The Folly Tearooms in Hoppers Yard, Holt, has an Alice in Wonderland feel. The tables are set out amidst greenery in the garden or you can sit indoors; it’s delightful for a light lunch or a cup of tea and cake (www.follytearooms.co.uk). We also like The Gunton Arms, which has an eccentric, squireish feel about it. They serve hearty meals and in winter, when there’s a blazing fire, you feel all wrapped up in there (www.theguntonarms.co.uk). 

I’m not a gourmet, I just like good food. I love Bakers & Larners in Holt, particularly their ready-made meals, and they have an amazing range of store cupboard stuff (www.bakersandlarners.co.uk). The Tuscan Farm Shop in Burnham Market is another favourite; you can buy delicious cannoncini and they do great coffee (@tuscanfarmshop). Also Walsingham Farm Shop, which has a good butcher’s counter (walsingham.co).

If you haven’t been to the family-run Leith House Orchards, go. They have five orchards, with rows and rows of trees that literally drip with fruit in the summer. They’ve over 40 varieties of plums, gages, damsons and apples, which you can buy from their stall. It’s like no fruit you’ll ever find in a shop (www.leithorchards.com). 

We don’t often go to pubs, but we’ve been to The King’s Arms in Blakeney. The thing about many of the coastal villages is that they’re very quiet when everybody’s gone home. So you can enjoy your drink with just the sound of your voices in the air; it’s both peaceful and restorative (www.kingsarmsblakeney.co.uk).

I have two or three pieces of pottery from Made in Cley in Cley-next-the-Sea. In this era of constant change, it’s a shop that is always consistent (madeincley.co.uk). And I like The School House Gallery in Wighton, which for many years was the home of the artist Alfred Cohen (alfredcohen.org).

The Holt Bookshop ticks all the boxes. They have an excellent range of books for an independent, they’re very supportive of local authors and they hold regular events (www.holtbookshop.co.uk). The Blickling Estate second-hand bookshop also has an interesting selection (www.nationaltrust.org.uk) and I would recommend The Book Hive in Aylsham (www.thebookhive.co.uk). 

One of my favourite walks is along the raised embankment between Blakeney and Cley. You have the marshes, the sea and this expanse of sky – it’s so peaceful and you get this feeling that all your anxieties are dropping away. I’m not a birder but I like to use Merlin Bird ID, a free app for identifying birdsong. I also enjoy the view from the gazebo at Sheringham Park – you can see the Hall and the rolling parkland and, in May, all the azaleas and rhododendrons (www.nationaltrust.org.uk). 

Felbrigg Hall is always a source of inspiration. There’s the house, which was once the home of Robert Wyndham Ketton-Cremer, and a beautiful church. And the Victory V of beech trees, which Robert planted to commemorate VE Day and in honour of his brother who died in the Second World War. And there’s also a restored walled garden, which has inspired my writing (www.nationaltrust.org.uk). 

Hindringham Hall is this old, moated house with lovely gardens; they have an old stew pond, which used to produce fish [for previous inhabitants]. The current owners do tours over the summer and they also have a couple of holiday cottages which we like to stay in. It’s always very atmospheric (www.hindringhamhall.org).

When it comes to beaches, Holkham has all this space and airiness. It’s got wide arms of pinewood sheltering you and even in high summer it can feel deserted. The soft white sand and the shallows of the sea are great for children (www.holkham.co.uk).

The North Norfolk Railway Poppy Line is joyful for all ages. It’s so dinky (nnrailway.co.uk). The Shell Museum in Glandford is another lovely thing to do with children (www.shellmuseum.org.uk), as is Horsey Gap. You cross the dunes and think ‘oh this is hard work’ and then you see all the grey seals (www.horseygap.co.uk). I would also recommend Hickling Broad and Marshes. There’s so much wildlife – we heard bitterns boom last time we visited. At certain times of the year, you might spot swallowtail butterflies, which are very rare (www.norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk).

For a lasting impression of North Norfolk, walk different parts of the coast path. You’ll have the sea and marshes and, depending on the season, meadows of wildflowers and birdsong. Sometimes you might be by yourself, other times you’ll meet many people and their dogs (www.nationaltrail.co.uk). 

If I were to describe North Norfolk in three words… Sea meets sky. 

The Secrets of Dragonfly Lodge by Rachel Hore is published on 31 July (Simon & Schuster, £16.99); www.rachelhore.co.uk