Great Days Out in Norfolk & Suffolk - English Tourism Week Launch

Norfolk & Suffolk attractions' mascots racing at Sealife Centre Yarmouth

Norfolk Tourist Attractions’ Association (NTAA) and Visit Suffolk Attractions launched the 2016 Great Days Out in Norfolk & Suffolk booklet at the Sealife Centre and Merrivale Model Village Great Yarmouth, on Tuesday, March 8. The launch featured a mascots race won by Shaky the Shark from Great Yarmouth Sealife Centre to celebrate English Tourism Week.

Norfolk and Suffolk's attractions continue to invest in new projects and events. Sealife Centre Great Yarmouth is opening Turtle Shelter, a themed exhibit featuring turtles in their natural habitat. Merrivale Model Village has installed the Merri Eye, a 12ft high observation wheel for the resident ‘Merrivalians’.

King’s Lynn’s stunning new heritage attraction, Stories of Lynn, opens at Easter, telling the stories of seafarers, explorers, merchants, mayors, magistrates and miscreants who have shaped the town. The project was made possible by a grant of £1,850,600 from the Heritage Lottery Fund, £800,000 from the Borough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk, and investments from other funders.  Holkham Hall is transforming former stables and pottery buildings in a £4.5million project to create new and improved visitors facilities including an exhibition telling the story of Holkham’s unique farming heritage.

The Great Days Out booklet features 53 quality assured attractions across Norfolk and Suffolk and £285 of discount vouchers The booklet offers an unrivalled menu of activities from boat trips on the Broads, theme parks, world famous museum collections and country houses and gardens to zoos and animal collections, heritage railways, top draw live shows and much more.

New members in the 2016 booklet are Beccles Lido and Big Dog Ferry, Fakenham Racecourse, Richardson's Day Boats and Stories of Lynn.

Some 400,000 booklets will be distributed across the six counties of the East of England. Great Days Out in Norfolk & Suffolk can also be downloaded from www.norfolktouristattractions.co.uk.

Martin Dupée, Chairman NTAA and Visit Suffolk Attractions said: “All is set for a fantastic year at Norfolk and Suffolk attractions. The Great Days Out booklet features 53 excellent reasons for day trips and short breaks in the region. Our good news includes the Stories of Lynn at King's Lynn, Holkham Hall's farming exhibition and Courtyard Cafe and Dippy's Splash Zone at Dinosaur Adventure. And we are proud to number Cromer Pier in our ranks, Pier of the Year 2015 and home to Europe's only end of the pier show.”                
                                                                               
“It's great to see both large and smaller attractions continuing to invest in new facilities and innovative events, improving the visitor experience and giving a boost to our £4.8 billion tourism economy in Norfolk and Suffolk.”  

Church Farm, Stow Bardolph is expanding the indoor play area for under 5s in time for Easter and will add a new pedal tractor trail in the outdoor play area by early summer,

City Sightseeing Norwich will be fully accessible for visitors with disabilities from May.

Dippy's Splash Zone at Dinosaur Adventure launches with Dippy's Splash Zone Party from May 28 to June 5.

Holkham Hall: New exhibition opening in 2016 telling the unique story of Holkham’s farming heritage, plus Courtyard Cafe and shop; and in the hall a special exhibition, 'Remembering the 7th Earl of Leicester 1936-2015'.

Norfolk & Suffolk attractions' mascots 'fam trip' to Merrivale Model Village

Merrivale Model Village has installed the Merri Eye, a 12ft high observation wheel for the resident ‘Merrivalians’ and new ‘X-Factor’ stage.

Pleasurewood Hills : new Waveswinger attraction, opening date to be confirmed.The Main Street area of the park is being refurbsihed with improved décor and changes to two food outlets which will be renamed Smokey Joes and Sharkies Fish & Chips. Woodycopters and the Mini Twister have been relocated, complemented with extensive landscaping.

Sealife Centre Great Yarmouth: Turtle Shelter is a new themed exhibit featuring turtles in their natural habitat. The walls will be adorned with interactive and educational elements describing the 200-million year history of these reptiles.

Snettisham Park new for 2016, children's pony treks and rides.

