2025 May-June with a Norwich base

Don’t forget to go to the Broads, they’re wonderful. You can take boat tours at several broads to experience them and the bird life. Wroxham is central and very busy, Hickling or Horsey are quieter and feel almost secret, Horning is full of Arthur Ransome references, if you know his books.

Don't miss the preserved railways too. The North Norfolk Railway (Poppy Line) is a favourite with teh family. Holt is delightful and well worth spending some time in. Do follow the Owl trail there. At the other end of the line is Sheerringham, another delightful small place.

Don't forget Sandringham House - well worth a visit and you could easily spend a day there. There are a couple of nature trails to follow too. Have a look at this one.

Do go for a cuise on th Broads - a wonderful way to relax. There are lots to choose from.

For historical sites - ideas here. Definitely consider Grimes Graves, a neolithic flint mine!

I spent 10 days based in Norwich. These places are worth seeing in my opinion:>
Blickling Hall, Oxburgh Hall, Cromer, Wells Next the Sea, Sandringham which can be combined with King’s Lynn & Hunstanton.

Woodbridge combined with Aldeburgh and Thorpness. Southwold, Lavenham, Ickworth Hall, Kentwell Hall.

I’d add Ely and Walsingham to the list

I don't know if you are aware of the Greater Anglia ranger and rover tickets which are good value- https://www.greateranglia.co.uk/tickets-fares/discounts/rangers-rovers

Note the further discounts if you happen to have any type of National Railcard, or a couple of the Ranger tickets even have a Senior Version which does not need a Senior Railcard, for anyone of that age.

Greater Anglia has invested a large amount of money over the last few years in a lot of modern trains.

At Sheringham the modern trains and the steam trains meet at the same station. There is also Cromer to visit, and the famous Cromer Crabs.

No one has mentioned Lowestoft either- the most easterly town in the UK- https://www.discoverlowestoft.co.uk/information/

As for Great Yarmouth there is a lot of narrow mindedness in some quarters. It remains a very popular seaside resort as it has been for over 100 years. Not everyone likes the same thing. In some ways it is a bit like Blackpool- an immensely popular holiday town, but not without it's problems, which has a distinctly rough round the edges feel in places. Life is not all chocolate box images and roses round the door.

Thank you all for so many towns and sites to visit. We’ll get busy with maps and make grouped lists! I thought Sandingham might be too far but now I see that we can easily reach it for a day trip and maybe some other towns while we are in the area. (I said whilst when I was typing the previous sentence so I think I’m getting into the research already)! I wasn’t aware of the Broads and the Ransome connection but we’ll be sure to go to different towns in this area too.

I’m especially grateful for the specific train and ticketing option as this always bewilders me with the many options. It’s always good to know where to start and what you can layer on for ticketing.

I apologize for passing along forum search history about a town I haven’t seen yet. And to have used a word like tackiness wasn’t appropriate. We have our coastal towns with amusements too but I’d prefer to find towns with little harbors or marshy birding areas instead of carousels, casinos and saltwater taffy stands but I know towns with those amenities are a lot of fun for many. Thanks for pointing us to other possibilities. All of your knowledge is appreciated. I know that 3 weeks will be a good start to have a look at East Anglia.

We spent a few days in mid September 2001 staying at Hengrave Hall while regrouping our study semester and couldn’t travel forward. There was a day trip planned to Norwich but I ended up staying with a hospitalized student in Bury St Edmunds so I didn’t see much outside of the country house, taxi and hospital walls. Really looking forward to delving into this area’s nature, towns and history.

marshy birding areas

Check out this website for some ideas. Cley Marshes would seem to be top spot for what you want...

Thank you for the link to some birding areas nearby. I’m so glad we get to spend a good amount of time as visitors in this rich in history and nature part of England. All of these places and tips are much appreciated.

Greater Anglia has invested a large amount of money over the last few years in a lot of modern trains.

