All Things Norfolk Directory - Entries tagged with Tourist Attraction

The Bure Valley Railway is Norfolk’s longest Narrow Gauge Steam Railway and operates between the old market town of Aylsham and the bustling Broads towns of Wroxham and is within easy reach of Norwich and the coast.   It was built on the track bed of part of the former Great Eastern Railway and the nine mile line runs through a stretch of lovely, rural Norfolk, following the river Bure through meadowland and ancient pastures, stopping occasionally at small country villages.

Trains operate on a daily basis from the beginning of Easter to the end of October with special events throughout the year, including Santa and Mince Pie Specials.  For those who would like to realise their childhood ambitions to be a train driver, Driver Experience Courses are available during the off-peak periods.

The railway’s facilities include an 80-seater café at Aylsham, which can provide everything from a cup of team to a full meal, a large souvenir and model railway shop.   The railway’s workshops are also based at Aylsham and often open to the public.   At Wroxham Station there is a gift shop and a large second-hand book shop with over 5,000 books run by the Friends of the Bure Valley Railway.  

All trains have special wheelchair accessible coaches and disabled toilet facilities at both Stations.  Free parking is also available at both Stations. We are also Dog Friendly.

Bressingham Gardens 
The unique Bressingham Gardens are renowned worldwide for their horticultural excellence. With nearly 20 acres, four linking gardens and 8,000 plant species they can are a truly tranquil place, perfect for relaxing and enjoying the scenery. 

The Bressingham Collections 
Take a trip on one of the four railways at Bressingham, the collection of working locomotives will take you round our magnificent gardens and woodland, or ride on the Victorian Steam Gallopers. 

A trip to the locomotive sheds brings the power and the glory of mighty steam engineering up close. The National Dad's Army collection lets you wander through Walmington-on-Sea looking at original props and vehicles from the series, you'd be a 'stupid boy' to miss it!

Delightful natural woodland and water garden with a private Broad. 

The Sensory Garden is the first thing you’ll see as you walk into Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden. It has been designed with our visually and mobility impaired customers in mind.

In spring the garden 'springs' into life again. The primroses come into flower along the Broads Walk and the woodland paths. In May the glorious sight of bluebells will delight you, and our spectacular candelabra primulas, together with azaleas and rhododendrons.

There's lots of activity among the water birds and if you are lucky you may see a flash of vivid blue as the kingfisher dives for its prey.

In Summer there are flowers and shrubs including hydrangeas – in particular along our Hydrangea Walk – foxgloves and many other wild flowers. Several varieties of butterflies can be seen on our butterfly path.

Autumn brings its own special pleasure, the glow of the golds, reds and browns of the trees as they shed their leaves. The stark contrast of bare branches in Winter has a different kind of beauty, and withering birds come to shelter in the broads.

In December you can buy Christmas trees, wreaths and gifts and Father Christmas will visit before Christmas with gifts for children.

Fairhaven has three miles of peaceful walks. Boat trips are available on our Private Broad and South Walsham Broad from Easter to the end of October, including trips to St Benet's Abbey.

There is a plant sales area which specialises in woodland and bog plants, a Gift Shop, small provisions shop and the Kingfisher Tearoom for breakfast (from 9.15am) morning coffees, lunches and afternoon teas, using the best of local produce. Free entry to tearoom, shop and plant sales.

Dogs welcome on leads (small charge for poop scoop).

Situated nearby to Loddon and Beccles our gardens surround Raveningham Hall, home to Sir Nicholas and Lady Bacon (and home to the Bacon family since 1735).

Enjoy the beauty of our varied and ever-changing floral seasons. The Gardens are set out as the Edwardian plans with large herbaceous borders surrounding a Victorian walled kitchen garden. In the 1960s the planting was enhanced by the inspiration of Priscilla, Lady Bacon an energetic plantswoman who collected many rare species from around the world transforming the garden over 50 years. The walled kitchen garden was brought back to full working order in the last 20 years and is now producing fruit and vegetables for the House. There is a fine late 19th century Boulton and Paul range of glasshouses, stocked conservatory and melon pits, all in working order.

A Millennium project by Nicholas Bacon to build a lake on the North side of the House is now firmly established as is an Arboretum that was planted after the destruction of a wood in the 1987 gale; this gave an opportunity to plant a large variety of trees and shrubs under a plan designed by the eminent plantsman Roy Lancaster. New additions to the garden include a Herb Garden, a Stumpery and a garden designed around Francis Bacon’s essays based on the passage of time.

The main specialities of the garden are snowdrops followed by bulbs in early spring, later in the season agapanthus are a main feature. Our Gardens are circa 10 acres all in a glorious 18th Century parkland setting with sculpture by Susan Bacon in and around the gardens. Well behaved dogs on leads are welcome.

Main Season Opening Times

We are open for both individual visits and Group Tours of 10-30 people.

Our Gardens are open throughout February to celebrate our famous snowdrop season from 11-4pm (closed Saturdays) and on set days May to September. Please see our website www.raveningham.com  for opening days, times & admission costs.

Friends of Raveningham Gardens

Become a Friend of our Gardens and for just £25 per person, per year, you could enjoy unlimited admission during our normal opening times as well as special visiting times all year round.

Please contact sonya@raveningham.com 01508 548480 for all enquiries, individual or group.

We look forward to welcoming you to our living garden.

The Mid-Norfolk Railway Preservation Trust was established in 1995 with the aim of buying and restoring the then-disused line between the Norfolk market towns of Dereham and Wymondham. We currently own 28km (17.5 miles) of track and trackbed through central Norfolk's most attractive countryside, making us one of the largest preserved railways in the UK today.

The line is operational between Dereham and Wymondham, and we own the disused northern section from Dereham as far as County School. The line is intact (although derelict) as far as North Elmham, and a further mile of track will need to be re-laid in order to reach County School. Our long-term aim is to reach as far as Fakenham.

In addition to our passenger services to Wymondham, we also run fairly regular commercial freight trains, as well as the occasional railtour. These result in a wide variety of locomotives visiting Dereham from the main line from time to time, in addition to our fleet of heritage diesel locos.

Many people are surprised to learn that the railway is entirely volunteer-run. Our volunteers get up to a wide variety of tasks, including driving the trains, maintaining the track and lineside, getting greasy inside engines, and many other interesting jobs besides.

The rate of progress in restoring and upgrading the railway has been very rapid over the last few years, and we hope it will continue that way. Current projects are aimed at improving the railway's infrastructure, including track and signalling. In particular, we are working on building our first signal box, which will control the yard at Dereham; and we are busy restoring the line north of Dereham to operational condition.

Sheringham Museum at the Mo is a stunning museum, located right on the seafront in Sheringham.

The museum has a beautiful collection of fishing boats, crab boats and lifeboats. Its three lifeboats, which served the town continuously over more than 150 years, are listed in the National Register of Historic Vessels.

Sheringham Museum at the Mo celebrates the history and people of Sheringham, and has a historical street scene, an art gallery showing artwork related to the town, a gallery about the history of the town from the Victorian Age to WW2, and a temporary gallery which changes three times a year. Our popular viewing tower offers 360 degree views over the North Sea and the higgledy piggledy streets of Sheringham.

The museum is also home to the information Centre of the Sheringham Shoal Windfarm, which offers engaging information about the wind farm off the coast of Sheringham.

We have an exciting, year-round programme of events, which are suitable for all the family.

Open Monday to Saturday 10am to 4.30pm. Closed Sundays.