Stories of Lynn: King’s Lynn’s stunning new heritage attraction Stories of Lynn opens this Easter.  Telling the stories of seafarers, explorers, merchants, mayors, magistrates and miscreants who have shaped the town, the exhibition along with the borough archives cover more than 800 years of history.

Set within the atmospheric 15th-century undercroft of the magnificent Trinity Guildhall and parts of the old town gaol, the exhibition features exciting new audio-visual and interactive displays along with a host of artefacts, exhibits and treasures.  The King John Cup, a lavishly decorated 14th-century drinking vessel, takes pride of place, set within the dark, dramatic Treasury.  Housed within Stories of Lynn are the borough archives – a unique collection of documents dating back to the 13th Century which tell their own stories of the townspeople.  The Red Register, the oldest complete paper archival book in England, is the centrepiece of the collection.

Raveningham Gardens Snowdrop Season from Monday 1 February

Raveningham Gardens snowdrops

Raveningham Gardens in the Norfolk Broads opens for the snowdrop season from Monday 1 February to Sunday 28 February, 2016 (closed Saturdays). See drifts of snowdrops in the main garden from 11am to 4pm (dusk if earlier). Proceeds from Sundays 14 and 21 February go to Priscilla Bacon Lodge, a centre for specialist palliative care services in Norwich.

Admission is adult £5, concessions £4.50 and children under 16 free. Refreshments will be available in the tea room.

Raveningham Hall is the home of Sir Nicholas and Lady Bacon. It was Sir Nicholas’ mother, Priscilla Bacon, who added snowdrops to the garden.

The 18th century Walled Kitchen Garden with its large glasshouses will be open and visitors will also be able to enjoy views across the new lake established at the turn of the Millennium and the contemporary sculpture in the gardens.

Raveningham Gardens (NR14 6NS) is 10 miles south east of Norwich, signposted off the A146 at Hales, then B1136, t. 01508 548480.

Fairhaven Garden - Elizabeth Reed Solo Art Exhibition

Candelabra Primulas - Elizabeth Reed

Wymondham based artist, Elizabeth Reed returns to Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden at South Walsham in the Norfolk Broads, for her second solo exhibition of original paintings, from Tuesday, January 19 to Sunday, January 24, 2016, open 10am to 4pm daily. Entry to the exhibition is free.

Elizabeth is a keen gardener and country lover and will be displaying paintings depicting local landscapes and floral subjects, along with prints, cards and craft items. She will be in residence at Fairhaven throughout the exhibition and visitors will be able see new work in progress.

Elizabeth also plays banjo, concertina and accordion in the Fezziwig Ceilidh Band. For more information about Elizabeth and her work see www.liz-reed.co.uk.

Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden is at South Walsham, nine miles east of Norwich, signposted off A47 at B1140 junction, t. 01603 270449. The garden is open daily all year 10am to 5pm (closed Christmas Day and closes 4pm during the winter), also open Wednesdays until 9pm from May to the end of August.  Garden entry is adults £6.50, concessions £5.90 and children £3.75 (under 5 free). Free entry to tearoom, gift shop and plant sales.

There is wheelchair access throughout the garden, including a Sensory Garden and boat trips (April to October, additional charge). Visitors requiring special facilities are advised to telephone in advance, mobility scooters available.

Dogs are welcome on leads; small charge to cover poop scoop.

Fairhaven Woodland & Water Garden Norfolk Broads

Palace Street Norwich, The Watts Family and the Maids Head Hotel

Jenny Sadler and her brother Jamie Watts visited the Maids Head Hotel in Norwich last autumn on a mission to rediscover their roots. Jenny was born in 1962 in what is now the Earlham Suite in the hotel, but back then it was her mum Dorothy and dad John Watts’ living quarters. Dad ran a convenience store down below on Palace Street.

Jenny Sadler and Jamie Watts outside what was the shop entrance

The range of buildings that included the shop, which date back to Tudor times, was converted by the Maids Head in the 1980s into a series of function and meeting rooms on the ground floor, with bedrooms up above.

The Watts family had a bakery and shop on Palace Street from at least the late 19th century. Arthur Watts (grandfather) met Mary Anne Wardell, when she was 16. They married and had 14 children. John Watts (1933 – 2013) was the youngest.

