Here’s our top ten Crown Jewels that you can see in Royal Norfolk…
Sandringham
Well, we have to start with Sandringham, don’t we? It’s the Royal Family’s private estate, where they traditionally spent Christmas, but otherwise much of it has been open to the public, including the House itself and museum.
King Charles III also traditionally attends the Sandringham Flower Show in July, a role he took on from his grandmother, The Queen Mother.
1000 years of Royalty in Norfolk
Blickling Hall and Estate
This National Trust property near Aylsham is a delight, not just for the fine Jacobean Hall but also the 55 acres of formal garden and thousands of acres of parkland and woodland to explore. Can you find Norfolk’s only pyramid? Blickling is where former Queen of England Anne Boleyn was born.
Norwich Castle
The fabulous ‘box on the hill’ Norman Castle is currently undergoing a £13.5m transformation to return it to the Palace of the Norman kings, rebuilding the floors and rooms to how it was in medieval times.
Norwich Cathedral
Still in Norwich, the Norman Cathedral has the second tallest spire in the country and the largest cloisters, which hosts events including Shakespeare plays in the Summer. Queen Elizabeth I stayed at the nearby Maid’s Head Hotel when she visited her friend Bishop Matthew Parker – the original Nosey Parker!
It was Elizabeth I who also invited The Strangers from the Continent to Norwich and helped establish the profitable textile trade that made the city so rich.
How the Dutch, Low Countries and Continent helped shape Norfolk
Above the West Gate is a statue of Sir Thomas Erpingham, who masterminded the defeat of the French at Agincourt for King Hentry V.
The late Queen Elizabeth II visited Norwich Cathedral three times during her reign. The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh visited in May 2010 to officially open the new Refectory and Hostry. Her Majesty also visited the Cathedral on Maundy Thursday in April 1996 as part of the Cathedral’s 900th anniversary celebrations and in April 1975 for the opening of the Cathedral’s then visitor centre.
New statues of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh were installed in the Cloister in 2018 to mark the 65th anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation.
Best things to see in Norwich Cathedral
Cromer Pier
Thanks to the reign of Queen Victoria we had huge improvements to infrastructure in the country, not least the railways which for the first time meant inner city workers and their families could travel to the seaside.
Cromer Pier is now the world’s last with an end-of-pier theatre – it hosts shows throughout the year, with Summer and Christmas cabaret shows.
Great Yarmouth and the Hippodrome
Smack bang in the middle of Great Yarmouth’s fabulous Golden Mile of amusements, shows and rides is The Hippodrome, the last complete circus building in the UK and still retaining its spectacular water feature – you have to see it to believe it.
Best things to do in Great Yarmouth
King’s Lynn and its maritime heritage
With more Graded buildings than any other town in the country, King’s Lynn rightly celebrates its fantastic maritime history, and in particular its links to the Hanseatic League.
King’s Lynn’s maritime history in 10 buildings
Best things to do in King’s Lynn and West Norfolk
Blakeney Spit
Look at that. Could pass for the Caribbean, couldn’t it? Part of Norfolk’s superb natural capital, Blakeney Spit is home to the country’s largest seal colony, best seen by taking a boat from Morston Quay.
Blakeney Point and its wildlife
Broads National Park
The only partly man-made National Park and the only one in England with a city in it (our wonderful City of Stories Norwich), the Broads provide 125 miles of navigable, lock-free waterways. Immerse yourself properly by hiring a boat for a holiday, a short break or a day trip.
Best things to do in the Broads
Peat digging and climate change – how the Broads were made
Holkham Hall, Estate and beach
You get the full package at Holkham… beautiful Palladian Hall, deer-stocked estate, grand fountains, a newly-refurbished walled garden, boating lake, a museum, places to eat and stay and, just across the road, access to one of the best beaches in Britain. And all within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Wells-next-the-Sea nearby is a must-visit too.
