There's something terribly nostalgic about the smell of wood smoke. It evokes feelings of cold crisp mornings, rosy-cheeked children playing in the snow a scene straight from an old picture postcard.

Imagine snuggling up in front of your own log fire while outside the north wind blows a bitter warning of frosty times ahead.

Close your eyes and this cosy setting with the fire's aroma could take you back to those days of yesteryear.

But as I discovered on a trip to Norfolk, this need not be a dream.

Norfolk Country Cottages is celebrating Britain's winter months by compiling a list of homes especially suitable for out of season' occupation.

One of its favoured Norfolk retreats is Sandringham, where the queen and her family have celebrated Christmas together for more than 50 years.

And, although the queen's country home is definitely not on the list of cottages available, there are 90 others where you really can live like royalty.

They all have either open log fires or central heating together with TVs, videos, CDs, DVDs and board games to entertain the young and young-at-heart.

I chose The Bakehouse in the grounds of Lingwood Lodge, which lies ten miles east of Norwich. Just a stone's throw from their own home, at the end of a gravel drive, Jonathan and Lorraine Aldridge have created a rural retreat fit for a king.

As the name suggests, the two-storey cottage was built in 1870 as a bakery, which was part of the Burlingham estate.

The couple renovated the building two years ago, then decorated and furnished it themselves to the highest standards.

There are two double bedrooms and two bathrooms, along with a kitchen-cum-dining room. But it is the comfortable lounge with its wood burning fire, which for me at least, was the main attraction.

If there's one thing better than warming yourself in front of your own roaring fire on a winter's evening, it's doing it with a pint in your hand at the local pub.

Half-a-mile from my holiday hideaway, locals at the King's Arms took me to their hearts in a high celebration of Norwich City winning their first Premiership game.

In reality though, Norfolk is studded with dozens of old-fashioned, traditional pubs with real fires to raise the temperature and the spirits.

The following day, after a bracing walk along the coastline, I called at the Fishermen's Return where, among black and white photos of fishing scenes, there are the trophies won by the pub's tug-of-war team.

Here, with a pint of prize-winning Woodforde's bitter, you can try smoked sprats from the griddle with French bread for £5, or skate in mushrooms and caper sauce with new potatoes at £9.75.

I risked a pint of Old Rosie, scrumpy cider twice the strength of normal beer! But remember: it is not for the faint-hearted or for drivers.

The Old Hall at Sea Palling gives the appearance of having been a tavern for centuries. In fact, it is a converted 17th Century manor house that only gained its pub licence 30 years ago.

Dip into crayfish tails pan-fried in coriander, lime and chilli butter for £5.25, fricassee of smoked haddock and prawns baked in a cheese sauce with potatoes and veg for £8.50, or queens scallops in lemon and black pepper breadcrumbs for £3.75.

Now that's what I call a real royal blow-out!

Of course, it being winter, you have to plan for the odd spot of inclement weather. Yet here, Norfolk comes into its own again with bucket loads of things to do.

The seaside town of Great Yarmouth has been steeped in history since Roman times. It recovered from the Black Death, which wiped out 7,000 of its 10,000 population between 1349-51, and was the town where Oliver Cromwell plotted the execution of Charles I.

This year, they are celebrating the 200th anniversary of local hero Lord Nelson's triumphant Battle of Trafalgar - big style. The town also inspired Charles Dickens to write David Copperfield and Anna Sewell to compose Black Beauty.

At its seafaring pinnacle, Great Yarmouth was famous for its fishing fleet, which caught 4,000 gallons of shrimps a day at its peak.

You can learn this and much more at the fascinating Time and Tide museum, which opened at a former herring curing works in July last year.

A short drive inland, Norwich, with its Victorian arcade and six-day market, is a shoppers' paradise, as well as providing an impressive cathedral.

It's also the home of the Adam and Eve, an alehouse since 1249, with its resident ghosts of a lord, several monks and a customer who was publicly hanged for murder at Norwich Castle.

And staying in drinking mode, a brand new pub at Woodbastwick, next to Woodforde's Brewery, is well worth a call for a drop or three.

Named after Parson Woodforde, an 18th century cleric with a nose for good food and real ales, two of its beers - Norfolk Nog and Wherry - were judged supreme champions by CAMRA (The Campaign for Real Ale).

You can buy them at the Fur and Feather next door, or in many of the inns across this intriguing county.