'Respect the flowers' urges poppy field owner

10 hours ago

Neve Gordon-Farleighand

Shaun Whitmore,in Kelling

News image — Christopher Hill said the poppies were a by-product of autumn cultivation and had not been grown on purpose

Shaun Whitmore/BBC A close-up of red poppies in a field at the Kelling Estate on the north Norfolk coast. — Christopher Hill said the poppies were a by-product of autumn cultivation and had not been grown on purpose

An estate with a sea of red poppies, which has attracted visitors from all over the country, has urged people to respect the flowers.

The Kelling Estate near Holt, on the north Norfolk coast, is a mixed arable farm with a big emphasis on conservation and biodiversity.

Christopher Hill, estate manager, said while the poppies had not been purposefully grown, the crop was a by-product of autumn cultivation and was in the soil's seed bank.

He said: "Social media is a powerful product, people are coming from all over the place to see them. We just hope within that they respect what we do and enjoy it responsibly."

While Hill said the field was for "people to enjoy", he said it was part of the private Kelling Estate.

Shaun Whitmore/BBC A sea of red poppies within a field. The further you get in the distance, the poppies merge into one and it is a blanket of red. — A carpet of red can be seen across a Norfolk field

Shaun Whitmore/BBC A close-up of a red poppy in a poppy field. — The field has attracted visitors from all over the country, said Christopher Hill

BBC Weather Watcher Alan Percy, who goes by the name Walking Tractor, said it was one of the best poppy fields he had ever seen.

He said: "I was on the Coasthopper bus to Wells-next-the-Sea on bank holiday Monday - a boiling hot day - and looked behind me and noticed this sea of red in the distance.

"I got off at the nearest stop and walked all the way back to find them.

Shaun Whitmore/BBC Alan Percy, a man standing in front of a field of poppies at The Kelling Estate. He is looking directly at the camera and smiling. He is wearing a white T-shirt and green zip-up hoodie. — Alan Percy described the field of poppies as the best he had ever seen

"I've been walking the Norfolk coast for years trying to find the best one, and this is the best one yet.

"Being a Weather Watcher, one of the biggest things that defines the seasons is what flowers are about - so snowdrops in February, bluebells in April and my favourite, poppies in May and June."