Attractions

Our sponsored website at www.visitnorthnorfolk.com lists accommodation, attractions and events.

If you are a Group Organisor or Coach Operator, please see our group travel information page.

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Access to areas of natural beauty for people with disabilities.

The 2000 Easy Access guide detailing maps of routes through areas of natural beauty (AONB) in Norfolk is available as a PDF download, from the Norfolk Coast Partnership website.

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Animal, Bird & Wildlife Sites

• The Animal Ark - used to be the Norfolk Wildlife Centre, Great Witchingham.
• Pensthorpe Waterfowl Park and Nature Reserve, near Fakenham.
• Shire Horse Centre, West Runton.
• For nature reserves, geological features, protected areas and important wildlife habitats, see English Nature.

A variety of birds can be seen at Stiffkey and Morston Marshes.

Trips to see the seals at Blakeney Point (NT), run from Blakeney and Morston:

• Temples Seal Trips
• Beans Boat Trips

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Arts, Galleries, Crafts and Potteries

For information on the many Arts activities available in North Nofolk, choose from the left hand menu of our Arts home page or go direct to our What's on in the Arts page.

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Gardens and Parks
Coastal reserves and some country house parks allow free access, although you may have to pay for parking. (See under Historic Buildings and Sites.) There are woods and heathland at Beeston Regis Heath, and spectacular views can be had from Incleborough Hill.

• Country Parks North Norfolk District Council
• Fairhaven Garden Trust South Walsham
• Hoveton Hall Gardens (HHA)
• Mannington and Wolterton Gardens (HHA)
• Raveningham Hall
• Sheringham Park (NT)
• Stody Lodge Gardens (HHA)
• Walsingham Abbey Grounds (HHA)
  

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Historic Buildings and Sites
Sites that are administered by English Heritage, the National Trust, and members of the Historic Houses Association usually allow free visits by members or friends. Look on their websites for information about joining.

• English Heritage (H) For a clickable map of sites, choose 'around our regions' from their top menu, click the 'East of England' picture, then choose 'Local Property Search' from their left hand menu.
• The Historic Houses Association (HHA) represents the interests of Britain's historic houses, castles and gardens that remain in private ownership. Around 350 open regularly to the public on a commercial basis. Many more open on an occasional basis.
• The National Trust (NT)cares for over 248,000 hectares (612,000 acres) of countryside in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, plus almost 600 miles of coastline and more than 200 buildings and gardens of outstanding interest and importance. It is a registered charity and completely independent of Government, and relies heavily on the generosity of subscribing members and other supporters.

Sites and properties in or accessible from North Norfolk
Many English Heritage sites are free to visit.

• Blakeney Guildhall (H) The vaulted basement of a 14th-century merchant's house. (free)
• Blickling Hall, near Aylsham (NT)
• Binham Wayside Cross (H) Medieval cross on the site of an annual fair held from Henry I's reign until the 1950s
• Binham Priory (H) The extensive remains of a Benedictine priory. The original nave of the priory is still in use as the parish church.
• Baconsthorpe Castle (H) The remains of a 15th-century castle, built by Sir John Heydon during the Wars of the Roses.
• Castle Acre near Swaffham in West Norfolk. Castle site (free), Bailey Gate (free), Priory. (H)
• Castle Rising Castle (H) Castle Rising, West Norfolk Remains of 12th C castle.
• Creake Abbey (H), North Creake free (H)
• Elizabethan House Museum Great Yarmouth (NT)
• Felbrigg Hall, garden and Park (NT), near Cromer.
• Holkham Hall (HHA) and Park, near Wells. Bygones Museum and electric boat rides.
• Horsey Windpump (NT) at the edge of the Norfolk Broads at Horsey Mere (NT), where the National Trust owns over 800ha (1900 acres) of marshland, marrams and farmland.
• Houghton Hall (HHA) and Gardens, west Norfolk.
• Mannington and Wolterton Halls and Gardens
• North Elmham Chapel (H) mid Norfolk, free. Ruins of an 11th-century chapel, possibly built on the site of the cathedral for the Anglo-Saxon bishops of East Anglia. It was converted into a fortified manor house and enclosed by earthworks in the 14th century by Hugh le Despencer, Bishop of Norwich.
• Oxburgh Hall and Garden (NT) West Norfolk
• Sandringham House, Sandringham, West Norfolk - One of the Queen's residences.

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Churches
Norfolk has a remarkable number of medieval churches, many of which are open to visitors. See the following sites.

• The Churches of Norfolk
• Medieval Wall Painting in the English Parish Church - for a list of churches, look under Norfolk on this page.
• Norfolk Gargoyles

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Fairs, Carnivals, Events & Exhibitions

See our Arts pages

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Markets including Farmers Markets.

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Mills

• Letheringsett Watermill, Letheringsett near Holt
• Mills in Norfolk, a pictorial and historical record
• Norfolk Windmills Trust
• Sutton Windmill and Broads Museum

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Museums

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Trains

• North Norfolk Railway (Poppy Line)
• Bittern Line (Norwich to Sheringham)
• Bure Valley Railway (Aylsham to Wroxham)

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Woodlands

• Dick Buck's Burrows - Cromer
• Foxley Wood (TG049229) near Foxley village. The largest remaining ancient woodland in Norfolk, Listed in the Domesday Book, today this wood covers over 300 acres and includes several rare trees, including wild service, small-leaved lime and midland hawthorn, as well as fine examples of oak, field maple and birch. A visit here is likely to be enriched by its variety of wild flowers, including bluebells and orchids, and by large numbers of butterflies during the summer months.
• Thursford Wood (TF979333), where the oaks are amongst the oldest in the country, some quite possibly 500 years old or more. These 25 acres of ancient woodland pasture and ponds provide a veritable wildlife haven, with around 70 ancient pollarded oaks providing homes for an array of ferns, fungi, mosses and lichens. The presence of bluebells is often considered as an indicator of ancient woodland, and in May this site has an abundance of them.
• Old Wood, Sheringham

The Woodland Trust website.