N is for North Norfolk: the new Hamptons

The search for the English Hamptons continues. If Brighton is showbizzy East Hampton (with Steve Coogan and Norman Cook standing in for Jerry Seinfeld and P Diddy), and Margate is arty Sagaponack attracting the likes of Tracey Emin, then North Norfolk is coming on strong as the equivalent of low-profile, old-money Southampton.

Even resident entertainment-industry types such as Stephen Fry and Kit Hesketh-Harvey are more easily pictured having lunch at nearby Sandringham than throwing punches at the Groucho.

New on the scene is The Victoria, a former pub on the 5,000-acre Holkham estate which has been converted by owners Tom and Polly Coke, aka the Viscount and Viscountess of Leicester, into a homey, 11-room hotel. Expect Egyptian-cotton sheets, raw silk bolsters, deep claw-footed baths, posh fish and chips wrapped up in The Daily Telegraph. With open fires and sofas built for lounging, The Victoria does comfort like only Martha Stewart can.

There is also something of a restaurant revolution in the area. The best of them, Morston Hall near Blakeney, is impeccably run with its Michelin star awarded for delectable renditions of local seafood. Also try Yetmans, in nearby Holt. Otherwise, make a beeline for the New York deli of the minute - Picnic Fayre in Cley-next-the-Sea - and stock up on Veuve and pasties for that essential alfresco feast on Holkham beach. Here, on the soft sand fringed with dunes and manes of pale green grass, the Rockefeller and Van Beuren families - one-time Hamptonites - are to be found picnicking with friends.

If only a plunge in the North Sea were a little more inviting, North Norfolk really could cut it as the new Hamptons.

Morston Hall, Morston, near Blakeney (01263 741 041).

Yetmans, Holt (01263 713 320).

Picnic Fayre, The Old Forge, Cley-next-the-Sea (01263 740 587)

A-Z travel guide for 2002