Strongly influenced by the implementation of all those new trains, Greater Anglia has just been named Passenger Operator of the Year at the National Rail Awards 2024

For you bird watchers and twitchers

Snettisham Beach - north of Sandringham on the west coast of Norfolk - has been very successful this last breeding season in protecting the globally endangered Ringed Plover. BBC story - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvglr46n734o

Nigel that’s good news to hear about the East Anglia network’s recent award. Also thanks for the link to the coastal birding area up north in case we get to Sandringham..

Mona, I am responding to and following your post about Norwich with great interest. On our trip back home from our recent London trip, I struck up a conversation with my seat mate, a young gentleman who hailed from Norwich. He was so proud of his town and the beautiful area around it. He was remarking about how unknown it really is, especially to international visitors who tend to go to the more publicized parts of England.

His descriptions of some of the areas, the Broads, the “olds” as he called them, the coast, he could have worked for the tourism agency there! I am a big believer in things happening for a reason, and I am strongly considering changing where we next visit the UK next because of learning about this area from him. It sounds lovely.

We wouldn’t be able to stay as long as you are intending to, Norwich and the surrounding area would be it for us for about a week. I may open up another thread in awhile to get more feedback from the good folks on here. We were thinking about later in the summer/ early fall, too. Isn’t England just chock full of beautiful places to explore?

Depending on when you go in May, if you are visiting Blickling don’t miss the Bluebell woods nearby. Stunning.

I don't know how it happened, but your question about buses somehow went unanswered.

Generally any operator has to comply with various standards regarding vehicles (including maintenance) and their facilities, also how and when they run, which are closely monitored by the Traffic Commissioners. Among other things they can and do monitor service reliability through satellite tracking- most of which data is available to the general public.

The three big companies are First Eastern Counties- part of the huge First Group which operates across the UK and indeed Europe;
Konectbus are part of the equally large Go Ahead group (originally from Tyneside, now a very large company across the UK);
Sanders Coaches- an old company who have been running local bus services since bus deregulation 50 years ago- they were and have been nurtured by the County Council over many years.
You will use Sanders mainly if you go travelling along the north coast.

For all bus times see https://www.travelnorfolk.co.uk/bus/

There is a multi operator bus day ticket for the County valid on all buses- the Norfolk Fusion Ticket, currently £12. That is apparently accepted across the County border on cross border services to Suffolk, Lincolnshire etc- notably on the Excel bus to Peterborough Rail Station for LNER trains to York , Scotland and London. That runs half hourly and is a great 3 hour ride.

When the £2 national fare cap ends in December that will be a very good value ticket.

Each operator also has their own longer period tickets- for example Sanders are £25 for 3 days or £30 for 7 days for their full network.

The Noth Norfolk RR Poppy Line was featured in Penelope Keith Hidden Coastal Villages. It's an old show but delightful . I believe the episode was East Anglia. I watched it yesterday on either Britbox or Prime.
Love all of Penelope Keith's travel shows as well as Robson Green ..

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the op saying she doesn’t wish to visit Great Yarmouth. I wouldn’t go there either. A lot of these traditional seaside towns have a lot of poverty and associated social issues. Blackpool is the most deprived area in the whole country.

Given all the nice places to go, I’d give Gt Yarmouth a miss too.

I’m going to check out that show as well Diane, thank you. Mona, are you staying in Norwich proper? I have started looking into this area and Norwich seems very well connected for those who prefer to only use public transportation. It’s also not too far from LHR which is a plus for us bc of non-stop options.

The countryside and coast of England is making a strong pull on me rn. Part of me would like to rent a cottage within walking distance of the coast for a week in a smaller Norfolk county village, but without a car maybe basing in Norwich would be a better choice. Curious about how you decided where to base your trip,
Thanks for your help!

Thank you for the additional information and encouragement regarding buses, Blue Bells and the Poppy Line segment of the East Anglia program. We just got home from a month long stay in Ireland this week and are excited to plan our May- June trip with more detail now.

