Great Yarmouth Heritage Open Days 6 to 9 September

An exciting programme of free tours and drop in events is on offer in the Borough of Great Yarmouth during Heritage Open Days weekend, Thursday 6 to Sunday 9 September.

Many of the buildings involved are not normally open to the public. Explore The Beating Chamber in Gorleston, a relic of the herring fishing industry and go on a behind the scenes tour of Gorleston Pavilion Theatre.

Visit HS Smokehouse, one of the few traditional smokehouses left in the UK and operating in Great Yarmouth since 1852. See the chapel and ward space in the former Royal Naval Hospital, which was built to accommodate Nelson’s sailors, but was eventually used to care for Naval staff suffering from mental illness.

Tour St George’s Theatre, now in the final stages of restoration work. See The Masonic Royal Assembly Rooms in Albert Square and go on a Tales from the Churchyard guided walk and hear the stories behind the memorial stones in Great Yarmouth Minster’s churchyard.

Walk from Reedham to Polkey’s Mill and Reedham Marsh Steam House, or visit Morse’s Wind Engine Park at Repps with Bastwick, the only collection of historic wind pumps in the UK.

Pick up a Great Yarmouth Heritage Open Days leaflet at the Tourist Information Centre, tel. 01493 846346, or download a copy of the leaflet from www.great-yarmouth.co.uk/heritageopendays.

Family Fun at Great Yarmouth Maritime Festival

Great Yarmouth Maritime Festival, on Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 September, celebrates the town’s proud maritime past and our maritime future, with lots of fun, family activities, www.maritime-festival.co.uk. The Festival takes place on South Quay and runs on the Saturday from 10am to 6pm and Sunday from 10am to 5pm; activities and entertainment are free (except for river trips). A donation of £1 per visitor towards Festival costs is welcomed.


The Festival is a riot of colour and sound, with Shanty and maritime music performed throughout the weekend at three different venues on South Quay: the Main Stage, The Fo'c'sle and in Horatio's Bar.

Meet Admiral Nelson, Mrs Hamilton, Lofty the Lighthouse and Horatio Herring and enjoy military re-enactments from East Norfolk Militia and Inner State, punch and judy shows with Professor Pulson and face painting and balloon modelling.

Explore the tall ships Mercedes and Tres Hombres, see Collective Spirit, a 30-ft sailing boat fashioned from hundreds of donated wooden objects and enjoy a river cruise to the Outer Harbour on MV Coronia.

MV Coronia was built in Great Yarmouth and was originally called the BRIT after Britannia Pier. It started life doing seal trips, then in World War II, Coronia rescued 900 troops from Dunkirk, before working at Scarborough as a pleasure cruiser. Sailing trips are available on Saturday and Sunday, at 11.30am, 1pm, 2.30pm and 4pm, adults £5, children £2.50 (tickets on sale at the Festival).

Visit Natural England’s underwater world, located next to a huge deckchair that can easily seat the entire family. Have a go at making seahorse pencil toppers and starfish magnets, do wildlife brass rubbings and colouring and find out about Norfolk’s national nature reserves at Winterton-on-Sea and Holkham.

Discover the weird and wonderful creatures that live in the sea Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s stand and make herring kites and sharks tooth necklaces from fossil teeth dating back millions of years.

The RSPB has three marquees packed with things to do; craft activities include making a butterfly, bird or whale and playing the migration game; there’s also a pin-badge lucky dip!

Have a go at net mending in the demonstrator’s marquee or create a medieval town wall with Norfolk Records Office.

Meet the National Trust and make a nautical badge or mask, check out the wild touchy feely table and take the rock pool challenge; also pick up a copy of the Trust’s 50 things to do before you’re 11¾.

Ken Sims, Chairman Greater Yarmouth Tourism Authority said: “We are looking forward to another busy Maritime Festival weekend packed with the sights and sounds of the sea. South Quay is going to be a hive of nautical activity from tall ships to sea shanties and maritime crafts and art.”

Photograph: MV Coronia

Raveningham Gardens Norfolk Open August Bank Holiday Sunday and Monday

Raveningham Gardens, near Hales, is open Bank Holiday Sunday and Monday, 26 and 27 August, 2pm to 5pm. Enjoy the herbaceous borders, 18th century walled kitchen garden, Victorian glasshouses, orchard, arboretum, herb garden, contemporary sculptures, 14th century church and views across the new lake established at the turn of the Millennium; tea and cake on sale.


Raveningham Gardens is also open on Thursday 30 August, 11am to 4pm. Admission is adults £4, concessions £3.50 and children under 16 free. The gardens (NR14 6NS) are 10 miles south east of Norwich, signposted off the A146 at Hales, then B1136, tel. 01508 548152, email office@raveningham.com, www.raveningham.com.

The Taste of Autumn, Raveningham Gardens’ special EDP Adnams Norfolk Food & Drink Festival event is on Sunday 7 October from 11am to 5pm. Entry is £10 a car.

The Taste of Autumn, with the walled vegetable garden, glasshouses and orchard at its heart, is a celebration of the autumnal fruits of the garden, hedgerow and woodland. Local producers will show food, oils and drink and explain its culinary and medicinal purposes. There will be talks and guided tours on subjects such as fungi, herbs and vegetables.

