Norwich has been named as one of the top 10 places to enjoy a city break in the UK.
As country cottages and coastal retreats get booked up this summer, The Guardian revealed 10 of the best cities for culture and outdoor fun.
In the article, published on Saturday, May 22, Norwich appeared alongside Ely, Sheffield, Aberdeen, Newport Monmouthshire, Carlisle, Salisbury, Hull, Perth and Chelmsford as locations to visit.
Norwich was praised for its location close to the Broads and the Norfolk coast and the article suggested a stay at Whitlingham Broad Campsite, The Assembly House or the Maid’s Head Hotel in the city.
The article wrote: “England’s only city that’s actually inside a national park has the River Wensum and Norfolk Broads within walking, cycling or even canoeing distance.
“Try windsurfing or paddle boarding just outside the city at Whitlingham country park, which also offers camping by the water.
“A single-track railway known as the Wherry Lines carries visitors through the watery landscape from Norwich to the coast.
“Two trains stop each Sunday at remote Berney Arms station, which reopened in February 2020, and has no roads, simply miles of grass, reeds, water and isolated windmills. You can follow a riverside route into Great Yarmouth or explore a wilderness of geese, galloping hares and muntjac deer.
“The city’s museum is re-medievalising its castle keep, but the art gallery section is still open at a cheaper rate with an exhibition by John Crome, one of the Norwich School of landscape painters, who died 200 years ago last month.
“A 15-minute stroll, through the market and past the Catholic cathedral, brings you to the Victorian Plantation Garden in an old chalk quarry, which is running Sunday teas, weekend plays and live music this summer. It’s a hidden dell of flowers and fountains among Italianate terraces and winding wooded paths.
“Whitlingham Broad Campsite has tent pitches plus a yurt, a converted train carriage and treehouse-style dens on stilts with firepits and hammocks.
“In town, the Maid’s Head hotel, near the spectacular cathedral, is launching an Edwardian boat for cruises on the Wensum from June.
“The city’s Georgian brick Assembly House, opposite the Theatre Royal, is now a cookery school, hotel and cafe, serving elegant afternoon teas. For a pricey-but-tasteful stay, the bedrooms have four posters, curved ceilings or private terraces.”
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