The Oaklands Hotel is the ideal base for exploring the fine city of Norwich and the surrounding Norfolk countryside. Whether this is your first stay or you are a regular traveller to the county, a visit is always an enjoyable one with plenty of sites & attractions to suit everyone.
History, Culture and Education
Norwich is a wonderful city which provides the heart of Norfolk, with a population of over 123,000. The city offers a mixture of history, shopping, entertainment and the all important Norwich City Football Club all rolled into one ever expanding city. Norwich is perfect for those looking to delve into the past of the city as it is home to some of the most popular historical attractions in the East of England.
Norwich Cathedral is well worth a visit, this Norman building has been standing for over 900 years and is a magnificent sight which towers over the city, dominating the skyline. Norwich Castle has been standing since the 12th century and its recently refurbished museum and art gallery holds many national treasures and collections. Another area of interest is the Forum which is where the tourist information, bbc, and library are located. Within the Forum you can experience ‘Origins’ a state of the art visitor attraction taking you on a journey of exploration over the past two thousand years.
Shopping
Norwich is just simply a shopper’s paradise, with a blend of large shopping centres to market stalls. The city’s most recent development is the Chapelfield shopping centre which was finished in September 2005. This fabulous shopping centre is open seven days a week and has over 80 shops, 40 of which are completely new to Norwich including the only House of Fraser in the region. The city also houses the Castle Mall shopping centre which has many big store names and a recently refurbished food court. In contrast to its shopping centres and modern precedents, the city has the added attraction of a six day open air market as well as hundreds of speciality shops in a maze of cobble stoned lanes and alleys.
Entertainment and Nightlife
Norwich provides an array of entertainment and nightlife attractions to ensure you have a great night out. Within the city you will find a variation of theatres including the Theatre Royal which often features shows direct from London's West End, a cluster of cinemas, and a nearby ten bin bowling alley. Norwich also offers a mixture of traditional Norfolk pubs and trendy bars, an array of restaurants to suit all tastes and budgets, and a choice of different nightclubs. For further details on attractions in the city please see the Visit Norwich website.
Norfolk Broads
There are plenty of places to discover outside of Norwich and into the surrounding Norfolk area which guarantee a fantastic day out whether your looking for countryside, wildlife or man-made attractions. The Norfolk Broads are Britain's finest wetland with 200km of navigable waterways which are made up of open water, reed beds, grazing marshes, fields and woods. The Broads are best discovered by boat and the surrounding area is perfect for walking, cycling, fishing, bird watching and conservation.
Norfolk Coast
North Norfolk embraces around 400 square miles at the far eastern tip of England. Its coastline stretches for 43 miles and much of it is designated as an area of outstanding natural beauty. The diverse landscape includes wide sandy beaches, pine forests, saltmarshes and mudflats and as the seasons change the countryside takes on very different qualities.
Nature & Wildlife
There are an array of places around Norfolk where you can experience the county's nature and wildlife. You will find various National Trust sites to visit in Norfolk, chose from a visit to Blickling Hall, Anglesey Abbey or Sheringham Park. Pensthorpe nature reserve which is set in 500 acres of beautiful countryside is a unique place to visit with miles of nature trails to explore through ancient fen meadows, woodland and a superb series of lakes. Banham Zoo is the biggest and best zoo in East Anglia with a vast array of animals from tigers to flamingos! Open all year round this makes a fantastic full day out.
Theme Parks
Norfolk has its fair share of theme parks to keep the whole family entertained. Pleasurewood Hills is a fun theme park with over 40 rides and attractions aimed at families. Experience the wonder of their various rollercoasters, waterflumes and shows, not to mention Woddy Bear, the parks mascot. The Dinosaur Adventure Park provides a day of action and adventure where you will come face to face with life size dinosaurs, meet creatures from way back in time, explore the maze, make friends with the animals, and have fun in their adventure play areas.
