Wellness Retreat a possible source of stress

Having lived in NW Norfolk and the edge of Breckland for more than 30 years, I have driven into King's Lynn a great many times. One route takes me past a small village called Ashwicken, close to another called Leziate.

Back in the day, I used to play tennis at Leziate Club, but it closed and fell into disrepair before being demolished... my landlord also lived there when I moved to Norfolk in the late 1980s.

The BBC reported today on concerns about plans to turn an old quarry (which has since filled with water to forms a lake) into a wellness resort.

Locals are concerned about the location and the roads in the area.

This will be one to follow....

I also noticed another plan on the Barsham Estate which is north of Fakenham, with plans to become a "rural lifestyle destination". 

Estate director Tom Dye said the "embryonic" plans are part of an ongoing diversification strategy to improve the resilience of the business and make it less reliant on increasingly unpredictable agricultural incomes - as demonstrated by this year's drought-hit harvest.

Mr Dye said: "We have an intention as an estate to develop a rural lifestyle destination that revolves around wellness, food and rural retail offering.

"It's an embryonic idea about connectivity around the estate and some niche cropping.

"I can imagine in five years' time, people coming here, staying down at the barns, walking around an olive grove or a vineyard, and then coming and relaxing in a spa and having a lovely meal right next to the main road heading to the coast."

This may become a trend in farming, which will potentially reduce food production, but is an inevitable adaptation when harvests have become less predictable.