Using Norwich as a base for 2 weeks ...interested in ideas.

Kelly,

Its never too early to start planning. I was born in East Anglia but live in the US. East Anglia is a fabulous area to explore. I have less knowledge with Norfolk than Suffolk and Essex, but I will do my best to give you some suggestions for days out. (I visited Norfolk last year some).

Wroxham 20 mins from Norwich. You can rent a boat in the middle of town (Opposite the TI) and explore the water ways. Great day out to see all the beautiful thatched vacation homes. The boats and waterways are very easy to navigate.
Sandringham House is about a 1 hour drive from Norwich https://www.sandringhamestate.co.uk/visiting-sandringham/ The Royal family often spend time here during Christmas - fabulous house and gardens.
Southwold and Aldeburgh are wonderful coastal villages on the Suffolk Coast (45 mins from Norwich). Grab some Fish and Chips in town and sit on the pebble beach. Very affluent areas these days. Beautiful walks here.
Lavenham in Suffolk is a picturesque village. Lots of Antiques, artists, and tea shops. You could also visit Dedham and Bury St. Edmunds on this day out.
Cambridge you could take the train from Norwich to Cambridge for this trip or drive 1 hour to the park and ride. Don't miss Cambridge and the punting down the river.
Great Yarmouth and Felixstowe are not the most exciting places - I haven't been to either place in decades.

Hope this gives you some inspiration
Margaret

About 9 years ago I spent 10 days based in Norwich. I would suggest the following - which needs careful planning to see those places that are near each other.
Cambridge + Ely + Wisbech (Peckover Gardens), Oxburgh Hall.

Blickling Hall, Cromer, Felbrigg Hall, Wells Next The Sea.

Hunstanton + Kings Lynn + Sandringham.

Going south into Suffolk > Ickworth, villages of Hartest, Cavendish, Long Melford (+Melford Hall) , Kentwell Hall, LAVENHAM, East Bergholt, Woodbridge (+Sutton Hoo), Thorpness, Framingham Castle, Southwold.

Don’t bother with Great Yarmouth or Lowestoft.

Google the places mentioned for more info - check opening times.

I've never been to the area but just so you know, it's never referred to as Norfolkshire, simply Norfolk.

I've never heard it referred to as Norfolkshire before so I looked it up and whilst it is a correct term its usage is very old. The wider area as you've stated is referred to as East Anglia.

Mpaulyn and James - great tips, thanks! I'm just starting the planning so I'll look up information on all of your suggestions.

JC - That's interesting about Norfolkshire being a dated term. I'm an avid history buff so I'm sure that I picked up the term there. I did think it was a mouthful so glad to hear that I should just call it Norfolk!! 😊

Thanks for the quick responses...

Kelly

I spent three nights in Norwich last August. I made a day-trip to Bury St. Edmunds by train. The tourist office does a walking tour. There's easily another 2 hours' worth of historic streets to see. It's a very pretty town.

Norwich itself has a rather large historic center. I also recommend the Sainsbury Center for Visual Arts, which is out on the university campus (city bus service). I especially liked the contemporary sculpture and decorative arts from around the world. Also worthwhile is the South Asian Decorative Art and Crafts Collection, which is closer to the center of town. It's sort of a cross between a museum and a sales gallery, because many of the items are for sale.

North Norfolk coast is lovely - Wells-next-the-Sea for beach huts and a sandy beach; Blakeney for bird and seal-watching; Holkham for a large (private - small fee) sandy beach; Brancaster similar but public.

Public footpaths all along the north coast.

Lots of wonderful manor houses - Holkham Hall, Blickling among others (look at the National Trust website). Walsingham is unlike anywhere else - a small village with major catholic shrine (very odd, interesting place if you have a high tolerance for shops selling plaster figures of the Virgin Mary).

Hunstanton, Cromer and Sheringham retain an old-fashioned seaside resort charm but Great Yarmouth is not nice - it’s become quite bleak and rundown, in my opinion.

Also, in case you didn’t know, it’s pronounced Norrich and Norfuhk.

In the days when England was divided into separate kingdoms, the Kingdom of East Anglia was itself divided into two parts, the North Folk and the South Folk, which over the years became Norfolk and Suffolk. When East Anglia was taken over and became part of the new Kingdom of England, Norfolk and Suffolk became "shires" in the new Kingdom (9th to 10th centuries, nobody knows the exact date, as this was the "Dark Ages" when no records were kept).

Essex was a separate kingdom, the kingdom of the East Saxons. Today it is usually considered to be a part of East Anglia, as is Cambridgeshire.

And that is your piece of useless information for today.

East Anglia, especially Norfolk, is famous for being FLAT.

Another thing that Norfolk is famous for is the distinctive sound of the locals' voices.

Another thing that Norfolk is famous for is the distinctive sound of the locals' voices.

And their webbed feet.

and their webbed feet.

Great information thank you! Lots of good ideas. I've been looking through past East Anglia threads on the forum. I know that RS doesn't have much information in his books on the area. I LOVE guide books so if anyone knows of a good guidebook about the East Anglia area I would appreciate it.

I'll be listening for distinctive voices.... though I'm not sure how I'll be able to discreetly watch for webbed feet! 😉

Thanks again everyone!

Check out:>https://www.visiteastofengland.com
https://www.visitnorfolk.co.uk
https://www.visitsuffolk.com
https://www.visitcambridge.org
https://www.visitcambridge.org/beyond-cambridge/ely

try the bradt guides, an excellent series of guidebooks

https://www.bradtguides.com/shop/british-isles/england/norfolk/norfolk-slow-travel-pb-3260.html

Here's a list of ideas from a past trip of ours: Woburn Abbey, Sandringham, Mark's Hall, Helmingham Hall, Wyken Hall, Beth Chatto Gardens, Parsonage Home, Somerleyton; Norfolk Broads, East Anglian Life (outdoor) Museum.

Because you didn't mention Arthur Ransome's children's books, that would not be an interest for you. But besides his Norfolk Broads, our hosts in Bury St. Edmunds arranged a sailboat outing from a Ransome-oriented guide, to islands of Hamford Water near Walton-on-the-Naze. (The book involved there is called "Secret Water".) A high point for me was sailing by the Beach End buoy marking Norfolk harbor, which also figures in "We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea". And I normally don't care for boating at all - but this trip would be of interest to outdoorsy or coastal landscape fans of any kind. Custom private tour started in Pin Mill.

Thanks for the tips everyone! I'm going to review everything that's been mentioned. The Brandt guide looks awesome... and lucky for me the updated edition just came out! I also have ordered a couple of used books about different parts of the area that should also be interesting (one was on Norfolk Silver... ). I'm ordering the Brandt guide tonight.

We'll probably plan on many museums, cathedrals, small villages and seeing the wilder parts of the North Coast. We also are avid antique shop hunters...so I'm interested in what great shops people may have been to.

It's terrible to admit but I'm not familiar with the works of John Constable. I'm sure that I've admired his paintings but I've not been aware of the artist. Being such a history buff I'm afraid I've neglected the Fine Arts.... so I've got some catching up to do before we go!

Thanks for the great links too!

Kelly

Go to the auction house in Diss - if you can time it for a sale you may come away something different.

Elizabeth Talbot is the director there and is a regular on BBC antique shows. She seems a real character.

Great idea Nigel. I would love that. I'll look up information about it. I've been to auctions a few times not far from where we live but what a unique experience it would be to attend one in England!

https://www.twgaze.co.uk/auctions/catalogues-and-auctions/current-catalogues/ is a good place to start.