Welcome to Home Farm
Lynne and John Johnson with daughter EmilyWho are we?
We bought a wreck of a farmhouse with a pile of ramshackle barns and 8 acres of land. Over the past 11 years we have lovingly restored the house and the barns, restoring many of the original features and recycling original materials. With the recent acquisition of the surrounding 168 acres of farmland and natural England’s Higher Level Stewardship scheme we are restoring the landscape too.
We had very little experience of the tourism business when we first opened: I trained at the Royal college of Art as a fashion designer and John is a specialist lighting consultant lighting art galleries around the world. Our backgrounds have bought a unique edge to our business and certainly John’s engineering skills have been essential in developing our unique combination of renewable energy technologies at Home Farm.
Over the years we have developed friendships with regular guests who are keen to know what is next on the agenda for Home Farm. We never seek to impose ourselves on our visitors but we are available to offer first hand experience of discovering the best places to visit and experience. We deliver discreet and friendly service and someone is usually on hand to deal with life’s little emergencies. Our award winning self catering business is constantly evolving in line with our customers requirements albeit baby friendly extras or locally produced food delivered to your door. We are a business that never stands still. We focus on high quality with a strong green ethos as part of our sustainable lifestyle strategy. We aim to deliver a memorable Norfolk holiday experience for all who visit and offer somewhere great to stay
What we love about Norfolk….
We have a passion for boating so Norfolk really comes alive for us from April once the sailing season begins. However we also love the wide open sandy beaches and sultry marshland walks in the winter months. We were not birdwatchers before we settled here but with all of our hedgerow and tree planting we are continuing to notice a myriad of new visitors to the fields and gardens. Other favourites include the wonderfull autumnal tree walks held at Blicking and Sherringham. A picnic on Holkham beach is pretty hard to beat but the excitement of horse racing at Fakenham has also provided a number of memorable days out with friends. Pensthorpe and Sculthorpe Moor are also great favourites I could go on and on, best to come and see for yourself.
Our team - Fresh faces at Cranmer
Warren joins the team
We are delighted to announce that Warren Challis has joined the team at Home Farm and will play a leading role in looking after your welfare during your next stay with us at the cottages.
Warren knows the area and us quite well; he has seen the farm develop since we bought it in 1998, and also worked with John at Concorde Lighting when he was an undergraduate.
Warren has a degree in landscape architecture and experience in property management. He has a passion for green living and his wife Gemma is an experienced complimentary therapist.
In bringing his young family to Norfolk he will, in a sense, be returning to his ‘roots’ as his grandmother Eva Challis was born in Bale, and his great aunt Ethel lived all her married life in Blakeney.
Lorraine adds to the numbers
To ensure things run smoothly in the farm office and enable John and myself to plan and execute developments Lorraine will taking a pro active role in managing the office & coordinating the housekeeping.
A Norfolk girl she will underpin our commitment to a reassuring service.
Neville oils the wheels
Another new face with his rich local brogue, Neville will assist with our farmland stewardship scheme, improving the landscape and be aiding and abetting John to maintain the ever growing assemblage of farm machinery and vintage tractors.
The housekeepers
The stalwarts of our team, our eight ladies: Joanne, gill, Sue, Sam, Abbi & Elizabeth; continue to clean the cottages between visitors so that they are spotless for your arrival.
Lynne Johnson 2011
North Norfolk Cottages - Norfolk Holiday Cottages - Self Catering Holidays