Norwich – East Anglia’s unofficial capital
Charlie’s trip to Norwich
Charlie had heard of a light festival that would take place in Norwich around Valentine’s day. What a great opportunity for a weekend trip! Charlie hadn’t seen Norwich yet and the Love Light Festival sounded like a good event to participate in.
The festival was planned from Thursday 13th until Saturday 15th February and that meant an extended weekend trip for Charlie. The train journey to Norwich, however, became a bit more complicated than anticipated due to some low hanging wires. Instead of a direct train from Liverpool Street in London to Norwich, Charlie had to get off the train in Colchester, get on a replacement bus and on the train in Ipswich again. This extended the journey from usually 2 to 3 hours. Not the best start for a weekend trip, but what can you do?
Charlie had booked an AirBnB to be close to the town centre and still have a budget-friendly trip. Her hosts Eva and Valdis were very nice and Charlie can highly recommend this place.
Things to do and see in Norwich
Charlie’s city trips usually start with a guided walking tour, but there was none for Norwich and Charlie explored the town on her own. As it turned out, the main attractions weren’t hard to find: Castle, Cathedral and Market.
Norwich Castle
The castle in Norwich dates to the 12th century and is the main landmark in Norwich. You can’t miss it as this enormous cube lies high on a hill above the town. It was built shortly after the Normans had conquered England in the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
This is now about to change as £13.5 Million will be spent over the coming years to bring it back to its original state. Visitors will then get a better idea how the inside of the castle looked in medieval times. It currently requires a lot of imagination as the inside is like a hollow body. This on the other hand makes it nice for kids that can run around freely and create some background noise whilst their parents try to listen to the guide.
The basement where one can usually see the old prison cells is currently closed for archaeological excavations too. In February 2020, the castle itself isn’t really worth a visit, but Charlie is already looking forward to seeing it when the works have been carried out fully.
Apart from the castle keep, there are several museums and art galleries hosted in the adjoining buildings. For that reason, the official name is Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery. Over time, the question has been risen as to whether it is more a castle or more a museum. Charlie votes for museum on that occasion.
The castle is open from 10 am to 4.30 pm from Monday to Saturday, 1 pm to 4.30 pm on Sundays. Admission prices for the castle keep and all museums are as follows:
- Adult: £9.90
- Concession: £9.40
- Child (4-18): £8.50
- Family with 1 adult: £26.10
- Family with 2 adults: £34.85
- Twilight Ticket (1 hour before closing): £2
Norwich Market
If you walk from the castle down the hill, you’ll reach the main square of Norwich where the market place is located. The original market was next to the place where the cathedral is today, but it was moved to another location by the Normans. Today’s marketplace exists since 1076 what makes it one of the oldest in Europe.
Charlie enjoyed strolling through the stalls of different foods, artisan products and vintage clothing. It reminded her a lot of the market in Camden in London.
Norwich Cathedral
The Cathedral of Norwich is another building that you can hardly miss, despite the fact that there is a multitude of churches within a short walk in Norwich. The cathedral is located a bit off the street, but you can see the tower from afar. Although built at the same time as the castle, the architecture is not comparable and shows a lot of detail that makes its splendour. The castle however was built to keep enemies out, decorations on the outside walls would have made it very easy to climb up the walls.
The cathedral can be accessed through two different gates, the Erpingham Gate and the Ethelbert Gate on both ends of the street called Tombland. The cathedral and cloister are free to visit, but you will be asked to wait if a service is being held.
Stroll around town
Apart from those impressive landmarks, the centre of Norwich consists of many small alleys and roads of which some are still representative of medieval architecture. For those of you that like to go shopping on their weekend trips, you’ll have plenty of opportunity in Norwich too.
As you walk along the streets, keep an eye out for some hidden corners and graffiti. Just as Charlie, you might discover some interesting pieces of art.
