Lonely Planet have revealed East Anglia in their top 10 Best in Travel must-visit destinations for 2025, saying that the region is a ‘sampling platter of old England’ with ‘timeless escapes’ and ‘participating in the 21st century feels entirely optional’ but ‘this isn’t the pre-packaged Ye Olde English Village experience – history is a living thing’.
Lonely Planet’s definition of East Anglia is Essex, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, but it’s no surprise that Norfolk hogs the limelight!
Here’s Lonely Planet’s top 10 reason why they love Norfolk…
Wildlife
‘Listen as the wind amongst the reeds create a soul-soothing soundtrack at birding hotspots such as Cley Marshes’ says Lonely Planet and they’re not wrong. Norfolk has perhaps the best birdwatching in the UK, particularly in Winter at places like RSPB Snettisham with its early morning Spectacular of geese flying overhead to feed inland and aerial acrobatics of waders on the shoreline.
At Blakeney Point there’s over Winter there’s the largest seal colony in the UK, when the Grey seals pup. Go by boat to see them with Beans.
Seafood and shellfish
‘What you’ll notice everywhere are dishes leaning towards the sea,’ says Lonely Planet and that’s spot on! Brancaster mussels and oysters are a delight, and lobsters and the eponymous Cromer crab are superbly meaty because they feed off the world’s longest chalk reef just offshore.
A149 coast road
‘Explore north Norfolk on local buses between Cromer and King’s Lynn,’ says Lonely Planet. Use the hop-on hop-off CoastHopper to enjoy nature reserves and beaches, not least Wells-next-the-Sea with its 200 higgledy-piggledy, multi-coloured beach huts and set-in-aspic Sheringham.
King’s Lynn itself has more Graded buildings than York, lovely riverside walks, and the oldest working theatre in the UK, St George’s Guildhall where Shakespeare performed! Don’t miss a show at the Pavilion Theatre on Cromer’s Victorian Pier – the last end-of-pier theatre in Europe.
Hotels to stay in by the coast
The Wash
At 20kms wide and 30kms long, The Wash is the largest estuary system in the UK. This shallow bay that opens into the North Sea is a haven for migrating and natural birdlife, as well as seals – you can take a boat out to see their colony from Hunstanton. ‘Sunny Hunny’ as we call it, is the east coast’s only west-facing resort, which means it gets incredible sunsets.
Hotels to stay in by the coast
Wool Churches
‘The past seeps from the landscape in the former heartland of England’s wool trade,’ says Lonely Planet. The profits of the medieval wool trade fuelled an extraordinary ecclesiastical building boom in Norfolk, particularly amongst wealthy landowners who were keen to ensure a smooth passage to Heaven.
Of course, it all came to an end when Henry VIII came along with the Reformation, but they remain, often in the open countryside. Make sure you go in, as the insides are as impressive as the outsides, particularly at Cawston’s St Agne’s Church (pictured), where Michael de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk, spared no expense – the roof is an elaborate hammerbeam confection with elaborate angels curving off the beam ends, and a trio of angels on outstretched wings hovering over each clerestory window.
Wymondham, Salle and Cawston also have good examples of wool churches – here’s our top ten.
Rebellion
Yes, we do have a bit of previous. Boudicca began it, against the Romans. To go back to those days visit Venta Icenorum at Caistor St Edmund or Burgh Castle, the largest remaining Roman building in the UK, which has spectacular views across Breydon Waters and Halvergate Marshes – in those days this was a huge estuary with a two-mile wide opening to the North Sea.
And Britain’s greatest naval commander, Horatio Nelson, who was born at Burnham Thorpe and learnt to sail at Burnham Overy Staithe (pictured), spent his ‘7 years on the beach’ in north Norfolk after being reprimanded by the Admiralty. He also disobeyed orders at the Battle of Cape Vincent – and won the day for the navy, hurrah!
Holkham
‘Just because this region drips with history, don’t imagine that it’s stuck in the past,’ says Lonely Planet and that’s the case at Holkham Hall and Estate, where they’re on a mission to become the most sustainable estate in the UK. Discover more in their interactive exhibition space. While you’re here, take a tour of the house – the Italianate marble hall you might remember from The Duchess. In fact, Holkham is probably the most used film and TV location in Norfolk.
Norwich
‘Have a night out in Norwich, Norfolk’s cultured capital, enjoying theatre, live music, art shows and creative dining,’ says Lonely Planet. No surprise really, not just for the reasons they mention but also because of the incredible Norman castle and cathedral, cobbled streets and riverside walks.
In 2025 the castle will unveil the £15m complete refurbishment of the keep as the ‘Royal Palace Reborn’.
Stay: The Maids Head Hotel; The Assembly House
Beaches
Norfolk has 90 miles of unrivalled coast studded with stunning beaches of pristine sand, including Gt Yarmouth (visit the Golden Mile for its retro kitsch and old school amusements), Gorleston-on-Sea, Wells-next-the-Sea, Holkham, Brancaster and the quieter, away-from-the-crowds Horsey, Winterton-on-Sea, Cart Gap and Sea Palling.
Hotels to stay in by the coast
Read our beaches and coast blogs
Broads National Park
If you want to ‘listen to the boom of Bitterns,’ as Lonely Planet recommends, then you need to head for the broads National Park, 125 miles of lock-free, navigable waterways – that’s more than Amsterdam and Venice. They’re unique as the only English National Park that includes a city, Norwich, and because they’re the only one that are man-made – the result of medieval inundated peat diggings. You can walk or cycle around, but getting on a boat is best.
Best things to do in the Broads
