20 Attractions to Explore Near Castle Acre: Castle Acre Priory

Houghton Hall is one of the grandest survivors of the Palladian era, built in the 1720s for Britain’s first Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole. It is a showcase of the work of architects James Gibbs and Colen Campbell complemented by the richly ornamented interiors of William Kent, and furnished to reflect Walpole’s wealth and power. It is a Grade I listed building surrounded by 1,000 acres of parkland a few miles from Sandringham House.

This moated courtyard house was built sometime after 1476 for Sir Edmund Bedingfeld. It was a symbol of status and political power. The hall has been listed Grade I on the National Heritage List for England since 1951. This is the highest level of designation. The landscaped and formal gardens of the hall have been Grade II listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens since 1987.

This is a unique museum hosting a traditional working farm, home to the magnificent Suffolk Punch horses and rare breed livestock. Enjoy a fascinating journey through the story of rural Norfolk. With a thrilling woodland adventure playground, a historic workhouse, traditional farm, many indoor displays and a café

Castle Rising Castle is one of the most famous 12th Century castles in England. The stone keep, built in around 1140 AD, is amongst the finest surviving examples of its kind anywhere in the country. In its time Rising has served as a hunting lodge, royal residence, and for a brief time in the 18th century even housed a mental patient.

Sandringham House is a country house in the parish of Sandringham, Norfolk, England. It is the private home of Elizabeth II, whose father, George VI, and grandfather, George V, both died there. The house stands in a 20,000-acre estate in the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The house is listed as Grade II* and the landscaped gardens, park and woodlands are on the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.

The Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is a protected landscape in Norfolk, England. It covers over 450 km2 of coastal and agricultural land from The Wash in the west through coastal marshes and cliffs to the sand dunes at Winterton in the east. It was designated AONB in 1968, under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949.

Great Bircham Windmill is a Grade II listed tower mill in Great Bircham, Norfolk, England. Come and enjoy this family run attraction with something for everyone. Bake some bread, climb to the top of the mill. Play in the garden. See the sheep being milked at 2pm daily. Sample some homemade bread, cakes and cheese all on sale in our tearooms and to take home from our bakery.

Pensthorpe Natural Park is a modern day nature reserve with a focus on inspiring the next generation to enjoy wildlife and the great outdoors. Explore 700 acres of woodland walks, nature trails, lakes and a variety of habitats teaming with wildlife including wetlands, woodlands, farmland and grassland. The site was created as a nature reserve by Bill Makins in the 1980s, before being bought by Bill and Deb Jordan in 2003, of Jordans cereals.

True’s Yard is a heritage site and town museum celebrating the fishing community of the North End which made a significant contribution to Lynn’s economic and social life for 900 years. The cottages consist of just two rooms, one upstairs and one downstairs. At one time in cottage no.5 a family of eleven squeezed into the tiny rooms.

Snettisham Park is a working farm where you and your family can have an adventurous day out. You can bottle feed lambs, collect fresh farm eggs and ride ponies as well as taking a walk on one of three wonderful trails. The farm is grazed by a 400-ewe flock, a herd of red deer, horses and ponies too.

RSPB Snettisham is an extensive reserve situated in the southeast corner of The Wash. This site is most famous for its flocks of whirling waders over the wash, they appear to take on a single entity like a shoal of mackerel avoiding a predator, truly awesome to watch. By far the largest part of the reserve is on the mudflats of the Wash that provide the feeding grounds that attract the huge number of waders, especially in the autumn and winter.

Grime’s Graves is the only Neolithic flint mine open to visitors in Britain. This grassy lunar landscape of 400 pits was first named Grim’s Graves by the Anglo-Saxons. Flint was much in demand for making polished stone axes in the Neolithic period. A small exhibition area illustrates the history of this fascinating site. Visitors can descend nine meters by ladder into one excavated shaft to see the jet-black flint.

Walsingham Priory was a monastery of Augustinian Canons regular in Walsingham, Norfolk, England seized by the crown at the Dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII.They contain the ruins of the Augustinian Priory of The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, one of the premier shrines to Our Lady in England, up to its dissolution in 1538.The priory is perhaps best known for having housing a Marian shrine with a replica of the house of the Holy Family in Nazareth.

Foxley Wood is a nature reserve in Foxley, Norfolk, England, the largest ancient woodland and coppice in Norfolk. The Wood is thought to be about 6,000 years old, and is even mentioned in the Doomsday book! In 2002 it was recognized as a National Nature Reserve. It is a hotspot for butterflies including a white admiral, meadow brown, speckled wood, ringlet, purple hairstreak, and silver-washed fritillary.

Norfolk Lavender is at the heart of the West Coast of Norfolk. It is England's premier lavender farm, renowned worldwide. There are over 100 types of Lavender, and the Field and Distillery Tours are well worth a visit.

Thursford Collection, which is an assortment of steam engines and fairground organs housed in a museum. The collection was founded by the late George Cushing and what began as a hobby turned into one of the world's most important steam and fairground museums. The collection includes a Mighty Wurlitzer which is the fourth-largest in Europe and has a total of 1,339 pipes.

Marriott’s Way is a 26-mile footpath, bridleway and cycle route. It provides a lovely green corridor from the heart of Norwich into the countryside along a disused railway. The surrounding area is rich with wildlife, including jays, magpies, wrens, primroses and wild strawberries. Several concrete public works of art can be seen along the way a constant reminder of the lines connection with the concrete industry and of its last days as a freight line carrying concrete products.

Whitwell and Reepham railway station, also known as Whitwell station, is a former station situated in Norfolk, England. The station closed in 1959 and is a notable stop on the Marriott's Way long-distance footpath. It is being restored as a railway museum, including the re-laying of track.

Holkham Hall, an 18th Century Palladian, Stately home, is privately owned and a lived-in family home. It is home to the 8th Earl of Leicester and his family. It is one of England's finest examples of the Palladian revival style of architecture, and the severity of its design is closer to Palladio's ideals than many of the other numerous Palladian style houses of the period.

Titchwell Marsh is blessed with diverse habitats that include reedbeds, saltmarsh, and freshwater lagoons where avocets, bearded tits, and marsh harriers nest. It was one of The RSPB's most popular reserves from sandy beaches to lagoons and reedbeds. This internationally important reserve is part of the North Norfolk Coast Site of Special Scientific Interest and the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is also protected through Natura 2000, Special Protection Area, and Ramsar li