Further north, Louth and Horncastle each retain their own character. Louth sits at the edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds, an area of gently rolling hills that is easy to underestimate until you have walked it, with good local shops and a long-standing market tradition. Horncastle has built a reputation around its antiques trade, alongside the everyday services expected of a working market town.

None of this is unique to any one part of the country. What it shows is a fairly consistent pattern across small English towns: community life is often built less around grand civic occasions and more around these modest, regular gatherings, which is exactly why they matter so much to anyone settling into a new area.

Routine matters more than almost anything else. Older dogs tend to rely on predictable mealtimes, walk times and sleeping arrangements, and keeping these as close as possible to what they knew before the move gives them an anchor while everything else around them changes. Where possible, it helps to feed at the same times of day and to keep the same food, at least for the first few weeks, since a change of diet on top of a change of home can unsettle a dog’s digestion as well as its mood.

Community life in Norfolk tends to be active. Village halls host regular clubs and events, and the calendar is dotted with agricultural shows, produce markets and seasonal fetes that give newcomers an easy way into local life.

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