Places to visit in the East of England
East of England
Audley End House & Park (English Heritage)
Audley End, Saffron Walden
Tel: 01799 522399
www.english-heritage.org.uk
A palatial Jacobean house remodelled in the 18th-19th centuries with a magnificent great hall with 17th century plaster ceilings. Rooms and furniture by Robert Adam and park by 'Capability' Brown.
Banham Zoo
Banham, Norwich
Tel: 01953 887771
www.banhamzoo.co.uk
Wildlife spectacular which will take you on a journey to experience tigers, leopards and zebra and some of the world's most exotic, rare and endangered species.
Barleylands Farm
Barleylands Road, Billericay
Tel: 01268 290229
www.barleylandsfarm.co.uk
Visitor centre with a rural museum, animal centre, craft studios, blacksmith's shop, glass-blowing studio with a viewing gallery, miniature steam railway and a restaurant.
Blickling Hall
(National Trust)
Blickling, Norwich
Tel: 01263 738030
www.nationaltrust.org.uk
A Jacobean redbrick mansion with garden, orangery, parkland and lake. There is also a display of fine tapestries and furniture.
Bressingham Steam Experience & Gardens
Bressingham, Diss
Tel: 01379 686900
www.bressingham.co.uk
Steam rides through 4 miles of woodland. Six acres of the Island Beds plant centre. Main line locomotives, the Victorian Gallopers and over 50 steam engines.
Bure Valley Railway
Aylsham Station, Norwich
Tel: 01263 733858
www.bvrw.co.uk
A 15-inch narrow-gauge steam railway covering 9 miles of track from Wroxham in the heart of the Norfolk Broads to the bustling market town of Aylsham.
Colchester Castle
Castle Park, Colchester
Tel: 01206 282939
www.colchestermuseums.org.uk
A Norman keep on the foundations of a Roman temple. The archaeological material includes much on Roman Colchester (Camulodunum).
Colchester Zoo
Stanway, Colchester
Tel: 01206 331292
www.colchester-zoo.co.uk
Zoo with 200 species and some of the best cat and primate collections in the UK, 60 acres of gardens and lakes, award-winning animal enclosures and picnic areas.
Ely Cathedral
The College, Ely
Tel: 01353 667735
www.ely.org.uk/cath.htm
One of England's finest cathedrals with guided tours and tours of the Octagon and West Tower, monastic precincts and also a brass rubbing centre and Stained Glass Museum.
Fritton Lake Country World
Fritton, Great Yarmouth
Tel: 01493 488208
www.frittonlake.co.uk
A 250-acre centre with a children's assault course, putting, an adventure playground, golf, fishing, boating, wildfowl, heavy horses, cart rides, falconry and flying displays.
The Gardens of The Rose
Chiswell Green, St Albans
Tel: 01727 850461
www.roses.co.uk
The Royal National Rose Society's Garden with 27 acres of garden and trail grounds for new varieties of rose. 30,000 roses of all types and 1,700 different varieties are on display.
Hatfield House, Park & Gardens
Hatfield
Tel: 01707 287010
www.hatfield-house.co.uk
Magnificent Jacobean house, home of the Marquess of Salisbury. Exquisite gardens, model soldiers and park trails. Childhood home of Queen Elizabeth I.
Hedingham Castle
Castle Hedingham, Halstead
Tel: 01787 460261
www.hedinghamcastle.co.uk
The finest Norman keep in England, built in 1140 by the deVeres, Earls of Oxford. Visited by Kings Henry VII and VIII and Queen Elizabeth I and besieged by King John.
Holkham Hall
Wells-next-the-Sea
Tel: 01328 710806
www.holkham.co.uk
A classic 18th century Palladian-style mansion. Part of a great agricultural estate and a living treasure house of artistic and architectural history along with a bygones collection.
Ickworth House, Park & Gardens(National Trust)
Horringer, Bury St Edmunds
Tel: 01284 735270
www.nationaltrust.org.uk
An extraordinary oval house with flanking wings, begun in 1795. Fine paintings, a beautiful collection of Georgian silver, an Italian garden and stunning parkland.
Imperial War Museum
Duxford, Cambridge
Tel: 01223 835000
www.iwm.org.uk
Almost 200 aircraft on display with tanks, vehicles and guns, an adventure playground, shops and a restaurant.
Kentwell Hall
Long Melford, Sudbury
Tel: 01787 310207
www.kentwell.co.uk
Tudor manor house, still a lived-in family home. Winner of the '2001 Heritage Building of the Year' in the Good Britain Guide.
Knebworth House, Gardens & House
Knebworth, Stevenage
Tel: 01438 812661
www.knebworthhouse.com
Tudor manor house, re-fashioned in the 19th century, housing a collection of manuscripts, portraits and Jacobean banquet hall. Formal gardens, parkland and adventure playground.
Leighton Buzzard Railway
Page's Park Station, Leighton Buzzard
Tel: 01525 373888
www.buzzrail.co.uk
An authentic narrow-gauge light railway, built in 1919, offering a 65-minute return journey into the Bedfordshire countryside.
Marsh Farm Country Park
South Woodham Ferrers, Chelmsford
Tel: 01245 321552
www.marshfarmcountrypark.co.uk
A farm centre with sheep, a pig unit, free-range chickens, milking demonstrations, an indoor and outdoor adventure play areas, nature reserve, walks, picnic area and pet's corner.
