Norfolk, in the East of England, has a great range of different things to do. There’s beautiful scenery and wildlife, and also some nice towns. Here’s my ultimate guide to how to enjoy the best of Norfolk in four days.
To fully enjoy the best of Norfolk in 4 days, I definitely recommend having your own car. It will give you the freedom to explore. There’s decent public transport to some of the bigger towns and cities like Norwich and Great Yarmouth. But to get to the more remote and scenic locations, public transport is limited and you’ll need your own car.
I also recommend visiting Norfolk in the summer. One of the highlights of this part of the UK is the beautiful beaches and outdoor scenery. And it’s a lot nicer to explore these places when the weather is decent! Of course, any holiday in the UK comes with a chance of rain, even in the summer, so be prepared and take a coat with you. But even if you get some rainy or cloudy days, this is still such a great part of the UK to explore. Keep reading for my day-by-day guide for enjoying the best of Norfolk in 4 days.
Day 1: Norwich and Hemsby
On your first day in Norfolk, I recommend spending most of your day in Norwich. You can then visit some of the small seaside towns in the evening for some beach time.
Norwich
Start your time exploring Norfolk with a day in Norwich, the main city in this region. Norwich is a beautifully preserved medieval city. It got its wealth in medieval times from the wool trade, and at the time was the second city in the UK only to London. As the UK moved towards the Industrial Revolution, Norwich was overtaken by the more industrial cities. This means that much of its old medieval centre has been preserved.
Start your day at Norwich Cathedral. This is definitely one of the highlights of Norwich. It’s a huge cathedral and really impressive, from the outside and the inside. Make sure you also walk around the cloisters as well.
There’s a river that runs through Norwich, which is lovely to walk along. You can see some more of the medieval buildings, like Pull’s Ferry which is a watergate and ferry house that dates back to the 15th century.
My favourite part of Norwich was Elm Hill. This small cobbled street really felt like you were stepping back in time to medieval times. The timbered buildings were lovely, and there are lots of small independent shops.
The centre of Norwich has some great shopping. There’s a big department store called Jarrolds, and also lots of shops and restaurants in the pretty Royal Arcade shopping centre.
Norwich Market is a great place to get some lunch. There are lots of food stalls here, so it can be a great place to get some lunch.
I really enjoyed just walking around the centre of Norwich, enjoying the sights and the street art. I unexpectedly came across one of the old churches that was now a huge antiques shop. It’s things like this that I love about exploring new cities – you’ll never know what you’ll find!
Hemsby
After spending most of the day in Norwich, I recommend heading over to the coast for the evening. Hemsby is about 40 minutes drive from Norwich and has a lovely sandy beach with big sand dunes.
To be honest, I didn’t love Hemsby. There’s just one main street with lots of beach shops, ice cream and arcade games. And then there’s the beach. I liked the beach, but it was quite cloudy that evening so I don’t think I saw the beach at its best. I still enjoyed being by the sea, and if the weather was nicer I think Hemsby would have been even nicer.
Day 2: Seals at Blakeney Point, Cromer and Caister-On-Sea
On day 2 of the best of Norfolk in 4 days, it’s time to head to the north of the Norfolk Coast to try to see seals! This was the best weather day out of the 4 days for me – and it’s definitely best to do the seal trip on a good weather day.
Seals and birdwatching at Blakeney Point
Blakeney Point is one of the best places in the UK to see seals. You can park at Morston Quay, and then take a boat trip out to see the seals. There are lots of companies offering boat trips, and they all offer the same in the same type of boat. The boat trip lasts for an hour. You get great views of the natural harbour on the boats.
I loved seeing the seals! I saw Grey Seals, and they were lovely. There was one laying on a beach, and then there were several more in the sea.
At different times of the year, you can see more of less seals. The best time to see the Grey Seals is actually December and January, when they have their pups on the beach. However, the weather isn’t as great for a boat trip in the winter. So visiting in the summer means you get nicer weather, but not as many seals. But I still saw plenty of seals and really enjoyed the boat trip.
This nature reserve is also home to lots of birdlife as well. After your boat trip you can go for a walk and look for birds. I saw oystercatchers and also an egret on the sandbanks.
This part of Norfolk is also just a beautiful area to walk around on a sunny day. I took loads of photos because it was all so pretty!
Cromer
My next stop on Day 2 was in Cromer. This is a really pretty seaside town on the north Norfolk coast.
The town is pretty, with some nice independent shops. It’s also a great place to get ice cream on a sunny day!
Cromer also has a pier and a beach. The tide was high when I visited, and after a few windy days there were some big waves. I enjoyed watching the waves crashing against the wall.
The other side of the pier, there was more beach exposed even at high tide. I enjoyed walking along the beach, seeing the fishing boats and beach huts.
Caister-On-Sea
The weather was lovely into the evening on this day, so I decided to make a final stop at Caister-On-Sea. There’s a beautiful sandy beach here, with sand dunes behind.
It was a really beautiful and peaceful beach to sit in the evening, just as the sun was starting to set behind the sand dunes. The beach at Caister-On-Sea was definitely one of my favourite beaches in Norfolk.
Keep reading on page 2 for Days 3 and 4 of the best of Norfolk in 4 days – including visiting Great Yarmouth and hiring your own boat on the Norfolk Broads.