20 Attractions to Explore Near RSPB Strumpshaw Fen

A beautiful 130 acre ancient woodland and garden in the heart of the broads. An unusual mix of wild and cultivated plantings creates a habitat rich in wildlife.Within the garden is an ancient fishpond , a 950-year-old oak, over 95 recorded species of birds, a private broad, many species of wild and cultivated plants.

Whitlingham Country Park sits on the outskirts of Norwich and is the gateway to the Broads. With over 280 acres of beautiful countryside this is a perfect spot for walkers, cyclists, birdwatchers and family outings. The park has cycle paths, a picnic meadow, and a visitors centre with a café, information point and toilet facilities.

Ranworth Broad is a 136-hectare nature reserve on the Norfolk Broads north-east of Norwich in Norfolk, United Kingdom. There is areas of woodland and reedbeds and also there are many species of birds can be seen from the floating Broads Wildlife Centre. An informative boardwalk leads you through a tapestry of beautiful scenery and allows you to explore both the environment and its history.

Norfolk Snowsports Club offers tuition and free practice on a well-serviced dry slope. It was located on Trowse Mountain, on the outskirts of Norwich. It was covered with the popular Snowflex surface, to make the skiing experience as true to life as possible. There are 5 travelator lifts on-site to enable skiers of all levels to get up the slopes easily as well as snow tubing facilities.

Pettitts Animal Adventure Park is a leisure, travel & tourism company based out of Church Rd, Reedham, Norwich, Norfolk, United Kingdom. Discover 25+ different species of animals from around the world, Meerkats, Lemurs, Raccoons, Wallabies, Birds of prey, Goats, and Reptiles too! There are daily shows and talks including Big Bubble Show with Bingo the Clown and Who's at the Zoo. There are an amazing 50 exciting other activities and attractions to try.

The Abbey of St Benet at Holme lies deep in the Broads, close to the meeting place of the rivers Bure and Ant. This was the only Norfolk monastery founded in the Anglo-Saxon period which continued in use throughout the Middle Ages, and is the only monastery in England which was not closed down by Henry VIII – the Bishop of Norwich is still the Abbot.

Norwich Cathedral is a Christian presence in the heart of Norfolk and the Diocese of Norwich. It began, over 900 years ago, as the Cathedral church of a Benedictine Monastery, built to inspire by its sheer size and magnificence. The Cathedral continues to fill today’s visitors with a sense of awe and wonder. The cathedral was completed in 1145 with the Norman tower still seen today topped with a wooden spire covered with lead.

Norfolk Museums Service holds over three million objects within its varied collections ranging from Natural History, Social History, World collections and Archaeology to Contemporary Art and Regimental History. Many of the collections are of national and international importance.

Norwich Castle was designed to be a royal palace, which was built by the Normans in the 11th century. In the thousand years since its construction the castle has been used variously as a military fort, a county jail and, most recently, a museum. Today, Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery is home to collections of fine art, archaeology and natural history, as well as touring exhibitions from national galleries.

This lovely street dates back to medieval times and is one of the finest and prettiest of its kind in England. It is bounded at its western end by the church of St Peter Hungate and at the eastern end by that of St Simon and St Jude. Today it is lined on both sides mostly by timber-framed merchants' houses which were built in the early sixteenth century following a fire in 1507 that devastated the earlier medieval street and much of the surrounding area.

Norwich Market is an attractive and vibrant mix of food, crafts, flowers, services, and much more. One of the oldest and largest outdoor markets in the country, it has 189 stalls trading Monday to Saturday, with a handful open on Sundays. Browse through the stalls and you will find a fantastic range of goods and services; whether you’re after clothes, children’s toys, jewelry, household goods, flowers, keys cut or shoes mended, the market has it all!

A huge, award winning forest of family fun and outdoor adventure. Treehouses, Wobbly Wires, Slippery Slopes, Crocklebogs, Twiggles and Boggles, storytelling, boat rides, marsh walks and really yummy food. The whole family can spend hours running, whizzing and clambering on the sustainable wooden play structures, from aerial ropewalks to climbing walls, balancing logs and muddled mazes in a beautiful forest setting.

Strangers Hall is a marvelous Tudor merchant's house, used as a museum of local history since the 1930s. See the Tudor Great Hall, the fine Georgian dining room, and the magnificent stone-vaulted undercroft. Although Strangers' Hall has been the home of many varied members of society, including a solicitor and a dance master, it is most notable as the residence of numerous Mayors of Norwich, having first served this purpose in 1340.

The Royal Air Force Air Defence Radar Museum is a museum on the site of the former Royal Air Force radar and control base RAF Neatishead. The Museum tells the story of Air Defence and Radar from 1935 to date. Using a combination of a guided tour and over 23 themed rooms, the visitor is encouraged to find out about this previously Secret World. It includes a complete Cold War-era Operations Room from which the air defense of Britain was conducted for several decades and so more.

The Cathedral of St John the Baptist was located in immediately outside the ring road on the western edge of central Norwich. The first view of it is quite astonishing. Because of its fairly constrained site, vistas of it are usually at sharp angles. Flying buttress throughout let you know this is a church that is serious business. It is the second-largest Roman Catholic cathedral in England, the largest being Westminster Cathedral. It is one of two cathedrals in the city of Norwich.

The Plantation Garden is a restored Victorian town garden located off Earlham Road, Norwich, Norfolk. As of 2021, visitors are asked to pay £2 to visit the garden, which is open daily throughout the year. includes a 'Gothic' fountain, flower beds, lawns, woodland walkways, rustic bridge, Italianate terrace, ‘Medieval’ terrace wall; and hundreds of architectural details fashionable in the mid 19th century.

Thrigby Hall Wildlife Gardens is a progressive zoo with a focus on conservation. Most of the animals at Thrigby Hall are species found in Asia, including tigers, gibbons, otters and alligators. Attractions for all age groups include Snow Leopards, rare tigers, gibbons, deer otters, crocodiles in a swamp house, avaries, waterfowl, gift shop & cafe. Tropical & forest houses give good all-weather cover.

Burgh Castle Roman Fort is one of the best-preserved Roman monuments in the country. Built in the 3rd century overlooking Breydon Water and the outlet of the River Waveney. After the Roman period, the site may have been occupied by an early Christian monastery; and after 1066 a Norman castle was built inside the Fort walls.

The beautiful Hoveton Hall Estate covers 620 acres of parkland, gardens, woodland, arable and grazing land. This fine Regency Hall was built between 1809-1812 and has been owned by the Buxton family since 1946. Its 19th-century iron glasshouse is a must-see for all visitors to the gardens. Throughout the year the gardens host many different events most of which are free to Historic Houses members.