Amazing day out for the family with zip wires, wobbly bridges, den building and lots of slides and activities for all ages.
Cycle hire for the area on site. Horning itself is a lovely marina town with lovely pubs and restaurants for a great lunch or evening meal.

www.bewilderwood.co.uk/
Horning Road Wroxham NR12 8JW, United Kingdom
+44(0)1692 633033
Google map: bit.ly/U0dxnS

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

In the early 2000's you ventured into the Kings Head if you had lost the will to live and wished to exit this vale of tears in the near future! In 2005 it re-opened, run by two ex-offshore surveyors who cared about beer as a product and producing an environment in which to enjoy it! Today this is a friendly, comfortable, 21st century take on the traditional English pub selling mainly Norfolk beers, a well chosen selection of Belgium ales with a few exceptions from elsewhere on the mainland to vary the mix and, with the exception of the odd free-range piggy pork pie, there is no food, music or entertainment. However there is a bar billiards table which sees a considerable amount of use. Definitely worth passing a few pubs for even in Norwich which is truly a fine city for ale.

www.kingsheadnorwich.com
42 Magdalen Street Norwich NR3 1JE
+44(0)1603 620468
Google map: bit.ly/QmSSLr

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

The Perfection that is Frenches Farm, Farmhouse B&B: 400m from a pristine beach with seals:
I am sitting out front in the garden at a bench table surrounded by birdsong, as I post this from my laptop before going for a swim in the blissful sunshine. The manicured lawn goes on forever flowing to arable fields with only a majestic ancient Beech tree marking the boundary; in its boughs a pair of Jays are nesting.
This fifteenth-century farmhouse is gorgeous - well appointed on the inside and on the outside. Up a spiral staircase, the cavernous bedroom has colossal oak beams built-in during the early 1400s; trees were at least 400 years-old when felled so you are looking up at wood that was living c. 1,000 years ago! The round shaped beam was fashioned from the mast of a famous tall ship.
You get your own entrance to come and go as you please (but as farmers get up at five a.m, maybe no late-night raves – they didn't say that, but goes without saying on a working farm). Breakfast is from a good-choice menu and includes full English – everything is organic – and utterly yummy as freshly cooked. There is only the one apartment, so no need to worry about noisy neighbours – it's peace, peace, peace all the way.
The horse who starred as Black Beauty decided to retire here, that is to say, animal-lover Ruth kindly took him on and facilitated his retirement. He's got brains not just beauty as it is an excellent choice - 400m from a pristine Blueflag beach where seals bob up from the sea, looking curiously at you as you walk along in the early morning shoreline. Well-behaved dogs are welcome, but no sheep-chasers. Bird life proliferates, there are muntjack deer and badgers' sets nearby.
The sand is perfect for sandcastles and there is a Lifeguard-watched section of beach if you walk towards Sea Palling (turn left on the beach and walk for ten minutes) – always swim between the flags. For teenagers, there is scuba, jetskis, snorkelling from Sea Palling as well as plenty of eateries just near the beach there (also clean public loos – a must near a beach) – and great surfing right the way along Horsey, Waxham and Sea Palling beaches (they all join up so you can walk for miles). Because it's a bit further from Sea Palling, the Waxham section of beach opposite Frenches farm is very unpopulated – you've got big skies and stretches of sand all to yourself and can just look out over the water and focus your mind as the sun sets. I found two substantial pieces of amber - the light hits at an angle in the evening which makes it relatively easy to spot.
Got to mention the rock pools on Sea Palling beach near lifeguard's hut; where my little girl gleefully fished whitebait out in the 'Great Fish Rescue' trying to get the baby fish back to the sea in a bucket before the Seagulls ate them all! There were millions of fish stranded by the tide, easy to catch in nets - and lots of friends helped - great fun was had by all and many fish were saved; total cute fest. Other marine life abounds - crabs, starfishes, shellfish - it is the beach of choice for Marine nature trips by local schools – and now I see why! Rock pools are not just good for pond dipping for minibeasts and marine life – they are great for toddlers with inflatables, boats and mini-surfboards or younglings just learning to swim, and are very, very safe. They are Nature's warm, shallow swimming pools for children.
A spacious, airy and impeccably tasteful bedroom at Frenches farm looks out over beautiful tranquil fields, silence is broken only by the gentle swooping of summer swallows as they dart amid the eaves. But wait – you are the guest of Ruth, Henry and their family – so just a room? No – you get an entire annex to yourself, with beautifully appointed bathroom, living room – two huge flatscreen TVs in bedroom and another in the spacious living room, bookshelf-stacked library, period furnishings and every little thing thought of – chocolates on arrival, biscuit tin with yummy biccies, bottle of water to fill the kettle, a full-size fridge in the room to keep milk fresh or any other food you've brought, box of tissues, clean fluffy bathrobes to borrow, soap, shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, hair mousse, toothpaste, just in case you forget yours, and towels and linen all provided, tea, coffee, hot-chocolate, a fresh jug of milk every day (and the mugs match the rose-theme in the room) and lots of friendly banter with a traditional Norfolk welcome. Really nice touches.

