Top 10 Norfolk attractions

The Norfolk broads and surrounding area boasts a wealth of stunning attractions and days out. We've cherry picked a few of the best.

Holkham Hall

Not many stately homes can boast a beautiful, unspoilt beach beside them, with four miles of golden sand. This part of the north Norfolk coast is a nature reserve, too, and there's a pretty trail to follow. The hall itself, which is the historic home of the Earls of Leicester, is a beauty. It stars in the current Keira Knightley movie, The Duchess, and has an amazing statue gallery, as well as an incredibly ornate Green State bedroom, where visiting royalty slept. Meet the deer in the 3,000-acre park, and check out the History of Farming exhibition.

Sandringham

The country retreat of that second-home-owner supreme, the Queen, was built in 1870 and has 60 acres of beautiful gardens. It has a lake and lime-tree avenue, and is surrounded by the 20,000-acre Sandringham Estate. Tour the rooms, with their Edwardian dÃécor, where the Royal Family frequently chill out of a weekend, look in at the pretty Church of St Mary Magdalene, and explore the country park on the tractor-and-trailer ride. There's lots of estate produce to be picked up in the farm shop, and the museum's exhibits include gifts the Queen has been given around the world. So, that's what she does with them...

Norfolk Broads

The biggest protected wetlands in Britain, teeming with rare plants and animals, the Norfolk Broads are a must-visit for anyone spending some time in the county. You can go boating on 125 miles of lock-free tidal rivers; it's easy to hire a yacht for a few days, or just pick up a little motor launch for the afternoon. You'll cruise past charming old windmills, spot wading birds and visit pretty Broads villages such as Ransworth, with its exquisite medieval church. There's canoeing too, and if you'd rather travel overland, there are miles of walking trails and nine new circular bike trails (www.thebroadsbybike.org.uk).

Banham Zoo

With plenty of rare species among the 1,000 animals that reside within its 35 acres, Banham has been rated by Which? in the country's top three zoos. Situated between Norwich and Thetford, it has some extremely rare big cats such as the snow leopard and Siberian tiger; primates including wide-eyed lemurs and noisy howler monkeys; and birds ranging from macaws to owls. There's a bird of prey centre, and you also have a chance to get up-close and personal with a giraffe, and hand-feed this graceful animal. Oh, and let's not forget those perennial favourites, the meerkats. One, two , three...

ahhhh.

Blakeney National Nature Reserve

A pretty village on the north Norfolk coast, Blakeney has winding streets and flint cottages. The harbour, once used by fishing boats, is now shared by yachtsmen, and it's also where you can take a boat trip to the Nature Reserve, owned by the National Trust, at Blakeney Point. Here, the saltmarsh and dunes are fringed with sea lavender. You can admire the seal colonies (autumn, when the seals give birth birth to pups, is the time for fantastic photo opportunities). You might also spot oyster catchers, terns and plover. In fact, well over 250 bird species have been spotted here.

Norwich Lanes

Part of the city's historic quarter, Norwich Lanes has one of the country's best collections of unique, independent shops, with boutiques, antiques shops, charity shops and much more. Wander its cobbled streets and admire the Georgian buildings. It's also a great place to sit down with a cappuccino or freshly made smoothie in one of the many cafes and juice bars. For lunch after a morning of retail therapy, try Bar Tapas for some classic Spanish fare. And it's almost compulsory to pop into The Birdcage pub, decorated with all kinds of bric-a-brac, and stroke the pub cat, Maraud.

Wells-Next-The-Sea

Rated by many as Norfolk's prettiest seaside resort, Wells ticks all the boxes for a classic seaside break: long sweeping beach with picturesque beach huts, bobbing fishing boats in the harbour, little kids fishing for crabs, fine inns for a pint of local aleâ¦ You won't find garish neon signs of any of that malarkey in Wells, which boasts handsome Georgian houses, a village green, and shops selling fish and chips, cockles and fine ice cream. There's a proper butcher and fishmonger, and Whin Hill sells local cider. The beach is backed by a pine forest, and there's a miniature steam train to ferry you from the town to the beach, which featured in the film Shakespeare in Love.

Norwich cathedral

This glorious Romanesque building has the second-largest cloisters in England (they are unique in that they're double-deckers) and the country's second tallest spire (only Salisbury Cathedral's is higher). The cathedral's highlight, though, can be found in the nave: the 1,100-plus roof bosses are unmatched anywhere, and represent an amazing collection of medieval carvings, some of them showing scenes from the life of Christ. A crowd of Puritans ransacked the place in the reign of Charles I, but it was later restored to its former grandeur by Charles II.

Sheringham Park

Humphry Repton was a titan of 18th-century landscape gardening, and this park, five miles west of the seaside resort of Cromer in north Norfolk, is one of his great legacies. Though Sheringham Hall is privately owned, the gardens belong to the National Trust, and they are a delight to stroll in, with miles of marked trails. As you walk further from the house, garden becomes park becomes beautiful, wild landscape. There are calm woodlands, great big, bushy rhododendrons and spectacular azaleas in early summer. In autumn the turning leaves are a blaze of colour. Lookout towers are dotted around, so you can get a good overview, and out beyond to sea.

Images courtesy of www.britainonview.com