Meet the couple who dream of becoming Norfolk's 'travel agent'

To test it out, founder of Norfolk Cottage Agency, Alex Atkinson, invited me for a two-night stay in one of their new listings.

Choseley Cottage in Docking isn’t perhaps the most obvious choice for a Norfolk break. It’s a brick and flint new-build on the Four Miles estate, more field views than sea views and around five miles from the actual coast. But I think that works in its favour.

It feels quieter because of it, free from the hustle and bustle of a coastal town or village, especially in summer. There’s a pub and a village shop, which is exceptionally well-stocked, but for anything else, you will need a car. I rather liked that about it. It was out of the way, peaceful, and if you wanted to go anywhere, like we did, you had to really want to.

It’s a great base from which to explore the area, whether you go further west, to King’s Lynn and Sandringham, further north to Brancaster or Thornham (we went to Eric’s Fish and Chips and, let me tell you, the arancini and battered pickles are definitely worth the trip) or even further east to Blakeney, Holt or Sheringham.

Choseley Cottage itself is bright and airy and ideal for a family. It was a bit too big for us, a couple, but it would suit a family or two couples. Accommodation is, rather pleasingly, arranged ‘upside down’ to make the most of its views.

There are three downstairs bedrooms, including the master which has a huge en suite bathroom with a bigger-than-average bath and a separate corner shower. A second shower room is nestled between the other two bedrooms and is no less luxurious, with a spacious walk-in rainfall shower.

Upstairs is the open-plan living space, which includes a fitted kitchen packed with all the mod-cons you’d expect, as well as a good-sized dining space, two (very comfy) sofas, a SmartTV, cosy snug and a further shower room.

The finish on everything is beautiful and the space well thought out. It’s a new build, purchased by its owner around a year ago, but it’s barely been lived in.

Everything feels fresh and new and this is no doubt helped by the scale: the open-plan living space, on the first floor, has a double-height ceiling with windows to three sides, and the dining space is a joy to be in, whether it’s for breakfast in the morning or a long, lazy dinner cooked in the well-stocked kitchen.

When we arrive, Alex has kindly provided us with a welcome basket, packed with Norfolk produce. As a gesture, it really stands out, and sums up how Alex and her husband, Tom, are also trying to support the local area.

Together, the pair have years of experience in the industry. For Alex, in particular, it’s been a bit of a family affair; her grandparents had holiday cottages in Sheringham, as did her parents, and growing up she says she earned her pocket money by cleaning them.

Tom has been in the industry since university – first in York, then in Norfolk – and when the pandemic began it seemed like a good idea to go it alone.

They launched Norfolk Cottage Agency in November last year and, since then, “it’s progressed really rapidly”, Alex says. “We had hoped to have around 50 houses on our books by the end of December, but it’s looking like we’ll have probably 50 houses by September.

"We thought our initial issues would be bringing on homeowners and trying to convince them to go with a smaller agency, but actually what has happened is that a lot of owners have wanted to use a smaller agency.

“They’ve seen our ethos, they’ve read about our values and they know from our experience we haven’t just decided to be in the industry, randomly, because holiday homes in north Norfolk are really great – between us both, there’s about 15 years’ experience.”

Part of their USP, Alex says, is that they really know the area and the homeowners and businesses who also call it home. Many of their properties are currently in north Norfolk, but they hope to become more of a “Norfolk travel agent” in the next five years, providing a “stress-free” service for those coming to Norfolk who perhaps don’t know it well or don’t have the time to plan.

Alex started her career in events management, running vintage fairs and festivals around the UK, so has spent 15 years building up a contact book of independent businesses, which she’s still using now.

“I’ve always had that love and through Norfolk Cottage Agency, the plan is definitely to bring my passion into it that way, being able to use local businesses, to support the economy and to make sure that tourists are going to small independent cafés like Winibees in Sheringham and Wells Deli in Wells-next-the-Sea.”

On booking, guests can add in ‘extras’ on their stay, like hampers and drinks packages. For our stay, Alex arranged an afternoon tea to be delivered from Smoke & Samphire, a new catering company based in Walsingham, north Norfolk, which was set up by chef Alex Cooper in January this year.

Mr Cooper graduated from the Le Cordon Bleu school in Paris and has worked at award-winning restaurants such as Rufflets in St Andrews and Sketch in London.

For visitors from out of the area, this is what Alex considers an important extra. “There’s so much you can do here,” she says. “We have such an amazing coastline with some really good excursions and adventures and businesses popping up.

“We are getting a lot of London businesses coming up this way as well, who are wanting to provide different services and fun things. It’s about finding and trying to create lots of these different little packages which people can easily book and therefore instantly, when they arrive, start trying Norfolk produce and Norfolk businesses.”

This year, Alex says it’s been a really funny year for bookings. She says that the crisis in Ukraine, combined with the rising cost of living, has meant that advanced bookings are low. What they are seeing, instead, is lots of last minute bookings – although forecasts from Visit England and Visit Britain, she says, predict a good year.

Norfolk Cottage Agency currently offers three packages to clients – marketing only, managed only or the full package – and, as a smaller agency, Alex says they really get to know their owners in a lot more depth.

As well as catering to guests and teaming up with other, homegrown businesses, Alex says she’s keen to build a community, to bring holiday homeowners together.

“In March, we did a holiday homeowner event at Back to the Garden, just outside Holt, where we invited any holiday homeowner along, completely free, and put on drinks and nibbles for them.”

They invited speakers, including an accountancy firm, mortgage broker, financial planner and social media expert along, to offer tips and advice. “It’s exciting being a holiday homeowner, being able to tap into that market,” she says, “but until now there’s nothing really bringing that community together.”

To find out more, visit norfolkcottageagency.co.uk