Happy Valley affirmations list and not always easy in the current climate. But we all know that fears makes the wolf look bigger & we turn to Mother Nature for a word of wisdom.

Autumn Glamping Equinox Norfolk
Autumn Equinox
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The Equinox is a time honoured by many cultures including us here at Happy Valley. The nights become chillier and before we even see the change in the landscape our senses notice the changing seasons. We can marvel at how Mother Earth shows us that nothing is constant and how this is reflected in our world.
This too shall pass.

We celebrate the land and its history for it has seen this all before and we celebrate all of you who’ve shared this crazy journey which is 2020. We’ve made it to Autumn & that is worth celebrating.

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Autumn Equinox Vibes

Turning Over a New Leaf at Happy Valley

“The heat of autumn is different from the heat of summer. One ripens the apples, the other turns them to cider”.

~ Jane Hirshfield


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The heavy heat of summer is giving way to a gentle breeze, pushing us onwards, towards cosier nights and the flicker of candlelight. There is comfort to be had when the feeling of sunlight on your skin, is then layered with the protective hug of a cashmere jumper or woollen shawl. It is as if Nature knows this is its swan song, its final chance to take flight and display its brilliance, for one last time.

Dancing like flames in the sky, the burnt oranges, and hues of yellow and brown offer up a firework display of leaves. The trees shake off their old coats and stretch out their branches to welcome a new season and with it, new adventures.

At Happy Valley, though the landscape changes, its beauty remains. Ripples in the lake and beads of sweat on your brow is being replaced with images of wellies splashing in puddles and fresh dew drops forming on blades of grass. Though darkness closes in, there is a sense of togetherness as we huddle for warmth and head towards the woods, to lose ourselves in the magic of an everchanging canvas of colour.

Your soul, as light as a feather, may be carried in the wind and with it, all your cares give way, to a beautiful, autumnal dream. The air crackles with anticipation, the leaves crunch underfoot, and conkers are ready for the taking. There is no feeling of sadness or loss, only the spirit of curiosity and yearning for a new journey into the unknown.

Here at Happy Valley, we invite you to come Autumn Glamping in the goldilocks of seasons - not too hot, not too cold but exactly right for some fun and creativity. With pencils sharpened, uninform pressed and blank exercise books waiting to be inked with inspiration, parents can escape for a term-time get away with individual glamping available during the week. Exclusive hire of the grounds, facilities, hot tubs, hay barn and all accommodation is available at the weekends, so you can capture the magic of this place with others or keep it all to yourself.  

Happy Valley cannot wait to celebrate the highlights of the Autumn season with you and raise a glass to friendships and fresh starts. Bottoms Up!

Happy Valley’s Twist on a Marylebone Halloween Marvel

  • 35ml Vanilla Flavoured Vodka

  • 12.5ml Pear Flavoured or Pumpkin Flavoured Liqueur

  • 10ml Pumpkin syrup

  • 25ml Pumpkin purée

  • Pinch of ground nutmeg and cinnamon

  • Top with Champagne (or prosecco, we won’t judge!)

  • 3 ice cubes

  • Slice of dried pear

With love,

Katy, Kirsty and the team at Happy Valley xx

Explore the different cabins in the woods for some North Norfolk Glamping this Autumn.

Happy Valley Bucket List Challenge

“In the end, it’s not
the years in your life that counts, it’s the life in your years”

-Abraham Lincoln

As the lockdown slowly starts to lift, our minds begin to race over all the things we dreamt of but never got round to doing. The pins placed into maps of countries that were never visited, the endless texts sent to friends vowing to catch up one day, the countless times a car has driven past a destination with the driver uttering a pledge to visit it, the overworked employee that puts off visiting relatives until things have calmed down at work. So many plans made and promises broken, but we are determined that things will be different from now on; turning moments into memories has become our new mantra and creating a bucket list, our latest mission.

For those running out of things to do at home, it is well worth watching the legendary Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman on your screen for the 2007 Hollywood tearjerker, The Bucket List. You will need tissues, plenty of chocolate and then a pen and paper to start making the most out of life. There’s a moment in the film when the main protagonist says to his friend “one day your life will flash before your eyes so make sure it’s worth watching”. If life were to play itself out on screen, there would undoubtedly be scenes we’d want to relive again and again and there will inevitably be those we’d rather skip. We can’t avoid mistakes, but we can reduce regrets and here at Happy Valley, we have a bucket list of ideas for you to complete while you stay with us:

  1. Watch the sun rise and set

  2. Take time to appreciate nature

  3. Try yoga or another type of relaxing therapy

  4. Spend time with people who make you happy

  5. Be hot and cold at the same time (a hot tub at night = cool head, warm heart)

  6. Read a book with the sound of birds in the background

  7. Switch off your phone

  8. Try a new sport (5 minutes down the road is tree climbing, zip lining, quad biking etc)

  9. Ride horses or build sandcastles on the beach

  10. Write a letter or postcard to someone special

  11. Paint a piece of art from the view around you

  12. Take a spontaneous road trip (we have several suggestions if you need ideas)

  13. Recreate camp (think melting marshmallows and mugs of hot chocolate)

  14. Have a slumber party - of no more than your government designated two households ;-)

  15. Gaze up at the stars

  16. Write a book, short story, diary or a poem

  17. Kiss in the rain (in your household couple of course), dance under the moon or run in the sun

  18. Make a gratitude journal

  19. Meditate

  20. Hike a new trail (with 200 acres surrounding us, we have several routes to explore)

  21. Complete 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle, do a crossword, learn to play chess, or do an outdoor photoshoot

  22. Sing Karaoke

  23. Start a camp fire without matches

  24. Write a letter to your future self

  25. Hug a tree

  26. Take a household group selfie

  27. Go 24 hours without Internet, Television or Radio

  28. Go make-up, cosmetics or designer free for the day

  29. Design a bug-hotel or fairy house for our grounds

  30. Make a new memory

*Glamping is open from 4th July 2020 and King Nutkin, Denver Rest and Tawny Hut are still available to book*

Competition time!! If, during your stay with us, you successfully complete all 30 tasks, evidenced with photographs, and shared on Instagram (please tag as @happyvalleynorfolk #happyvalleybucketlist), you will receive a complimentary prize to congratulate you on living a Happy Valley Lifestyle.

We can’t wait to see what you come up with,

With love,

Katy, Kirsty and the team at Happy Valley xx