It is also in the same grounds as the historic site of Waxham barns - the largest Tudor barn in the county, well worth a visit.

Ruth and Henry at Frenches farm do Norfolk proud. They would have to invent a new star rating; it's an eight-star experience. They are so kind and genuine, a really lovely family.

Frenches Farm, Waxham, Norfolk, NR12 ODX
+44(0)1692 598457
Google map: bit.ly/Pc9qkz
www.seapalling.com/frenches_farm.html

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Tucked away close to St John's Roman Catholic Cathedral close to the center of Norwich, is a sunken garden being restored to its Victorian splendour. An old chalk pit was bought by William Trevor in 1856 and a three acre garden developed. He died in 1897 and the garden, while initially looked after declined, and by the beginning of the second world war was abandoned. It was completely lost until 1980 when it was rediscovered and is being lovingly restored by a group of enthusiasts.
It is now a haven of quiet, contains many original features and has the charm of a bye gone era. No one can visit without being enthralled by the atmosphere.

www.plantationgarden.co.uk/
4 Earlham Road, Norwich, Norfolk, NR2 3DB
Google map: bit.ly/oNOuFG

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

The Norwich ghost walks are held on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at 7.30 and hosted by the mysterious Man in Black. He leads you past the historic landmarks, such as the castle and cathedral, telling you the stories of ghosts and ghouls who haunt the city. There are also a few surprises along the way ...

Walks start at the Adam and Eve pub, Bishopgate, near Norwich cathedral. There is a pay and display car park.
www.ghostwalksnorwich.co.uk/index.html
17 Bishopgate, Norwich NR3 1RZ
+44(0)7831 189985
Google map: bit.ly/nMe9MZ

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Amazing clothing and handbags made from genuine vintage fabrics.

11 Royal Arcade, Norwich, NR2 1NQ
01603 928802
www.poppyvalentine.com

Google map: bit.ly/aeWl2n

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

I don't really know Norwich Castle as a visitor - it's my local, and I've known it since I was small. It dominates the city of Norwich, where you can't really move without stumbling over some bit of medieval history - a church every 50 yards, a bit of city wall here, an ancient pub there. But Norwich Castle tops it all - quite literally - from its Norman mound. It's never been ruined because it's never been out of use. The keep is all open inside, and feels strangely small after you've looked up at its monolithic form from outside. It certainly gives you an idea of what it must have been like for the Normans, crammed together in a stinky, smoky hall. And you get a sense of everything that's gone on since. It was a prison for hundreds of years, and must have been pretty grim, but now I find it rather homely. It's got an art gallery (with stalwarts from the almost-famous Norwich School of painters) and even, slightly bizarrely, a rather good but compact natural history museum. As a local, I reckon its best moment was when they introduced the one hour, one pound ticket.

Castle Meadow, Norwich, Norfolk
museums.norfolk.gov.uk/default.asp?Document=200.21
Castle ticket £6.20, children £4.40
Google map: tinyurl.com/2wkkq5t

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Since 1980 there has been a puppet theatre in a converted medieval church in the centre of Norwich. It’s a unique venue dedicated to puppetry, with an auditorium, a studio, workshops, an exhibition gallery, shop and licensed bar. It's the only theatre in the region with a year-round programme of family-centred entertainment. As well as hosting a variety of touring puppetry companies from Britain and overseas, they run craft based workshops for children with special sessions for adults. They also work with schools in Norfolk and Suffolk to offer workshops and talks at the Theatre and by visiting the schools concerned.

Whitefriars, Norwich NR3 1TN
www.puppettheatre.co.uk

Google map: tinyurl.com/yz8h85v

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

I recommend when you go to festivals you leave your ego at home, festivals are so much fun because of the feeling of a community where everyone is in the same boat there to have a good time and let loose, so be crazy, don't care what others think and love everybody, leave your ego at home.

Any festival

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends