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.

Eco-friendly Weddings at Happy Valley

What a Summer Season we’ve had so far at Happy Valley Norfolk.  We love to see that Weddings are becoming increasingly sustainable with couples adopting a few eco-friendly ideas. How we build our cabins at Happy Valley encourages natural habitats and we use environmentally friendly products on our Glamping site. We’ve built bird and bat boxes to encourage wildlife in our ancient woodland as well as planted fields of Sainfoin for the honeybees. We use all of our own natural filtered water from source on site too!

At the end of July it was the turn of the gorgeous Hannah & Peter, a local Bride and Groom who fell in love with our Dutch Barn to create their dream wedding canvas.  With Hannah’s background in floristry we knew the flowers would be breath-taking and Jam Jar Flowers of London pulled out a show stopper.

Jam Jar Flowers have an impressive selection of lovingly sourced antique vases, cut glass and Jam Jars of course. We adore Jam Jar’s eco-friendly ethos of working with seasonal flowers and foliage to reduce their wedding carbon footprint. The simple charm of flowers displayed in a natural and unfussy way, along with a love of native flora, informs Jam Jar’s style of beautiful, natural arrangements where seasonal flowers are celebrated.

Here are some flower suggestions for each season:

Spring: Tulips, white daffodils, lilac, ranunculus and guilder roses.
Summer: Peonies, larkspur, nigella, sweet peas, sunflowers and roses.
Autumn: Dahlias, calla lilies, hydrangeas and snapdragons.
Winter: Hellebores, berried ivy, jasmine, narcissus, poinsettia and anenomes.

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The greatest carbon footprint of your wedding is from travel, so if you can find a place you love near the majority of your guests, that will make the biggest eco-friendly impact… think local! Instead of transporting and constructing a venue like a marquee or tipi, choose a permanent building like a barn, we have two onsite at Happy Valley with plans to convert a third in the near future. We have the infrastructure set up to adapt to your eco wedding and good contacts with local suppliers.

DIY your eco-friendly favours! Use reusuable jars to serve up homemade preserves, a herb cutting or handmade chocolates for your guests. Cute bags of confetti are a colourful addition to the table and you can make your own by drying out rose petals collected from family and friends’ gardens. You can also buy natural, 100% biodegradable petal confetti from Mitre Farm a local West Norfolk supplier.

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Our personal favourite at Happy Valley are gifts that keep on giving back to the environment like Wildflower seeds. To contribute towards a local charity at the same time you can make your own birdseed favours effortlessly from seed bought from our local RSPB

Dressing your Bridal party can be an expensive task, not to mention hugely costly in terms of environmental impact. The solution is quite simply vintage! Vintage styles flatter all shapes and sizes so it makes sense to be eco-chic on your wedding day. Vintage Deli in Norfolk stock some gorgeous pieces which are available for fittings by appointment.

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These are just a few sustainably savvy ideas but there are many many more to mention. Including email invites which can be RSVP’d to instantly. Ensuring if you do send paper invites they are suitable for recycling and have been made from recycled card in the first place. Seeking out a catering company with an eco-friendly ethos and good relationships with local farmers will also help to reduce your carbon footprint on the day… in season food is always a tasty touch! Avoiding disposable dinnerware will help to reduce waste and compostable cups to replace plastic glassware would be another eco-friendly tip. Car-sharing between guests will also help to reduce those carbon emissions, so to will hiring a double-decker bus to bring everyone together in a fun way to travel to the venue. When it comes to decor, plastic balloons are a no go for eco friendly weddings, think lanterns, candles and biodegradable materials.

The marital motto for your eco-wedding - Reduce. Reuse. Recycle!

Wedding Venue Testimonial By Hannah Hunnam, on 31 Aug 2019

‘We were fortunate enough to hold our wedding reception at Happy Valley, an idyllic and peaceful spot hidden in West Norfolk's beautiful countryside. The venue has it all: a lake with a bridge to a little island in the middle (you can also get married on this island), magical woodland accommodation and facilities (including hot tubs), huge party barns and all surrounded by nothing but peaceful woodland and glorious Norfolk sunsets. It really is the perfect, private wedding venue and you will be spoilt for choice with photograph opportunities. We had our drinks reception and canapés on the edge of the pretty lake, using the lean-to of the Dutch barn as our outside bar area, and had a band playing outdoors near the willow trees to accompany. We then moved inside to the incredible Dutch barn which has stunning views across the lake, to eat and party the night away - it was just amazing. There's a built-in bar area already in the Dutch barn which is a lovely touch, a stage was set-up for the band to play on in the evening and our caterers set-up camp in the Hay barn. We were very lucky with the weather, but both barns at Happy Valley offer great (and dry!) spaces to be in whatever the weather. Katy and Scott, the owners, really are the most fantastic hosts, and we couldn't thank them enough for everything they did to help ensure we had the perfect day. None of us wanted to leave at the end of the weekend, and it will forever remain the most special place for us. We can't recommend Happy Valley highly enough, and have spent most days since wishing we could do it all over again. The venue really is a gift that keeps on giving.’

If you’re looking to plan a sustainable style wedding we’d love to hear from you and support you to make your eco-friendly day a reality.

E: hello@happyvalleynorfolk.co.uk

T: 01485 600719

Instagram: @happyvalleynorfolk

Facebook: www.facebook.com/NorfolkWeddingVenue/