Exploring this wonderful part of our county you can see why the rich and famous headed our way in days gone by…and still do.

Overstrand is a little jewel in Norfolk crown, sitting between Cromer and Mundesley.

And what a story it has to tell.

There was a time when residents included tobacco magnate Sir William Player, and Sir Jessie Boot, founder of the pharmaceutical company.

Henry Royce, of Rolls Royce, loved the village and lived there for a time. Then there was Lord Frederick Macmillan, chairman of the publishing house, and uncle to Lord Stockton, formerly Prime Minister Harold Macmillan.

Another resident was the brilliant Norwich architect Edward Boardman who was responsible for turning Norwich Castle from a prison to a museum and so much more.

The Countess of Yarborough lived in the village with her husband John Maunsell Richardson who was said to be the best ‘gentleman’ horse rider in the land having won the Grand National in 1873/4.

Talking of sporting heroes Canon Edward Lyttelton, headmaster of Eton College, was a sportsman of some repute who lived at Overstrand. Captain of the Cambridge Cricket X1, he played at Lords and in 1878 played football for England as well as being the author of many books.

This information and so much more comes from a fascinating Overstand Village History Trail, telling the extraordinary story of the coastal village, and published by the parish council with research from Terence Richards. It is sponsored by Ivy Farm Holiday Park.

It seems that around every turn, there is a building with story to tell and then there is the sports ground where many community events are held.

It was originally the private cricket ground belong to Lord Battersea. The lord and his lady lived at The Pleasurance designed by the famous Sir Edward Lutyens in 1879.

He also built homes for his guests and staff. Then, in 1936, it was brought by the village and placed in a trust so cricket and other games could be played there “in perpetuity.”

Walking around Overstrand you will come across the Parish Hall, one of the few surviving prefabricated buildings made by one of the greatest companies ever to have operated in Norwich and Norfolk…Boulton & Paul.

This was provided by Lord Battersea as a convalescent home for the Metropolitan Hospital and was used as a military hospital during the First World War.

The Boulton & Paul Overstrand Bomber was a plane first flown in 1933 which was finally withdrawn from service during 1941.

It was writer Clement Scott who wrote a piece in the Daily Telegraph in 1893 called Poppyland. The name stuck.

A few years later Lord Suffield of Gunton Hall started building a number of houses in Harbord Road (Harbord being the family name).

In 1903 a court circular reported that “Overstrand was populated with a wide section of distinctly superior people” and it became known as the ‘village of millionaires’.

Today it remains a wonderful place to live and visit.