The bakery shop late 19th century

“Our last surviving aunt, Margaret Copeman, died in March aged 84,” said Jenny. “Her wake was held at the Maids Head. This was the spur for Jamie and I to stay at the hotel and find out more about our family’s connection with Palace Street. There were eight brothers, most of whom ran Watts Brothers Building Contractors, with an office on the corner of Pigg Lane.

Grandfather Arthur died in 1936 and the bakery closed soon after that, however Grandmother Mary Anne (d.1977) was very entrepreneurial and changed direction. “Nanny opened a convenience store in the old bakery shop and converted the bakery into a function room known as The Bake Office,” explained Jenny. “Dad eventually ran the shop for Nanny until 1965, while she concentrated on The Bake Office. Two of dad’s sisters, Margaret and Queenie and niece Dorothy also worked with him.”
 

John Watts outside the grocery shop 1950s

“The Bake Office was very popular for local parties and weddings. People also used to pile in there after the Samson and Hercules closed and Nanny would serve up egg and chips all round. During World War II provided accommodation in the function room for American airmen.” 

Jenny has a photograph of her mum and dad's wedding reception in April 1957, which was held in The Bake Office. It also features Mary Anne up on her feet about to toast the new bride and groom.

John and Dorothy Watts Wedding April 1957

“Mum and dad had around 100 guests at their wedding reception, with all the catering done by family members. Mum remembers Nanny very much as the matriarch of the family; anyone who had a problem went to her, she had a heart of gold.”  

“We left in 1965. Mum and dad wanted their own house, and moved to a new property on Dereham Road built by the brothers. Nanny sold up and moved to a bungalow in Sprowston. Dad worked in grocery shops to start with and then teamed up with his brothers in the building business until he retired.”

Do you have memories of Mary Anne Watts, the Palace Street shops and The Bake Office, as Jenny, Jamie and the Maids Head would like to hear from you. Please call Linzi Rawson t. 01603 209955, or write to Linzi Rawson, Sales Manager, the Maids Head Hotel, Tombland, Norwich NR3 1LB.

Fairhaven Garden – South Walsham Art Club Exhibition from January 12, 2016

South Walsham Art Club is staging Reflections an exhibition of paintings at Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden, South Walsham in the Norfolk Broads from Tuesday, January 12 to Sunday, January 17, open 10am to 4pm daily. Entry to the exhibition is free.

The exhibition features paintings, with a wide variety of subjects and styles, by members of the art class that meets weekly in St. Lawrence's, South Walsham, led by Nicky Arrowsmith-Brown.

Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden is at South Walsham, nine miles east of Norwich, signposted off A47 at B1140 junction, t. 01603 270449. The garden is open daily all year 10am to 5pm (closed Christmas Day and closes 4pm during the winter), also open Wednesdays until 9pm from May to the end of August.  Garden entry is adults £6.50, concessions £5.90 and children £3.75 (under 5 free). Free entry to tearoom, gift shop and plant sales.

There is wheelchair access throughout the garden, including a Sensory Garden and boat trips (April to October, additional charge). Visitors requiring special facilities are advised to telephone in advance, mobility scooters available.

Dogs are welcome on leads; small charge to cover poop scoop.

Boxing Day and New Year’s Day Guided Walks at Fairhaven Garden Norfolk Broads

Head to Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden at South Walsham in the Norfolk Broads for a guided walk in the garden on Boxing Day, Saturday, December 26, 2015 and New Year’s Day, Friday, January 1, 2016, both starting at 11am.

Garden admission, which includes the guided walks, is adults £6.20, concessions £5.70 and children £3.65 (under 5 free). The walks last 1½ hours and a complimentary mince pie and glass of mulled wine will be on offer in the tearoom at the end.

Highlights include the massive 950-year old King Oak and other ancient oak and beech trees and the views across South Walsham Inner Broad. Learn about the history of the garden, the collection of plants introduced by the 2nd Lord Fairhaven and the organic working methods still used today.

Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden is at South Walsham (NR13 6DZ), nine miles east of Norwich, signposted off A47 at B1140 junction, t. 01603 270449.

The garden is open daily all year, open 10am to 4pm during the winter (closed Christmas Day); free entry to tearoom, gift shop and plant sales. There is wheelchair access throughout the garden, including a Sensory Garden. Visitors requiring special facilities are advised to telephone in advance, mobility scooters available. Dogs are welcome on leads; small charge to cover poop scoop.