It's been a long weekend here in England and Mr Bite and I have just returned from 2 nights in Norfolk. I organised the trip as a birthday present for Mr Bite, although given his birthday was in April, it's been a rather delayed present for him to experience!
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| Norfolk flowers |
Norfolk was one of the few counties we hadn't visited as a couple and I don't think I had visited it at all. It's not really en route to anywhere else and it doesn't have any 'star attractions'. However, the county has a character all of its own and the main city, Norwich, is particularly appealing. We had an enjoyable and relaxing few days exploring the area, and so I thought I'd share some highlights in photo form.
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| Norfolk Broads |
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| Norwich castle |
The castle and the cathedral dominate the city, along with some 30-odd smaller (but still impressive) churches.
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| Norwich cathedral |
Norfolk is coastal but also has lots of inlets and canals. The Blakeney National Nature Reserve sits at the northern edge of the county and blends marshland with coastal tributaries. Apparently it is a good place to see seals, but you need to take a boat tour to do so, which we didn't do.
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| Blakeney National Nature Reserve |
We did take in lots of walks, and timed the visit well for Spring flowers and greenery.
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| Purple fields near Blakeney |
Norfolk is renowned for its flatness, so that aided with walking too!
We also made good use of our National Trust memberships with visits to Felbrigg Hall and the Blickling Estate. We took a supermarket-provided picnic to Felbrigg and I was pleased to discover that Tesco have a new falafel, red pepper and tabbouleh salad that is vegan if you leave off the yoghurt dressing.
At Blickling we ate at the on-site restaurant, with Mr Bite and I both enjoying the carrot, tarragon and poppyseed soup, one of several vegan-friendly or vegetarian choices on offer.
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| Blickling Hall |
Food aside, Blickling was one of the more substantial National Trust properties we've visited and we enjoyed hearing the history of the property (which was once owned by the Boleyn family, of Anne Boleyn fame) and taking in the gardens.
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| Blickling Estate |
It's a shame to return to work tomorrow, but I'm grateful to have had the mini break and we certainly packed far more into the three days than we would have done at home!
How did you spend your weekend?
Love hearing about your travels in Britain - I've never been to Norfolk but it comes up in novels I read occasionally and intrigues me. There seems something bleak and isolated about the place in the books I read.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely on the isolated side, and with the flat landscape and marshland could be seen as bleak too! It's got a character all of its own, but I think when embraced it stops being bleak and takes on a sort of beauty, albeit not always the classical type :-)
DeleteI think bleak can be very beautiful in a moody sort of way
DeleteWhat a great way to spend the long weekend. Great birthday present =)
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you saw some beautiful sights. I really enjoy spending time in coastal areas. So pretty and relaxing.
Thanks Kimmy :-)
DeleteSuch beautiful photos. I have been to Norwich - I also went to the Colemans mustard shop because I think Colemans started in Norwich.
ReplyDeleteWe definitely saw Colemans featured there!
DeleteWhat beautiful photos, I especially love the greenery, definitely looks ideal for leisurely walks :)
ReplyDeleteBritain is such a nice place to visit! I have read Norfolk in different novels that I read from custom essays writers and I must say that the place is really well kept. The churches and other history replica that we can visit are preserved and can be enjoyed by tourist.
ReplyDelete