Finding family-friendly activities that are the perfect blend of convenient, cost-effective and entertaining can be a bit tricky sometimes. However, with Norwich as your destination, you won’t be stumped for fantastic places to take the young ones.
Within the city centre, you can easily spend an imaginative afternoon at the Norwich Castle Museum, which is currently featuring an exhibition all about dragons (on until 30 May 2016 – visit their website for more details). Make sure you treat the family to a delicious meal at Jamie’s Italian, serving up an award-winning kid’s menu crafted from authentic, fresh ingredients in a relaxed atmosphere. Or perhaps the kids fancy a bit of theatre, in which case catching a show at the Norwich Playhouse is your perfect destination (check out their website to see what’s coming up).
But as much as we love Norwich, it can be a nice change of pace to see what other adventures lie outside the city limits. Here are 5 exciting destinations to take the little ones, if you’re looking to explore more of Norfolk!
BeWILDerwood
Image source: Karen Roe via Flickr Creative Commons
Get lost in the magical world of BeWILDerwood, an incredible outdoor adventure park located near Hoveton (around a 30 minute drive from Norwich city centre). Explore the treehouses, cross ‘dangerous’ bridges, build swamp dens, wind your way through mazes and much, much more – in short, this is the ultimate place to let your imagination run (for lack of a better term) wild.
Congo Rapids Adventure Golf
This isn’t just any crazy golf course: Congo Rapids Adventure Golf’s got a wilderness safari theme. Full of obstacles including waterfalls, caves and wild animals (including a very realistic-looking crocodile…), this adventurous 18-hole course is located near Easton, a short 20 minute drive from Norwich, and is sure to promise fun for any age.
Wroxham Barns
Image source: Michael Button via Flickr Creative Commons
Just a 5 minute drive from BeWILDerwood in Hoveton is Wroxham Barns, which has a wealth of activities for the younger set. At the Junior Farm you can feed rabbits, collect eggs from the hen house, groom ponies and much more – and for an overdose of cuteness don’t miss the lamb bottle feeding (every day at 11am, 1:30pm and 3:30pm until June)!
Ashmanhaugh Light Railway
Just past Wroxham Barns off the Stalham Road is the iconic Ashmanhaugh Light Railway, a private miniature railway set in the fields behind the East View Farm Holiday Cottages. This is sure to excite any young train enthusiast, so make sure you get to one of their Open Days (held on the first Sunday of the month from May until October).
Dinosaur Adventure
Image source: Dave Catchpole via Flickr Creative Commons
Did you know there are dinosaurs in Lenwade? Less than a 30 minute drive from Norwich city centre lies Dinosaur Adventure, a fantastic 85-acre outdoor theme park with loads of different activity areas. Get your feet wet in Dippy’s Splash Zone, walk the Dinosaur Trail (full of creatures like the big guy pictured above), or whiz through the sky on the Jurassic Skywire.
From trains to adventure golf to dinosaurs, there’s no shortage of things to do with the little ones in Norfolk.
Nice ! I live in Norwich and I’ll definitely go there with my kids ! I work in an events promotion company in London and I often go to family events with my kids, they will love the Dinosaur adventure !
Valentin – http://jorlio.com