Places To Visit in Norfolk

Norwich

Norwich was one of the five largest cities in Norman England famous for its cloth producers and weavers. By 1700 the city was the second wealthiest in the country after London although with the onset of the industrial revolution Norwich lost ground to the northern manufacturing towns. Colmans mustard is one of its major manufacturing success stories and helped preserve much of the medieval street plan and older buildings in the city.

Its Norman Cathedral and Castle are obvious grand landmarks in the city but the city also has no less than thirty medieval churches, flintstone structures with sturdy towers and sinuous stone tracery around the windows.

Norwich is found tucked in a large bend on the River Wensum and its irregular street plan is a legacy of the Saxons and although this can make orientation difficult the cobbled streets and narrow alleyways make exploration quite exciting with magnificent buildings and historic churches at every turn.

In terms of population Norwich is a fairly small city it is exciting and vibrant with plenty of cafes, restaurants, bars and clubs plus several noteworthy theatres.

Great Yarmouth

Great Yarmouth is primarily a lively seaside resort and its Golden Mile includes a wide sandy beach, promenade, amusement arcades and indoor attractions. It has a Pleasure Beach with fun and thrilling rides, a Sea Life Centre and venues with shows for all the family.

It's also a port with a long history; it was a major trading port by the 14th century with its control of the waterways leading inland to Norwich. It also benefitted by fishing especially in the 19th century with the boom in the herring business.

The broad Market Place was the centre of the old town but its most interesting feature is its parallel narrow alleys or rows which were built to connect South Quay to the town centre. Sixty nine rows have survived and English Heritage maintain two 17th century houses the Old Merchants House in Row 117 and Row 111 House next door where you can see what life was like in the 1870's and 1940's. Nearby the Norfolk Nelson Museum is devoted to Nelson who was born in Norfolk and a regular visitor to Great Yarmouth.

King's Lynn

The ancient port of King's Lynn lies at the mouth of the River Great Ouse close to where it flows into the Wash. By the 14th century it was ranked as the third largest port in England and from the 17th century the town grew rich with the import and export of goods particularly corn to the Hanseatic ports.

King's Lynn's historic core lies between the high street and the quayside, it has two marketplaces and the Trinity Guildhall dates back to 1421 with a wonderful chequered flint and stone facade. Next door to the Guildhall is the Tales of the Old Gaol House a museum about local rogues in 18th century cells.

On the quayside the Hanseatic Warehouse built around 1475 is an iconic structure to King's Lynn's past. St George's Guildhall dates from 1410 and is one of Englands oldest surviving guildhalls it was a theatre in Elizabethan times and is now part of the King's Lynn Art Centre which stages regular exhibitions and a range of different performances.

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