We chose Norwich because it seems to be a good transportation hub, we were only in Norwich for 1 day many years ago and we like to explore regions in depth. We are doing a house exchange in both East Anglia (Norwich) and Cornwall (Wadebridge) next. We did a 3 week house exchange in Dorset (Poole) two years ago and got around pretty well without a car, only using the bus and train. For Ireland this month, our home was more rural and we needed a car but we prefer to not drive and choose our towns/cities pretty carefully.

Wadebridge is a good centre for bus travel in Cornwall. And take the bus down to Bodmin Parkway for main line trains.

There, on the buses, there is a multi operator Day Ticket for £7.50 or £30 for a week for the entire County (and into Devon on cross border buses). This can be bought as a paper ticket and you just scan the QR code on the ticket on each bus. Or Tap on Tap Off with your credit card on each bus and it will be capped at £7.50/£30, just like on London Transport.

Pro-tip- generally when changing buses in Wadebridge change at the Town Centre stop (outside the Co-op/Public Toilets). It is normally a waste of time to go round to the Bus Station- which is a strangely desolate place tucked away behind the old Railway Station. A trick I learned once when my inbound service was running late and I'd have missed my connection if I'd gone round to the Bus Station. A local told me that short cut.
It's nice down by the river (the Camel Trail along the old Railway Line), and there's a beautiful old movie theatre in the town centre. Part of a small Cornish theatre circuit. As they say they don't make theatres like that now.

Wow, so much great information. You’ll be happy to know, I hope, that I decided on a guidebook to supplement my knowledge about all of these Norfolk sites and towns you’ve mentioned. I chose the Bradt Slow Travel Norfolk book. It’s fits our style very well, to immerse ourselves in a town and area. And thank you isn31c for supplying information for viable Cornwall transportation around Wadebridge. I’ll post a few questions in a separate thread about Cornwall once that exchange is confirmed. I have such confidence in the Wadebridge location that I think we’d just rent a B&B if the exchange can’t happen. The Norwich, 3+ week base is confirmed so I bought the above mentioned guidebook. What a nice winter activity we have ahead of us.

that really sounds wonderful now

You may find this website to be useful: https://www.visitnorfolk.co.uk/

Don't miss the Elm Hill area in Norwich, with its interesting old architecture and some cobblestone streets. You should be able to find it using a map, or go by the Visitors Centre and inquire about a walking tour.

Have a look at Norwich Cathedral. One can enjoy the architecture whether one is religious or not.

Don't miss Norwich Castle, with its museum. Some parts are closed right now for remodeling (the medieval castle) but the plan is for all of it (or most of it) to be open by early spring of 2025.
https://www.norwichcastle.norfolk.gov.uk/
https://www.norwichcastle.norfolk.gov.uk/article/30285/Plan-your-visit-to-Norwich-Castle
https://www.norwichcastle.norfolk.gov.uk/improvementworks

You may wish to visit the town of Woodbridge, south of Norwich. Just outside of town is the site of the Sutton Hoo burial and discovery of its items. There is a museum there dedicated to the story of the dig at Sutton Hoo. The helmet is in the British Museum along with a display of other grave goods found there. It's one of the most important finds and items in the collection at the British Museum.
Woodbridge is in the county of Suffolk, just south of Norfolk.
(Edit: Credit where credit is due: James mentioned Woodbridge briefly in his 3rd post on this thread.I saw this upon my second reading of this thread.)

You have chosen a wonderful guidebook and an interesting area to visit.
You may have plenty of company in East Anglia, as it has just been named a top destination for 2025 by Lonely Planet:
https://www.visitbritain.org/news-and-media/destination-news-and-inspiration/lonely-planet-names-east-anglia-top-destination

There are some additional tips on this older thread:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/using-norwich-as-a-base-for-2-weeks-interested-in-ideas