One of the wonderful things about having a big family (spread around the UK/world) is that we are never short of people to visit and stuff happening! These family events and celebrations (and generally having family in other areas), means we have reasons to explore places we might not otherwise have on our radar. One place we have grown to love more is Norfolk and especially the beautiful city of Norwich where one of my brother in laws comes from. Last weekend, in celebration of their newest baby, we had a flying visit to Cromer and a night in Norwich with the fam- it was really lovely and a great way to spend a rare weekend together.
Cromer
Cromer was on both last year and this years travel goals and we found it to be every bit as delightful as we hoped. It would obviously be far more enjoyable in the Summer and warmer months, but despite being a cold February day with blustery winds, it was sunny and dry, and we made the most of it, having a lovely and very much FREE day together.
Cromer is like stepping into a little postcard sea-side town with colourful houses scattered up the cliff side and little tiny old shops and streets meandering through its town. It has a beautiful pier, good town centre and a cathedral too. We only had an afternoon here, but enjoyed plenty of fun free things! Some of these free things we enjoyed doing were; walking along the Pier – this was the biggest “Wow” factor as the kids have never been to a pier before (are we even British?!) and I found it really funny to see their responses. At the end of the Pier is the lifeboat station, so we made time to look around that. From there we walked along the beach and threw rocks into the sea which the kids loved, before heading up in to town. In town, we explored the cathedral, shops and generally enjoyed walking around it’s little streets.
It was then into the car and a 30 min or so drive into Norwich to see the rest of the family.
Norwich
Unfortunately we didn’t have as much time as we wanted to in Norwich itself, but having previously visited, I did jump out for a spot of shopping before we met Family in Drayton (at the Red Lion) for a delicious carvery. Norwich has a great array of shops and places to eat too, it’s Cathedral is stunningly beautiful and well worth a visit if you find yourself there (I hope I do again soon).
We have also eaten before at The Red Lion in Drayton and was excited to return as the food was great. It is conveniently about 10 – 15 minutes into the City and about a 10 minute drive from the airport too, which is where we stayed over night a Premier Inn there. It was a delicious meal, great staff and nice to have time with everyone. We enjoyed a lovely restful night at the Premier Inn also (though that could be a lot to do with the fact that the older 2 had a cousins sleepover at their Aunt and Uncles – YESS!) and found it to be great value for travelling on a budget.
This weekend spent in Norfolk was just a flying visit with the main purpose of celebrating our newest nephew. I am glad we made time to explore Cromer though and turn it into a little family adventure along the way. I wish I could have had a little longer looking around Norwich again, but we most definitely want to return for a few days in the school holidays (when it is warmer) to see more of the beautiful Norfolk coast, the broads and enjoy Norwich with family!
