Norfolk safari

Deep in the forest of bright green ferns there was a resounding crash, a rustling and, after a short silence, a delighted bellow.

Then, his blue eyes twinkling, a giant bear of a man bounded into the light like an enthusiastic schoolboy, clutching a dancing frond of elderflower.

"Marvellous stuff," he says with undisguised relish. "My favourite breakfast food. It's lovely dipped in hot oil and provides a huge range of healthy vitamins"

I am with David Bellamy, that lovable, extraordinary professor of almost everything that grows and moves on the British landscape.

And if he says the unassuming posy of green leaves dusted with delicate white flowers is edible, you've got to believe him.

At 71, and despite his famous beard turning silver, he still talks enthusiastically about his pet subjects - botany and the protection of the environment.

His voice a cross between Arthur Mullard and Jonathan Ross lifts the soul and spirit inspiring our party of schoolchildren to take an excitingly fresh tilt at the English countryside.

Like a modern day Pied Piper, he leads our posse on an enthralling, new nature and history trail he had just opened at Kelling Heath Holiday Park, near Weybourne, North Norfolk.

And he peppers our ramble with his own, distinct views on life in the 21st century.

For example, he sums our responsibility for global warming in a couple of terse sentences. "It's a scam. The Ice Age came and went without any help from humans."

And wind farms? "A waste of time and money. Barely create enough energy to boil a kettle."

His unabashed opinions have remained unchanged since he was a regular on TV's Blue Peter and hosted his own urban safari programmes.

But today, here in Norfolk, he is happy to sing the praises of Kelling Heath, where the visionary Timewell brothers, born in the area, have hired a team of environmental experts to create a 250-acre site where humans and their habitats blend in harmony with nature.

Voted Holiday Park of the Year in 2002, Kelling Heath has earned David's prestigious Bellamy Gold Conservation Award for merging four lodges, 36 holiday homes and 420 permanent caravan sites into the lush, surrounding woodland.

The park is also pledged to buy locally-grown produce, employ locals and preaches the gospel of conservation with an almost evangelical fervour.

Every week in the summer there are nature walks, nightjar searches and bat watches led by Jason Kidman, the arboriculture warden, and Jenny Lumb, the events and recreations coordinator, who have affectionately been dubbed Batman and Robin.

They are a mine of historical, natural and folklore facts. Did you know, for example, you could walk from Kelling to Denmark 9,000 years ago?

There is an Acorn Club for children aged four to 13 with supervised games and pond-dipping sessions, and a Leisure Club where a seven-day pass costs £22 for adults, £11 for children under 18. It also gives access to a 19-metre heated indoor swimming pool, Jacuzzi, sauna and steam room.

Or you could enjoy a free outdoor pool, with its integral paddling section for kids, hard surface tennis courts and table tennis facilities, and an arena for playing the traditional French game of boules.

The focal point at Kelling Heath is the village square, where you can dine at The Forge or an authentic pizza parlour, or, like me, sip a pint of Norfolk's Wherry bitter while listening to live music.

Every week in the summer months, storyteller Dave Tonve takes groups on an educational walk interspersed with tales of giants, ghosts and buried treasure which has the tiny tots wide-eyed with imagination.

I stayed in a spacious and tastefully furnished Nightjar holiday home, which sleeps six, with its own kitchen, microwave, cooker, fridge freezer and colour TV. It had a shower, washbasin and toilet and there was an even an extra toilet in the master bedroom.

The Scandinavian redwood lodges are even more upmarket and specious and include washing machine, dishwasher, video and CD player. They are more expensive, but Leisure Club membership is free.

However, on site there are plenty of opportunities to create your own fun, with an assault course for kids and jogging circuits with stretching and flexing posts.

For the energetic there's also the chance to hire bikes (with tag extensions or child seats for the youngsters) from genial cycling expert Sam Weller.

He organises tailor-made tours to suit your needs including the Huff'N'Puff adventure. This involves a five-mile ride round the stunning countryside and a trip on a steam train from Sheringham to Holt, costing £9.75 inclusive of train ticket and cycle hire.

But hark, I hear another mirthful chortle from the professor and I'm off into the undergrowth again in search of another tantalising discovery...

Prices for a week in a Heron holiday home, sleeping six, at Kelling Heath, start from £197 with a three-night break costing from £119. For more information ring 01263-588181 or click on: www.kellingheath.co.uk For Sam Weller's on-site cycle options ring 07788-132909 or: www.cyclenorfolk.co.uk Information on the North Norfolk Railway is on 01263-820800. Or email: enquiries@nnrailway.com