This season, we’re making a case for the wild; for the muddy, the briny, the curious and the brilliant. A proper wild summer, the kind that smells of warm grass and sea salt, fills the hedgerows to overflowing, and turns the evening sky over the marshes into something that honestly feels like magic; the days long and the possibilities longer still. Your wildest summer yet starts here, says Natalie Douglas

From steam engines to a pop-up pasta barn, pickleball and padel to behind-the-scenes tours of a lobster hatchery, there’s so much to enjoy this season beyond the bucket and spade. You just need to know where to look, says Harriet Cooper

Sarah Hardy takes a joyful look at some of the village open garden events coming up across our patch this season

The National Garden Scheme (NGS) is the highlight of many people’s summer as it allows the green-fingered amongst us to explore other people’s little pieces of Eden. Here’s flaming June’s fabulous lineup of gardens opening for the NGS

Now is the perfect time to celebrate the wonders of Cromer Pier! This marvel of elegant engineering, which allows people to walk over the choppy waters of the North Sea, is 125 years old this year. Caroline McGhie finds out more