Embracing Autumn in the Brecks
Our quick guide for enjoying autumn to the fullest in the Norfolk and Suffolk Brecks. More
We were excited to incorporate a new event in the Brecks Outdoor Festival 2025 and partner with the Elveden Estate to provide an exclusive history tour followed by a two course meal curated from the Estate’s produce.
The tour was by tractor-trailer and, after twenty-six people climbed on board with us, we set off down one of the estate’s sandy tracks. The landscape at Elveden is a beautiful example of Breckland, scattered all over with heathland, the sandy soil only made manageable by the belts of twisted Scots Pines which the Estate still manages the traditional way, keeping them hedge-short and thick. As we drove through this golden landscape, we spotted deer on the fringes of woodland and hares loping along the field boundaries.
The famous headlines of this Estate are its former and current owners, the last Maharajah of the Sikh Empire, Maharajah Duleep Singh and the Guinness family respectively. Under the ownership of both, the Hall and the Estate have expanded. The Maharajah extended the Hall to create a palace fit for hosting large parties, most notably the extremely elaborate central entranceway, topped with a huge copper dome and decorated with intricately carved Carrara marble. The Guinness family have expanded the Estate itself and improved the attached village. But, as grand as these headlines are, the depth of Elveden Estate and the richness of its history was really shown in the small, unexpected details the tour revealed.
During the second world war, the Hall was occupied by the American military and, dotted throughout the grounds, are trees carved with their initials or, in some cases, their full names, meaning that the Estate was able to reconnect with them later. The military impact on the Estate goes deeper than tree bark though, with one patch of heathland nicknamed ‘the bombing ground’ owing to the huge number of unexploded bombs found there, as well as the craters in the earth from those that did explode on impact.
As well as the Hall, and a variety of worker’s homes which are now available for anyone to rent, the Estate also has a number of unusual buildings on site: the Elveden Memorial, towering upwards and topped with a large stone urn, which you have no doubt seen from the busy A11, as well as a startlingly decorated, red-brick Victorian water tower which, at one time, was inhabited.
Today, the Estate farm produces a variety of products, from food to bird seed, Christmas trees to instant hedges, and is building in regenerative farming practices too – leaving wide margins and awkwardly shaped fields for wildflowers to grow and attract pollinators which, in turn, protect the vegetable crops from nuisance insects.
After our tour, we were able to enjoy the fruits of Elveden’s labours too, with a delicious meal created from the Estate’s produce at the cosy Guinness Arms in Icklingham.
We only saw a glimpse of the history and the current practices of this 9,000 acre Estate, just enough to get a sense of just how much there was to explore, but we hope to go back again to find out more!
