Welcome to the March edition of Essentially England News! I hope you're all doing fine.

Despite storms with names, unreliable weather, and general upheaval, we've been soldiering on. We even managed a couple of days out!

The first of those - a fish & chip run to Norfolk - had fallen foul of the weather several times already, so we were very much looking forward to it. When we finally set off, the weather was dry and the sun decided to out, too!

Just the thing to eat fish & chips outside overlooking the harbour.

After that, we went for a walk along the western side of Wells-next-the-Sea - something we should have done soooooo much sooner!

To us, North Norfolk means marshes and shingle beach, but walk down to the lifeboat station in Wells and your perception changes. You'll step out onto a huge sandy beach - complete with multi-hued beach huts - and if you keep walking you end up in Holkham Bay.

Sunny, breezy, and not too busy - it made for a perfect walk, and to round it off, we got a chance to stroll through a corner of Holkham Hall's wonderful park. We didn't have quite enough time to explore in detail, so that's on the list for another day.

You can find photos from our walk on the Essentially England Facebook page. And there'll shortly be a page up on the website with more images and a map, for anyone who wants to try it for themselves.

Our second outing fell on Shrove Tuesday, and quite deliberately so. We'd long wanted to visit Olney to watch the annual Shrove Tuesday pancake race, and this year we finally managed it.

Olney isn't just famous for pancakes. Back in the day it was a byword for lace making, and - in Georgian times - the home town of poet George Cowper and preacher John Newton, who wrote the hymn Amazing Grace while living in Olney.

Today, Olney is a busy market town with a raft of independent shops and... of course... the location of the pancake race.

Shrove Tuesday was a pretty chilly day, and it tried to rain every now and then. But nobody took much note of that. People came out to eat pancakes, support local charities, and cheer the ladies sprinting to church holding a frying pan!

Deals and Offers

English Heritage, looks after hundreds of castles and historical sites in England. Being a member allows you to visit all the sites for free, as well as get discounts with the National Trust and other associated organisations. English Heritage has a shocking amount of work to do after two years of shutdowns and restrictions, but they've decided to continue to offer a discount on all new and gift memberships. Just use code EH2022.

And if you're in the US and shop on amazon, keep an eye on our Essentially England Store, where we've collected books, English food, cookware, and - brand new - products and gifts to celebrate Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee... just in case you feel like celebrating with us.

And that's it from us for the moment. We're definitely looking forward to more cheerful weather, fine days to go exploring, and a chance to plant this year's potatoes.

Until then, please take care.