From the vast beaches and purple-flushed marshlands of Norfolk to the buzzing coastal towns of Suffolk, this region ticks all the boxes for a family summer holiday by the sea. The beaches offer kite-flying, picnicking, beach games and castle-building, while inland there are quiet back roads and flower-filled villages, not to mention the sheltered, reed-fringed backwaters of the Norfolk Broads or Suffolk???s unspoilt river estuaries.

1,cheap real jordans. New cycling holiday in Suffolk


UK Cycle Holidays (01379 644818; ukcyclingholidays.co.uk) has a new six-night Coastal Adventure which starts in the Norfolk town of Diss and follows a scenic route to the attractive resort of Southwold in Suffolk. It combines pretty villages, quirky museums, a canoe trip on the Broads and stops at sandy beaches. From ??575 b&b per person, including hybrid bikes, b&b accommodation, luggage transfer, detailed maps with route notes and bike breakdown service. Specialist coolpedals.co.uk also has lovely itineraries in Suffolk, some specifically aimed at beginners and families with young children.

2. Norfolk on foot


Norfolk County Council (norfolk.gov.uk) is adding circular walks to its interactive map (maps.norfolk.gov.uk/trails). These range from one mile to around 10 miles and there are more than 60 suggestions, with more to come. The site allows walkers to download a PDF of the written route instructions, maps and other information about the area, with the aim of selecting a suitable itinerary to suit individual fitness levels and interests.




3. Hands-on wildlife activities for families


Flatford Wildlife Garden next to the River Stour in Suffolk???s Constable Country is an area owned and managed by the RSPB (rspb.org.uk) and this year visitors can sign up for new hands-on activities during school holidays ??“ designed to educate families about birds and wildlife. Nearby Flatford Mill Field Studies Centre (field-studies-council.org) is running a three-night Suffolk Summer Break for families with children aged from 5-10 years at ??133 (adult), ??120 (child), from August 12-15, also focusing on outdoor discovery and exploration of this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.











The Crown Hotel on the North Norfolk coast is adding five rooms this spring.

Credit: Crown Hotel






4. New hotel rooms on the coast


The Crown Hotel at Wells-next-the-Sea on the North Norfolk coast (crownhotelnorfolk.co.uk) opens an additional five rooms (to make a total of 17), in a converted stable block in mid-March. Close to the restaurant and bar, these can be used as luxury doubles or as family accommodation with connecting rooms, or the entire house can be booked by a large group. There???s also a ground-floor room with an adapted bathroom for disabled guests. Rooms start at ??190 including breakfast.

5. Outdoor water-based fun for children


Opening this year, the Dinosaur Adventure Park (01603 876310; dinosauradventure.co.uk) in Lenwade,jordans for cheap, north of Norwich, has invested ??500,000 in a new ???Dippy???s Splash Zone??? equipped with water play equipment which opens daily from Easter to October, weather permitting. Adults supervising young children must be prepared to get wet. Other attractions include a dinosaur trail, Jurassic skywire, deer safari,Kicksokok.com, secret animal garden and sheepdog displays. Tickets booked online cost ??10.40 (adult), ??13.25 (child).









The Wood Rose is one of the heritage boats Waterways Holidays offers on the Norfolk Broads

Credit: Waterways Holidays






6. Spectacular circus show in Great Yarmouth


Actors, acrobats and aerialists are taking part in a new Pirates Live 2016 show at Great Yarmouth???s Hippodrome from March 19. This is Britain???s last surviving dedicated circus building, constructed in 1903 by the circus showman George Gilbert. Tickets from ??15 (adult), ??10 (child). Family tickets available. Daily performances of the annual Summer Spectacular including traditional trapeze, juggling and tightrope acts take place from mid-July (01493 844172; hippodromecircus.co.uk).

7. Large self-catering properties for groups


Norfolk Country Cottages (01263 715779,cheap wholesale jordans; norfolkcottages.co.uk) has a new property this summer ??“ Windham???s Barn at Thurgarton, sleeping up to 12 people. Situated on a farm,http://users.atw.hu/promotionscorp/index.php?site=forum_topic&topic=16645cheapjordanshoesfreeshipping.com/bolg,cheap jordans free shipping, it lies near the Felbrigg Estate for good walks and the coast is a short drive away. From ??1,800 a week. Also new is Itteringham Manor near Aylsham, (nationaltrustholidays.org.uk), an 18th-century house with a large walled garden and spacious bedrooms sleeping up to eight, from ??995 per week. Castle House in the coastal village of Orford, sleeping 10, is a spacious,http://users.atw.hu/sj/index.php?site=forum_topic&topic=49713cheapjordanshoesfreeshipping.com/bolg,cheap jordans online, newly-refurbished Edwardian house available through Suffolk Cottage Holidays (01394 389189; suffolkcottageholidays.com). From ??2,055 a week.









