November 2024. Snettisham.
The seaside trade in Sunny Hunny is long gone, but North Londoners will still head up the A10/A149 to the twee North Norfolk pubs of Burnham and Cley every weekend,
and this week signals the start of Thursford Christmas Spectacular,
annual treat for Fen folk seeking a bit of Autumnal glamour and nostalgia.
One trip to Thursford in a lifetime is enough, sometimes more than enough, and to be fair the GBG has spared me annual trips to North Norfolk’s worst excesses this century.
But GBG25 brings the Queen Victoria in Snettisham, your smart village betwixt Sandringham and the beaches,
home to retired doctors, including my own cousin.
It’s an affluent little place, the sort you find outside grim Essex towns, home to high speed public transport,
modern coffee shops and bistros, and a long-running appeal to raise £500k to convert the pavilion into a Brunning and Pricey.
From the exterior I confidently expected the Queen Victoria was a chintzy dining pub with sofas and those Lacons beers that confirm “posh” as instantly as Nene Valley does south Cambs.
I was wrong.
Two doors, one bar, five customers, three beers. You’ll have heard of them (the beers, not the customers).
Glorious in its simplicity; there may be food and accommodation trade but at 3pm it’s just drinkers discussing their tea. Venison (poached from the Sandringham estate, probs) pie, since you wondered.
The light pours in, the Old Mout and Carling are sunk,
I score my Broadside a cool, rich NBSS 3.5. Best new pub in this bit of Norfolk in years.
retiredmartin 
I stayed at the Rose and Crown in Snettisham years ago. It was in the Guide for some years; is it now irredeemably posh?
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3 words “Panfried pigeon breast”.
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Not over fond of pigeon. Partridge on the other hand…
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Aha !
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“From the exterior I confidently expected the Queen Victoria was a chintzy dining pub with sofas and those Lacons beers that confirm “posh” as instantly as Nene Valley does south Cambs.”
Mmmm Nene Valley. Their Egyptian Cream in the Mill, Cambridge last Wednesday was blooming delicious. My scoring system gave it 8/10 so probably a 4 or 4+ in your’s Just about my best beer this year.
btw, Rose and Crown, Histon now open
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Nene Valley beers are consistently good; it’s just you can guess what sort of pub will be selling them !
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Not sure about the Thursford Christmas Spectacular but the Thursford Collection looks interesting.
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You’re right to be not sure about the “Thursford Christmas Spectacular”, Jon.
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I avoid like the plague anything with the word “spectacular”.
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