Visit Norwich - the alternative guide for wanderers

I have lived in the same city all my adult life and that city is Norwich, Norfolk, UK. I came here originally to study at the University of East Anglia and stayed. I know several people that did the same as me and a few more that left and then came back. Those of us that love it, really do love it. 'Not too big, not too small and enough to keep you entertained,' is a common mantra. It's also beautiful to look at.

Something I always do when I see someone in Norwich holding a map, is to stop and ask them if they need any help. Usually I find myself in a conversation that results in me listing many of Norwich's 'worth seeings'. I know there are websites that list attractions, but they are often the things you have to pay to go and see. Some of these attractions are great but Norwich is also a wonderful city to just wander around too. So here is my alternative list of 'experiences' for visitors to Norwich.

Riverside Walk A stroll along the river takes you to some great historic sights. We usually walk from Fye Bridge (the ducking stool bridge) to Pulls Ferry (the point from which Caen stone left the river and was transported up to build the cathedral) but you can go further both ways. Between Duke Street and Oak Street there is a wall covered in white writing - s'art. This is a picture of Cow Tower - one of the medieval city's defences found on a 'corner' of the river.

  

Fye Bridge and Quayside

The Plantation Gardens. This really is like a secret garden. It costs next to nothing to get into (£2). You leave a non-distinct part of the Earlham Road and the track opens up into a small network of paths in a garden cut into a large hollow/chalk quarry just next to the Roman Catholic Cathedral. It's striking. Built by Henry Trevor whose grave can be found in Earlham Cemetery. The garden hosts musical events in summer and does tea and cake on Sunday afternoons.

 

The shop 'Head in the Clouds' has existed in Pottergate for decades. It's a shop full of hippie stuff. It's quite an experience. I fell in love with it when I first came to Norwich. But I am a hippie.

 

The Waffle House is pretty unique. Those with huge appetites tend not to like it but the waffles and all their savoury and sweet toppings, delicious salads (with a choice of dressings - if you like blue cheese - go for that) and thick shakes have kept me happy for many years. It's reasonably priced too and family friendly.

Elm Hill A beautifully preserved Tudor street. If you stand at the top and look down it - it's adorable. Aside from the Britons Arms (now a café - with a roof terrace) which predates the fire of 1507 - many of the other buildings were built just after the fire.

   

I also like the view of the back of the Elm Hill houses from the riverside walk: a higgledy piggledy array of add-ons to some houses.

 

The Cathedral Close It's beautiful! Don't just visit the cathedral!

The Cathedral I was recently given an alternative tour of the cathedral that included a musket ball lodged in a grave that dates back to the civil war, a statue of a nun with a slightly 'pregnant' bulge (scandalous), very old graffiti including a picture of a ship and Elizabethan gentleman and many dates carved into the walls, a grave showing a baby died before he was born - due to the Gregorian calendar shift, the grave of the man that paid to be buried upright in the wall so he would have an advantage come judgement day, the green men in the cloisters, the damaged tomb of an unpopular man...etc

For more on the cathedral - 48 Quirky things you can go and see in Norwich Cathedral

   

There's the Roman Catholic Cathedral too of course - over the footbridge at the end of upper St Giles. (Build 1882 - 1910

Jurnett's Bar If you're in Norwich on a Friday evening and you like live music, go to Jurnett's bar, Wensum Lodge on King's Street (King's Street is an interesting wander in itself). Every Friday (excluding the main school holidays), several local musicians perform a 4 or 5 song or tune set. Jurnett's bar is in the crypt of one of the oldest and grandest Jewish Houses in Norwich.

The Forum A huge modern thing! It invariably has an exhibition or craft fair in its atrium. There's a library at the back too. There's usually a pleasant buzz here.

Tombland Alley (and Tombland) Worth looking at for the wonkiest house ever!

The Market Open every day except Sunday, the market has some fantastic stalls and contains some pretty funny Norwich characters. Try the spice stall to be served by Gareth: whose humour many find insulting(!), the cheeseman stall for a huge range of cheeses, Follands Organics for very reasonably priced organic fruit and veg, a leather stall (many hand-crafted leather goods that make great gifts), bag stalls, underwear stalls, haberdasheries, second-hand goods, and much, much more. The food stalls at the back of the market are great for a quick, cheap, stodgy, filling and scrummy snack or lunch!

The 'Lanes' Head in the Clouds is found in the lanes. It's definitely where most of my favourite shops are found. 'The Lanes' includes Pottergate, Lower Goat Lane, Bedford Street, Bridewell Alley, Dove Street and St Benedict's Street etc and is full of one-off independent shops.

Anglia Square The budget shop centre of the Universe! Not particularly pleasant to look at but great for numerous bargains. To get to Anglia Square, you walk down Magdalen Street which is a favourite of mine for its independent shops and food outlets. I also like the Anteros Art Gallery near Fye Bridge.