The Mudeka Foundation Norfolk Coast Path Walk 23-27 August

Anna Mudeka, Trustees and friends of the Norfolk-based Mudeka Foundation are doing a sponsored walk along the full length of the Norfolk Coast Path, from 23 to 27 August, to raise money for the foundation, which supports Aids orphans and underprivileged children in the Harare area of Zimbabwe.


This project was inspired by the Trustees’ trip to Zimbabwe in March, when they visited schools and met children who have to walk nearly eight miles a day for the chance of having an education.

Elisabeth Louis, Mudeka Foundation Trustee, said: “We want to understand what it is like for these children who do not have any choice but to walk miles to school. But we also want use our expedition along the Norfolk Coast Path as an opportunity to raise more funds, so we can help more Zimbabwean children with their education.”

“We were deeply effected by the situation in Zimbabwe and are doing all we can to work with schools there. We are very happy to give talks about the foundation and explain how we support these children in need.”

For more information and to register to join the walk, or make a donation, go to www.mudekafoundation.com/events. Under 16s taking part in the walk must be accompanied by an adult.

For more information about The Mudeka Foundation, contact Anna Mudeka tel. 01362 822194, mudekafoundation@gmail.com or Elisabeth Louis m. 07748755164.

Great Yarmouth Maritime Festival hosts boat created from 1200 wooden objects

Collective Spirit, a 30-ft sailing boat fashioned from hundreds of donated wooden objects and created by Lone Twin, one of Europe’s leading performance companies, is visiting Great Yarmouth for the Maritime Festival on Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 September, www.maritime-festival.co.uk.


Items donated for Collective Spirit’s construction include a tiny piece of the Mary Rose, a sliver of Jimi Hendrix’s guitar, timber from HMS Victory Nelson’s flagship, a plank from the London 2012 Velodrome, several hockey sticks, a salad server in the shape of a spanner, and a Victorian policeman’s truncheon.

The Lone Twin Boat Project Norfolk Tour is part of Norfolk - Looking Forward to 2012, the county's partnership programme to make the most of the opportunities from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Collective Spirit is one of the South East region’s contributions to the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, as part of the Arts Council England’s Artists’ Taking the Lead project.

The Maritime Festival takes place on Saturday 1 (10am to 6pm) and Sunday 2 September 2012 (10am to 5pm) on South Quay when a mix of traditional and modern maritime vessels, including the Tall Ships Mercedes and Tres Hombres, will be moored on South Quay for visitors to admire and go aboard. Land-lubbers who prefer to keep their feet firmly on terra-firma will have plenty to keep them entertained.

The Festival is a riot of colour and maritime music, with a large main stage featuring a variety of performances and two other entertainment areas. Shanty and maritime music will be performed throughout the festival at three different venues up and down South Quay, the Main Stage, The Fo'c'sle and in Horatio's Bar with a packed programme of artistes. The Festival is free, but a £1 donation per person is welcomed.

Collective Spirit is also visiting Folk East (24-26 August) and Wells Festival (7-9 September).

Rhythms – North Norfolk Art at Salthouse Church

North Norfolk based artists Jacqui Dorras and Lizzy Harvey are staging a joint exhibition, Rhythms, at St Nicholas Church Salthouse from Saturday, August 11 to Monday, August 27. The exhibition, inspired by the rhythms of North Norfolk’s coast and countryside, will be open daily from 10am to 5pm, free entry (opens at around 11am on Sundays after the church service).


Jacqui Dorras from Thurgarton and Lizzy Harvey from Briston both work in the art department at City College Norwich on a job share basis. “We support and encourage each other in our work, have similar interests in nature and are both experimental in our approach, “ explained Jacqui Dorras. “There is a rhythm and harmony in our art, although it is very different.”

“Staging a joint exhibition in the magnificent interior of St Nicholas Salthouse, with its beautiful natural light, is a natural development for us,” continued Jacqui Dorras. “I last exhibited my work some six years ago, following workshops that I led at Carrow House with young asylum seekers, so the Salthouse show is very much a new beginning for me.”

Jacqui Dorras’ mixed media work at Salthouse will focus on the rhythm of the sea. She is currently producing new work on lead, copper, linen and wood; the lead piece is being drawn with wire, which will be gently hammered, without touching the surface. The items will be submerged in the waters off the North Norfolk Coast. The daily ebb and flow of the tide will complete the process of drawing. Carvings depicting sea forms and items created from objects gathered from the sea will also feature in the exhibition.

Lizzy Harvey added: “I worked in watercolours for many years but now enjoy using a variety of media, including techniques associated with textiles; stitch, print, dye and pattern, thus the work has become more process led and diverse. I gather inspiration from the hedgerows, trees and fields, the patterns and forms and rhythms. This work has been done in the past year specifically for Salthouse and is my response to four seasons in the North Norfolk countryside.”

Lizzy Harvey is a member of Norwich 20 Group www.norwich20group.co.uk and exhibits at the group’s spring and autumn shows, most recently at The Forum in Norwich. She also exhibited at Salthouse 09 and 10.

Photograph: Jacqui Dorras securing her work to let the sea finish the drawing process.