How Riverbank Norfolk made it into The Sunday Times Spring Escapes Edit
A new chalk stream cottage. A national newspaper. Here's the story behind the coverage.
Riverbank Norfolk, by India Hobson
Last weekend, our client Riverbank Norfolk was featured in The Sunday Times — included in travel writer James Stewart's spring countryside escapes round-up, alongside just eleven other properties from across the UK.
Number four on the list. In one of Britain's most widely read and trusted newspapers. Reaching hundreds of thousands of readers at the precise moment they are dreaming of a spring getaway.
This is how it happened.
About Riverbank Norfolk
Riverbank is a newly launched two-bedroom self-catering cottage near Holt on the North Norfolk coast — and from the moment we first encountered it, we knew it had something genuinely special to offer the media.
James Stewart described it perfectly in The Sunday Times: a pretty red-brick cottage with richly layered styling that leans towards Arts and Crafts, and a chalk stream chuckling outside. The interiors, he noted, are quirky and whimsical — the kind of aesthetic that feels considered rather than contrived, and that photographs beautifully.
But it is the setting that makes Riverbank truly rare. A chalk-fed river runs directly alongside the garden — one of England's most precious and increasingly uncommon natural features. In spring, the banks come alive with wild garlic and woodland flowers. Kingfishers dart low along the water. Deer move through the surrounding woods at dusk. Owls call through the dark, starlit nights.
And beyond the cottage itself, the location is impeccable. Spring is peak season on the Norfolk coast — blustery walks on vast beaches, epic cloudscapes, and around 9,000 seal pups at Blakeney Point. The salt marshes at Cley fill with migrating birdlife. Holt, just minutes away, is one of Norfolk's most charming and well-heeled market towns.
Two nights' self-catering for four starts from £500. For what you get, it is exceptional value.
How the coverage came together
Riverbank joined FAR Communications' Seasonal PR Opt-In at the start of the year. It is a fixed-fee, three-month programme designed for boutique travel and hospitality brands with a compelling story to tell — and Riverbank was a perfect fit.
The brief was clear: spring was the moment. A newly launched property, a chalk stream setting at its most beautiful in the warmer months, and a location synonymous with the kind of nature-led escape that travel editors actively seek for their spring issues. Our job was to distil the story and set it in front of the right people at the right time.
We developed a pitch narrative that led with the sensory experience of Riverbank — and aligned it precisely with the spring editorial calendar. We targeted the journalists and editors whose readers would respond most strongly to exactly this kind of find.
James Stewart at The Sunday Times was the perfect fit. His spring countryside escapes piece — published on 7th March 2026 — was exactly the placement we had been working towards.
The result speaks for itself.
What this means for independent travel brands
Riverbank's story is one that resonates far beyond Norfolk.
There are extraordinary independent travel brands all over the UK — hotels, cottages, tour operators, retreats — that are operating quietly below the radar of the publications their ideal guests read most. Not because their product is lacking. Because their story has not yet reached the right people.
The gap between a hidden gem and a household name is seldom about quality. It is about strategy, timing, and the relationships that get the right story in front of the right journalist at the right moment.
The Seasonal PR Opt-In exists precisely to bridge that gap. Senior-level strategy, genuine media relationships, and a tailored pitch narrative — for a fixed investment of £400 + VAT per season.
Riverbank Norfolk found its way into The Sunday Times. Your brand could be next.
Q3 applications are open now
Autumn editorial calendars are filling fast. Travel journalists are researching their recommendations for shoulder season guides very soon — and the brands that secure their place in those conversations in the coming months are the ones that will be reaching readers well beyond their peak summer season.
If your travel or hospitality brand has a story worth telling this autumn, we would love to hear from you. We work with a small number of brands each season to ensure every campaign receives the attention it deserves.
