Thorpeness, Quirky English Village
Suffolk, UK, Fairytale Edwardian Resort Attracts Modern Visitors
© Ja Woolf
The coastal resort of Thorpeness in East Anglia was one man's holiday dream, which has gone through many changes and still attracts vacationing visitors today.
The Suffolk coast is famous for its holiday towns, but none is as unusual as Thorpeness. With a long shingle beach frontage to the North Sea, this seaside village boasts all kinds of curiosities.
House in the Clouds
The best known is, perhaps, the House in the Clouds - a perfectly ordinary looking house, except that it is set on the top of a tower. The 70-foot-high tower was originally designed in 1923 as a simple 50,000-gallon water supply for the village. But it was so ugly that Ogilvie and his architects put the house on top as a little architectural joke. The house is now a private holiday home which is rented out to visitors during the holiday season.
Directly opposite House in the Clouds is an old white windmill. Moved from the nearby village of Aldringham in the 1920s, this post mill was originally the power source for the water tower. It has now become a fascinating little museum.
Walk further, and you'll find tarred-wood holiday cottages dating from the 1920s, an ancient thatched barn from the 18th century, pretty mock Tudor houses, a lake with a crocodile island, and more.
Thorpeness History
There’s an explanation for why the village is so unusual. Thorpeness was one man’s vision. The man was a Scottish landowner called G Stuart Ogilvie. He conceived the idea of the village before the First World War, purchasing a large estate around the small smuggling and agricultural hamlet of Thorpeness. Most of the estate consisted of salt marshes, but the area had its own wild beauty, and the sea was never far away.
Ogilvie built a delightful little railway station to serve Thorpeness. From there, horse drawn buggies used to carry visitors to their holiday lodgings. The line has closed but the station building still survives, as a private house.
Peter Pan Landscapes
In creating his village, Ogilvie was inspired by landscapes described in J.M Barrie's "Peter Pan." Barrie was a friend of the Ogilvies, and sometimes visited Thorpeness.. Today's children visiting the village (and their parents) can hire boats (available between approximately 8.30 to 4.30 pm daily) and explore the specially created grassy islands in the lake, one of which boasts a model crocodile, based on Peter Pan's crocodile. The lake, which is no more than four feet deep, is also home to a huge group of beautiful swans.
At August bank holiday, the lake regatta includes fireworks and attracts visitors from miles around.
Tea Shop, Golf and More
Overlooking the lake is one of the best shop-and-tea-rooms in East Anglia – the Meare Shop. It sells all the usual holiday sweets, ices and toys and it is in no way pretentious – but its award winning food is locally sourced, hand made and reasonably priced. It is open seven days a week. The exact hours, says the owner, depend on the number of customers around.
Thorpeness is very popular with golfers. During the 1920s, the celebrated James Braid laid out the 6241-yard 18-hole heathland golf course, and this is now a site of Special Scientific Interest. By the 1930s Thorpeness had acquired a golfer’s club and hotel. These are still very much operational, and the hotel is open to non-golfers.
Today in Thorpeness
The Ogilvie family had to sell much of the estate for death duties, but the descendants of Mr. Ogilvie still take a great interest in the village. Later developments there have generally respected and enhanced the original concept, ensuring that, in an increasingly homogenised age, Thorpeness continues to exert its special charm.
Travellers seeking fairytale destinations may also enjoy reading about The Christmas Fairy of Nuremberg.
