I like quirky and on a weekend trip to Norfolk we stumbled across 'Poppylands" a 1940s themed tearoom and family restaurant on Waxham Road in Horsey. We hadn't realised it was a themed tearoom it just looked quaint from the outside and so we were quite pleasantly surprised when we entered to see the attention to detail that had been carried out to make it feel like you were stepping back 7 decades to the War Years.
The memorabilia was everywhere, with Dad's Army playing on one of the oldest television sets that I have ever seen, to the gas masks hanging above your heads and military uniforms on display in the corner of the rooms. The menu was in the style of an old ration book with cute names such as the Neville Chamberlain All Day Breakfast, Jitterbug Burger, Home Guard Spam Fritters and Prisoner of War Porridge. It was so nice to see the tea pot brought out with a home made tea cosy wrapped around it to keep it warm, something that you rarely see these days.
The service was quick and the food was also delicious, with a carvery being served on Sunday's and home made cakes filling the display cabinets on the counter. Obviously a very popular place to dine because there were reserved signs on a few of the tables. I was so interested in the items on display and it really was like a museum, with a sweet shop upstairs and gift shop too.
Just a few hundred yards up the road is Horsey beach and sand dunes with one of the country's largest seal sanctuaries, so this would be an ideal day out to combine the two. Darren, who has amassed this vast collection informed me that the items on display in the tea rooms were just the result of one year of his collection. He's enthusiasm shone through and he even dresses in the 1940s style including the wrist watch that he was wearing.
For anyone with an interest in this era then you will not be disappointed to step back in time for an hour here, we were treated to the songs of the day as well as a Merlin Spitfire engine being started and and an air raid siren. If children are writing a school project what a great place to come and and experience a slice of history.