The Norfolk Broads can be explored on foot or by boat








8. Newly-opened restaurant and caf??


The Kitchen (01328 738634; birdiefortescue.co.uk) is a new caf?? in North Norfolk???s elegant Georgian market town of Burnham Market, located in a stylish, high-ceilinged former bank,cheap authentic jordans, it serves an interesting selection of lunches and snacks,http://www.appsmapper.com/iphonecheapjordanshoesfreeshipping.com/bolg, including salads, soups and hot dishes from around ??8. This year sees the reopening of The Unruly Pig Restaurant in the Suffolk village of Bromeswell (theunrulypig.co.uk) near Woodbridge, which specialises in seasonal British food with an Italian twist and is newly listed in The Good Food Guide 2016.

9. Blakeney Point seal trips


The four-mile, National Trust-owned spit of high dunes and sand at Blakeney Point in North Norfolk has one of the largest colonies of grey seals in England. Pup survival rates are currently at a record high with 2,cheap air jordans,400-plus born last season and another bumper season predicted this year. Hour-long seal-watching boat trips, which take you thrillingly close to the seals, depart from Morston Quay. Contact Temples (sealtrips.co.uk), Beans (beansboattrips.co.uk) or Bishop???s Boats (bishopsboats.com). Prices are around ??10 adult, ??5 child.











The wide beaches with their charming huts are some of the reasons holidaymakers continue to return to Norfolk and Suffolk.

Credit: VisitBritain/Rod Edwards









10. Days out on the Broads


Beginners and experienced sailors can enjoy the Broads National Park with Waterways Holidays (01252 339023; waterwaysholidays.com) which offers hire of traditional sailing boats from yards at Upton, Ludham and Martham, as well as RYA learn-to-sail courses. Boats include a Victorian gaff-rigged yacht for experienced sailors, and the engineless mahogany sailing boats of the Thirties??? Norfolk Heritage Fleet. Hire prices at ??629 for a week in summer, for a family of four; RYA instruction rates vary according to the course booked.



This is, in part, because people have come to trust Bourne always to provide them with something that will entertain and delight. He is the great showman of British dance, a choreographer with an instinctive understanding of what audiences want.
This in turn springs from the fact that – without any sense sacrificing his artistic vision – he wants audiences to love dance as much as he does and to understand the stories he is telling. When we met recently he told me: “I’ve never made a piece because I knew it was going to make money or it was going to sell or the audience were going to like it.
“But I have always considered myself lucky to like doing work that appeals to a wider audience. Because people trust me, you can take them to places they never thought they were going to be going. Even with Cinderella there might be people coming expecting more of a fairy story, and they’ll have a different experience.
“One of the things I say to myself is that when an audience sits down and watches one of my shows they don’t have to know anything at all about anything. All they have got to do is come and sit there as the curtain goes up.“
This bond between Bourne and his public, this intense desire to communicate a narrrative, arises from the fact that he doesn't come from a traditional balletic background. He only started dancing in his late teens. Before that, he was a fan, a boy who put on shows, an autograph hunter who adored musical theatre and old movies.
He fell in love with the work of Frederick Ashton but was just as influenced by Fred Astaire. You can see all these influences in Cinderella – the male angel who is a little like Cary Grant in The Bishop’s Wife, the pilot who recalls David Niven in A Matter of Life and Death – and the little jutting movements of the head and neck for Cinderella’s horrid family that are a direct tribute to Ashton’s own Ugly Sisters.
This richness of influence has allowed Bourne to create his own distinctive dance world, immediately recognisable and much-loved. The only comparable choreographer I can think of his Mark Morris who, although his own dance background was more technical, absorbed a heady brew of styles from flamenco to folk dancing as he started to make his own choreography.
Significantly, Morris is also a choreographer whom audiences adore. His uncategorisable style communicates very directly with people who would not necessarily think of themselves as dance-lovers, but who respond to what he does.
I doubt that Bourne or Morris would fall into Homans’s definition of ballet – but every choreographic communicator from Petipa to Ashton would recognise what they are up to.
And the love of dance their works engender, their ability to put audiences at their ease, is part of my great optimism about dance’s future.