The Aviva Building/Marble Hall  on Surrey Street. It's used as an office building but the occupants don't mind if you pop in to look at their somewhat grand marble hall. If you're lucky the security guard will take you upstairs to see the ornate clock and the unused historic boardroom.

And that chap on the right is a Norwich institution himself: Willy. Can fix anything, drives round in a Morris Minor van or is often found on a bike.

The Arts' Centre on St Benedict's Street, set in an old church (St Swithins). It's a venue for lesser known national and local bands. The bar also hosts lots of gigs for local musicians. Check out the programme if you're visiting - you might catch something great.

UEA The strange ziggurats (in the background of the picture below of the fine old oak we call Merlin) and the Sainsbury's Centre (art exhibitions) are worth a look.  A pleasant walk can be found round the campus lake ('the Broad'). The concrete architecture isn't to everyone's taste but there's a great atmosphere during term time. It's also near Earlham Park (and Earlham Park Cafe).

The Adam and Eve I used to work in this pub when I was a student. You have to be small to work there! Founded in 1249 A.D., it claims to be Norwich's oldest pub. It's supposed to be haunted by Lord Sheffield who was killed in Kett's Rebellion in 1549 in a street near the pub. (There's a plaque down the road telling you this). My old Landlord reported strange happenings such as all the stools putting themselves back on the floor with a crash after having been placed on the tables but I have to say, he was rarely sober!

 

The pedestrian streets Central Norwich is pleasant to wander around because of the number of streets that are closed to traffic and as the streets pretty much follow the original medieval road plan, it makes quite a labyrinth. Look up for weavers' windows in Bridewell Alley - long, windows with few partitions to give weavers maximum light for their fine work.

    Bridewell Alley

Look out for Europe's largest knapped flint wall down this alley and the wild boy on a metal post (Peter the wild boy who was out in bridewell 'house of correction' in 1751.)

   London Street

   Davey Place

Rosary Cemetery. Rather beautiful and atmospheric. The entrance is close to where Rosary Road meets Thorpe Road. 

Foodcycle Friday Meals I was one of the original project leaders that launched this project that take surplus food from food retail businesses that would otherwise have been thrown away and uses it to cook a free meal for all that attend on Friday nights at 7 p.m. in the Friends' Meeting House on Upper Goat Lane. My experience is that people seem to think FoodCycle should only give meals to those really in need but we always believed it was more about preventing food waste and demonstrating what people could do when they came together - with a little effort and time. We saw it more as a community builder. It currently attracts a diverse mix and often serves great food.

The Brain I don't know who put it there, but it has always tickled me that there's a brain outside Next.

 

Mousehold Heath

For great views of the city, walk up to Norwich Prison, Britannia Road and walk west onto Mousehold Heath.

The Norwich Keyboard, outside St Peter Mancroft church on Princes Street was a mystery until it was discovered Molly Sole, an arts student had made a mould of a computer as part of an art project and chanced upon some wet cement!

Elizabethan Well head! - Tucked away between Anchor Key and Westwick Road.

The Royal Arcade - designed by George Skipper and built in 1899.

Earlham Cemetery - to the west of the city. It's beautiful for both plants and graves! Created in 1856, when it was finally decided that Norwich's medieval church graveyards were just too (literally) overflowing. It has the grave of Henry Trevor - the creator of Plantation gardens. This guided walk is worth doing. It focuses on both plants and a few graves,

The Boom Towers - situated one each side to the river, very close to Carrow Road Bridge, the Boom Towers secured a chain that could be raised to prevent boats from entering Norwich via the River Wensum. Further up the hill are remnants of the city wall that lead up to the Black Tower and Bracondale. Bracondale has its own history book in Jarrolds! (A department store unique to Norwich).

31 Medieval Churches - well that's a blog post of its own but here's the route for a walk to visit 30 of them. I only left St Helen's in the Great Hospital off the list because it can't be accessed straightforwardly. Message me if you want details of this walk.

Underground tours Kinda Café Norwich heritage tours are great for subterranean Norwich (the FatFace building has a 15th century crypt and then layers from subsequent centuries have been added to it). However, the rest of the year, the lower street level can be seen through the Kinda Café tours - houses and passageways well below the current street level. Not free though!

And just to add: the museums of Norwich include:

The Castle Museum - contains a hotchpotch of things. It's quite large and includes the work of the Norwich artists, the medieval keep with displays and well, a walk round the battlements, a Viking section, Egyptian Mummies, teapot collection, design through the centuries, stuffed animals dungeon tour and other temporary exhibitions. There's a reasonably priced café and museum shop too.

The Norwich Museum - Bridewell Alley. Takes you on a tour of the history of Norwich. Loads of artefacts and modern exhibits too.

Strangers Hall - A Tudor hall with displays that give you a good sense of what it would have been like to live there in different periods of history!