6 Fun Historical Outings Around North Norfolk
For a real taste of local history on your next adventure in North Norfolk with a senior, our team recommends that you stop by one of these great locations.
Getting out and about in your local area is a great way to stay engaged, active and happy in senior years. Don’t confine your days out to the present, instead take a trip to the past and discover some of the fun to be had reminiscing and learning together with curious elderly relatives.
Houghton Hall
A historic Palladian mansion built for Britain’s first Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole, in the 1720s. Houghton Hall is now home to the 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley – a descendant of Sir Walpole – and his family. The Hall is set in extensive parkland, with its famous white fallow deer, award-winning Walled Garden, and Model Soldier Museum (the largest private collection of model soldiers in the world). As well as a wonderful café and gift shop in the Old Stables.
The Stables Café and the Gift Shop are both fully accessible for wheelchairs, although the stable yard is covered with cobbles. Attendants are on-site to provide direction and assistance in Gallery spaces, all on-site staff are very friendly and do everything they can to ensure everyone enjoys their trip.
Houghton Hall is located half a mile off the A148 King’s Lynn to Fakenham road, which is indicated by Brown signs. Use Satellite Navigation Post Code PE31 6TY. This will bring you through New Houghton, to the main gates of the Hall.
Felbrigg Hall
Just off the B1436 through Felbrigg sits one of the most elegant country houses in East Anglia, Felbrigg Hall. A mixture of opulence and homeliness, each room reflects Felbrigg’s vibrant history, from the stained-glass windows in the Great Hall to Queen Mary’s teapot in the Drawing Room. The Chinese Bedroom showcases Felbrigg’s rich global collections, including luxury exports traded by the East India Company, and the eclectic displays in the Cabinet Room show collections amassed on a European ‘Grand Tour’.
Outside, the decorative and productive walled garden is a gardener’s delight. Flowers from the garden decorate the Hall, whilst allotments in the walled garden provide fruit and vegetables for the Squire’s Pantry. You can enjoy watching the hens pecking wherever they wish, with only the sound of the busy bees in the flowers. The rolling landscape park with a lake, 520 acres of woods and waymarked trails is a great place to explore nature and wildlife on this bountiful estate. With buggy friendly surfaces on main visitor routes, visitors can enjoy a relaxing day out.
Blickling Hall
Nobody ever forgets their first sight of Blickling Hall, situated beside St Andrew’s Church in the heart of the village. The birthplace of Anne Boleyn, this breath-taking Jacobean mansion and ancient yew hedges sit at the heart of a magnificent garden and historic park in the beautiful Bure meadows.
Surrounding the house, the formal garden is the result of three centuries of inspired planting, and the gently undulating historic parkland is great for exploring on foot or by bike. Grab a map of our way-marked walks from visitor reception and enjoy discovering intriguing landmarks, stunning views, and wildlife.
Creake Abbey
Creake Abbey sits within beautiful water meadows just a few miles south of Burnham Market and the glorious north Norfolk coast. The ancient ruins of Creake Abbey, dating from the 13th Century, lie in a beautiful and tranquil valley set in 40 acres of meadow in the stunning North Norfolk countryside. The ruins tell the tale of the abbey’s varying fortunes; what survives are the atmospheric remains of the abbey church. A great place to explore, paint or contemplate life.
Blakeney Guildhall
The picturesque village of Blakeney was the third most important port in Norfolk when the Guildhall was built in the 15th century, yet few buildings survive from this prosperous period. The Guildhall’s flint and stone construction reflects its own importance and that of Blakeney itself.
Set just back from the quayside, the Guildhall was probably originally entered from the higher ground to the south. The surviving undercroft itself has attractive ribbed brick vaulting supported by a central row of octagonal stone columns. It has rendered walls and a cobbled floor and was lit by three windows in the east wall. At the south-eastern corner of the ruined upper storey are the remains of a brick-lined privy chute from the upper level, and a spiral stairway to the undercroft.
Binham Priory
In the centre of Binham sits Binham Priory, founded in 1091 and was home to a Benedictine community of monks for over 400 years. Its history is one of almost continuous scandal. Many of its priors proved to be unscrupulous and irresponsible, and by the time of the priory’s suppression in 1539 the community had been reduced to just six monks. The nave of the priory church, with its striking 13th-century west front, remains in use as the local parish church.
Rebuilt several times during the life of the priory, by the 16th century the cloisters were lit by large windows opening onto the central garden. After the closure of the priory, some of the glass was moved to the nave wall of the church. With finds from archaeological digs on display inside, a café nearby and plenty of access for all, it makes for the perfect educational day out.
There’s plenty of history to be experienced around North Norfolk and no shortage of easy to reach attractions that are as unusual as they are interesting. Don’t fall into the rut of going to the same old modern places on every outing – a little learning alongside a day out can be what really makes it shine! As well as being great for younger members of the family.