Melford Hall (National Trust)
Long Melford, Sudbury
Tel: 01787 880286
www.nationaltrust.org.uk
/eastanglia
Turreted brick Tudor mansion with 18th century and Regency interiors. Collection of Chinese porcelain, gardens and a walk in the grounds. Dogs on leads, where permitted.
National Horseracing Museum & Tours
99 High Street, Newmarket
Tel: 01638 667333
www.nhrm.co.uk
Award-winning display of the people and horses involved in racing's amazing history. Minibus tours to gallops, stables and equine pool. Hands-on gallery with horse simulator.
National Stud
Newmarket
Tel: 01638 663464
www.nationalstud.co.uk
A conducted tour which includes top thoroughbred stallions, mares and foals, and gives an insight into the day-to-day running of a modern stud farm.
Pleasurewood Hills Leisure Park
Corton, Lowestoft
Tel: 01502 586000
www.pleasurewoodhills.co.uk
Tidal wave watercoaster, log flume, chairlift, 2 railways, pirate ship, parrot/sealion shows, go-karts and rattlesnake coaster. Mega-Drop Tower and new circus theatre shows.
Norfolk Lavender Limited
Heacham, King's Lynn
Tel: 01485 570384
www.norfolk-lavender.co.uk
Find out how lavender is distilled from the flowers and the oil made into a wide range of gifts. There is a slide show when the distillery is not working.
Norwich Cathedral
62 The Close, Norwich
Tel: 01603 218321
www.cathedral.org.uk
A Norman cathedral from 1096 with 14th century roof bosses depicting bible scenes from Adam and Eve to the Day of Judgement, cloisters, cathedral close, shop and restaurant.
Oliver Cromwell's House
29 St Mary's Street, Ely
Tel: 01353 662062
www.ely.org.uk/tic.htm
The family home of Oliver Cromwell with a 17th century kitchen, parlour, a haunted bedroom, a Tourist Information Centre, souvenirs and gift shop.
Peter Beales Roses
London Road, Attleborough
Tel: 01953 454707
www.classicroses.co.uk
2.5-acre rose garden displaying most of the company's collection of 1200 varieties of roses, plus the national collection of Rosa species.
Pleasure Beach
South Beach Parade, Great Yarmouth
Tel: 01493 844585
www.pleasure-beach.co.uk
Rollercoaster, Terminator, log flume, Twister, monorail, galloping horses, caterpillar, ghost train and fun house. Height restrictions are in force on some rides.
The Royal Air Force Air Defence Radar Museum
RAF Neatishead, Norwich
Tel: 01692 633309
www.neatishead.raf.mod.uk
History of the development and use of radar in the UK and overseas from 1935 to date. Winner of the Regional Visitor Attraction (under 100,000 visitors). National Silver Award.
RSPB Minsmere Nature Reserve
Westleton, Saxmundham
Tel: 01728 648281
www.rspb.org.uk
RSPB reserve on Suffolk coast with bird-watching hides and trails, year-round events and guided walk and visitor centre with large shop and welcoming tearoom.
Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts
University of East Anglia, Norwich
Tel: 01603 593199
www.uea.ac.uk/scva
Housing the Sainsbury Collection of works by artists such as Picasso, Bacon and Henry Moore alongside many objects of pottery and art from across time and cultures.
Sandringham
Sandringham, King's Lynn
Tel: 01553 612908
http://www.sandringhamestate.co.uk
The country retreat of HM The Queen. A delightful house and 60 acres of grounds and lakes. There is also a museum of royal vehicles and royal memorabilia.
Shuttleworth Collection
Old Warden Aerodrome, Biggleswade
Tel: 01767 627288
www.shuttleworth.org
A unique historical collection of aircraft from a 1909 Bleriot to a 1942 Spitfire in flying condition and cars dating from an 1898 Panhard in running order.
Somerleyton Hall & Gardens
Somerleyton, Lowestoft
Tel: 01502 730224
www.somerleyton.co.uk
Early Victorian stately mansion in Anglo-Italian style, with lavish features and fine state rooms. Beautiful 12-acre gardens, with historic Yew hedge maze, gift shop.
Stondon Museum
Henlow
Tel: 01462 850339
www.transportmuseum.co.uk
A museum with transport exhibits from the early 1900s to the 1980s. The largest private collection in England of bygone vehicles from the beginning of the century.
Wimpole Hall & Home Farm (National Trust)
Arrington, Royston
Tel: 01223 207257
www.wimpole.org
An 18th century house in a landscaped park with a folly, Chinese bridge, plunge bath and yellow drawing room in the house, the work of John Soane. Home Farm has rare breeds centre.
Woburn Abbey
Woburn, Milton Keynes
Tel: 01525 290666
www.woburnabbey.co.uk
An 18th century Palladian mansion, altered by Henry Holland, the Prince Regent's architect, containing a collection of English silver, French and English furniture and art.
Woburn Safari Park
Woburn, Milton Keynes
Tel: 01525 290407
www.woburnsafari.co.uk
Drive through the safari park with 30 species of animals in natural groups just a windscreen's width away plus the action-packed Wild World Leisure Area.