VisitNorfolk

Come to explore the nooks and crannies of lofty castles. Run your hands along thick rugged walls of ancient flint and stone and trace the steps of monks around whispering priories. Step inside our cool humbling churches and hear the church bells calling villagers to the heavy pews. Put on a hard hat and descend into ancient flint mines or uncover the secrets of old buried treasure.

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Norfolk’s heritage satisfies all your senses.

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Find out more about the Normans in Norfolk

The historic sites in Norfolk range from the humble to the high and mighty. Admire our majestic period buildings and medieval streets and imagine yourself as aristocracy in Norfolk’s splendid stately homes. Sweep up the grand staircases and picture yourself dining on long tables laden with game and local produce. Or squeeze into a tiny fisherman’s house where families struggled to keep their bellies even half full and their children safe and warm. Explore Norfolk’s compelling museums and immerse yourself in stories from the past or discover huge collections of steam engines and military vehicles. And marvel in a moment’s silent awe at our magnificent cathedral in Norwich, our fine county centrepiece.

Touch and feel, listen and hear, look and learn … You can even smell the dank rancid cells of our old town gaol house! Wherever and whenever you visit, our floors creak with secrets and our walls are bursting with stories to tell, so ask and you will be answered.

Here in Norfolk we don’t think that history should be stuffy or boring.

Why not take a look at some of Norfolk's heritage attractions or historic houses and let Norfolk’s historic sites help bring the past back to life …

Find out about The Normans in Norfolk, part of the BBC's Hands on History series.

Norfolk through time

Grimes Graves, English Heritage, Norfolk

Norfolk has felt man's presence throughout the ages, and from prehistoric times to recent industrial heritage, the evidence is there for us to see. Here are some of the key historic sites to visit.

From the Neolithic flint mines of Grime's Graves (pictured), the Bronze Age timbers of Seahenge (now mostly housed in the Lynn Museum in King's Lynn), to the best preserved Iron Age fort in East Anglia at Warham (built by the Iceni tribe), Norfolk's prehistory is there to be re-discovered and enjoyed by all.

Norfolk's first county town Venta Icenorum, or Caistor St. Edmund Roman town, is just south of Norwich, and although only part of the walls remain, the interpretation panels give an indication of how the site was used, and the walk around the site is very pleasant, abutting the River Tas at the west end.

The Peddar's Way route, from Knettishall Heath in Suffolk to Holme-next-the-Sea in West Norfolk, follows an old Roman road that was built to mobilise troops following the defeat of the Iceni. It now links with the Norfolk Coast Path at Holme to form the Peddars Way/Norfolk Coast Path National Trail.

Other evidence of Roman activity in Norfolk is the
Caister Roman site near Great Yarmouth.

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