Norfolk
Introduction
Norfolk is an area of the fens and the lovely eastern coast. Small villages and old-school seaside resorts can be found throughout. There is a misunderstanding that Norfolk is, well, flat but in reality there is a good amount of wonderful rolling hill landscape with small winding roads.
Norwich
The main city of Norfolk Norwich is a centre not only of shopping but also much of the history of the region. The castle (now a museum) looks out over the centre of the city and it's well-known market.
Visit the Royal Arcade for the Coleman's Mustard shop and museum. Well worth a visit even if just to view the small historical niches around the small shop (visit their web site at http://www.colmansmustardshop.com/).
Home of the BBC in Norfolk but also the central library, the Forum also has a Norfolk Tourism centre.
The cathedral is quite spectacular and well worth seeing (visit their web site at http://www.cathedral.org.uk/). The recently refurbished Refectory restaurant (just off of the cloisters) is a very good café with reasonably priced food and drink available. Entrance to the cathedral is free as are the very good tours but visitors are requested to leave a donation.
Please see Official Tourism Web Site
The Sandringham Estate
The Sandringham Estate is the Norfolk home of the royal family set in beautiful grounds. A bit expensive to get in but really well worth it. Located just down the road from the small town of Kings Lynn the estate is easily accessible via a small A-road or a national cycle network path.
Also of note is the frequent markets and other events in the grounds surrounding the estate.
The Gardens
Strolling through the gardens on a fine English summer day is very relaxing.
The Church
The small church is where the royal family attend Sunday church services. On these days there can be a good number of people but it is likely a good chance to catch a glimpse of them. The church itself is charming and has a lot of history so is also worth a visit.
Blakeney Point
One of the things to do in Norfolk is to see the seals. Norfolk is home to Europe's largest Common and Grey seal colony at Blakeney Point on the north coast. The entire point is part of the National Trust's Blakeney National Nature Reserve so is free to enter and there is a walking trail on the inland part of the park.
Throughout the year there are various companies that operate boat trips of the colony which is otherwise quite difficult to get to (see below), including:
All of these operate out of the town of Blakeney or Morston, which, as you might expect, can get quite busy in the good weather. There are paid car parks in town on the harbour but if you are lucky you will be able to find a spot in a free car park nearby (for example, at Blakeney Village Hall on the A149 only a short walk from the beach).
If you want to see the seal pups you have to visit early in the year but during this time the seal boat tours do not operate to reduce the stress on the seals though, at any time, you can walk to see the colony something like 2-3 miles along the pebble (!) beach – It is NOT an easy walk but it is quite worth the trip.
If you wish to give this a go, I would suggest you take the road just to the east of Cley to the seafront where there is a car park (which can, of course, also get busy) then walk west along the beach.
Eventually you will come across the colony which is found in small hilly area covered with grass.
Needless to say, you should practice restraint here and try to stay well away from the animals and not bother them…
The Blakeney area itself is well worth visiting by itself with a number of small villages along the coast that are all within easy walking distance of one another. Small pubs and shops can be a bit touristy but still deserving of a look-in.
Further Information
For further information please see:
- Visit Norwich - Norwich tourism information