The Gunton Arms is both wildly glamorous and completely down-to-earth, somewhere you can eat chips while contemplating a Tracey Emin. I normally go in winter – there’s nothing like venison from the park cooked over an open fire (www.theguntonarms.co.uk). I also like Sculthorpe Mill, where the food is clever without being fussy (www.sculthorpemill.uk), The Ship in Brancaster (www.theshipbrancaster.uk) and The Harnser in Cley feels like a secret you stumble upon (www.cleyharnser.co.uk). I also love Titchwell Manor, which is perched on the edge of land and sea (www.titchwellmanor.com). Of course, sometimes only Eric’s Fish and Chips will do – perfectly fried, eaten by the sea (www.ericsfishandchips.com). 

For a cosy drink, I’ll go to The Hero at Burnham Overy Staithe with its wood fires and dogs curled under tables. It’s the ideal autumnal snug, a place where you intend to stop for one and three hours later you’re still happily installed (www.theheroburnhamovery.co.uk).

I think the happiest I am is with a paper bag from Bread Source at Wolterton Hall. Their croissants and pains au chocolat are the real deal (www.bread-source.co.uk), open this year until 2 November. Then there’s Two Magpies Bakery [in Holt, Wells-next-the-Sea and Blakeney], where you pop in to buy a sourdough and stagger out with cinnamon buns, sausage rolls, a lemon tart and the vague sense that you’ve lost control (www.twomagpiesbakery.co.uk). If I’m hosting, I call The Hampstead Kitchen – everyone at my table ends up beaming and full (www.thehampsteadkitchen.com).

Shops I like to browse? I have to begin with Norfolk Natural Living. Our perfumeries in Holt and Wells-next-the-Sea are filled with handmade perfumes, candles, pillow mists and body lotions; there’s also our Utility and Miscellaneous store for things that are practical and beautiful. I’m fiercely proud of the shops and of the brilliant women who run them (www.norfolknaturalliving.com). Anna in Holt and Burnham Market is heaven for clothes (www.shopannastore.com). Joyful Living at Drove Orchards is a dangerous place for me, I walk in with the innocent intention of ‘just browsing’ and leave with an armful of homewares (www.joyfulliving.co.uk). For children, Nippers of Norfolk is full of whimsy and charm (www.nippersofnorfolk.co.uk).

I adore Pinkfoot Gallery in Cley-next-the-Sea, which always has something that stops you in your tracks (www.pinkfootgallery.co.uk). And I can never resist The Red Dot Gallery in Holt. You wander in for the art and you stay for Colin [the owner] who is one of the best conversationalists (www.thereddotgallery.com). Wolterton Hall is another favourite. At the moment it’s hosting ‘Sea State’ by Maggi Hambling and Ro Robertson, huge works that make you feel like you’ve swallowed the North Sea in one gulp (www.wolterton.co.uk). 

I’ve fallen for the stretch of Norfolk Coast Path from Wells-next-the-Sea to Blakeney. Past the bright beach huts, it’s salt marshes, creeks and skies so wide you feel like the world’s been stretched (www.nationaltrail.co.uk). Also, Shouldham Woods are beautiful and the King’s Arms does a Sunday lunch that is frankly worth moving for. Walk first, roast potatoes after = happiness (www.kingsarmsshouldham.co.uk).

In the season, Mannington Hall is my sanctuary. The moat, the roses, the hush of the gardens, there’s a timelessness that makes you slow down and remember what matters (www.mannington.co.uk). Also, the walled garden at Houghton Hall is glorious in summer (www.houghtonhall.com) and I love the walks that weave through Sandringham Estate (www.sandringhamestate.co.uk).

The scents that most evoke Norfolk to me are salt air, pine woods, woodsmoke in autumn and the soft sweetness of hedgerow blackberries. The smell of rain on sand, too, which is a very Norfolk thing, weather arriving sideways, soaking everyone to the skin, and somehow making the day better for it.

My favourite beach has to be Holkham. You begin under the towering pines before it suddenly opens onto that astonishing sweep of sand. It’s cinematic, endlessly wild and different every time you go. It also happens to be the place that inspired our Coastal Walks perfume. 

Norfolk is a giant playground for children. Mine have always adored the Wells & Walsingham Light Railway, the tiniest steam train that feels like a grand adventure (www.wwlr.co.uk). On a bigger scale, the Bure Valley Railway makes for a great day out (www.bvrw.co.uk). We love the seal trips from Morston; nothing beats watching the pups lolling about on the sandbanks. 

If I was to describe Norfolk in three words? Big-skied, windswept and friendlier-than-is-strictly-necessary. It’s a wonderful community – everyone is lovely. 

www.norfolknaturalliving.com