North Norfolk Attractions - Visit North Norfolk

North Norfolk is home to a huge range of award-winning family-friendly outdoor and indoor attractions, to be enjoyed whatever time of year you visit, come rain or shine. See our highlights below and don't forget to download discount vouchers so you can have more fun for less!

Close to Nature Attractions

Amazona Zoo in Cromer, is home to over 200 animals from tropical South America including jaguars, monkeys, otters, snakes, owls, macaws and tapirs. The zoo has a 30ft yurt for learning and educational films and an expansive outdoor play area called Rainforest Springs with two large jumping pillows. There is also Jungle Tumbles, a large, well-equipped indoor play area. Enjoy watching the animals being fed, meet the zoo keepers and learn about the history of South America and the Rainforest.

Thrigby Hall. At home in the landscaped grounds of Thrigby Hall near Gt Yarmouth, is a special collection of rare animals from Asia. You will find endangered tigers, huge crocodiles, noisy gibbons and many more exciting animals. A unique network of raised walkways allows you to get up close and personal with these magnificent creatures.

SEA LIFE Hunstanton is Norfolk’s only seal sanctuary open to visitors and is home to over 2,000 creatures, including jaw dropping sharks, a giant green sea turtle, playful otters and Humboldt penguins with their very own penguin beach! Meet the team of friendly Rainforest Rangers for the chance to hold a snake, lizard or a giant creepy crawly from the deepest depths of the jungle. Enjoy the daily educational talks and feeding demonstrations where you can get closer than ever before to these amazing creatures and discover something new! 

Former home of BBC Springwatch, multiple award-winning Pensthorpe Natural Park in Fakenham is a modern-day nature reserve with a focus on inspiring the next generation to enjoy wildlife and the great outdoors. Let the children run wild around WildRootz, a nature-themed outdoor adventure playground and then head indoors to Hootz House where you can scuttle across rope bridges, climb ginormous tree towers and race down winding slides. Explore the nature-rich park and build a den, discover more about birds and complete the Hootz & Friends Discovery Trail.

With its diverse attractions and activities, Pensthorpe Natural Park offers a fully immersive day out for families, bird watchers, wildlife enthusiasts and garden lovers. 

Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden, South Walsham. Enjoy a beautiful natural woodland garden with ancient trees, more than 3.5 miles of paths and a private broad where you can take a boat trip. Visit in spring for candelabra primulas, bluebells, rhododendrons and azaleas; summer for hydrangeas and wild flowers; autumn for fabulous colours and fungi and winter for wonderful walks.

Take a boat trip on the private broad, daily (weather permitting) The 20 minute trip is perfect for little ones, or take a relaxing 50 minute cruise, great for wildlife watching. Stop off at the tearoom for delicious cakes, visit bird hides and enjoy a busy events programme.

Wroxham Barns is a popular day out for the whole family as it's the perfect destination with lots to see and do. Take a look around the free to enter independent shops, see local crafts and enjoy delicious food and drink. Everybody loves to meet the animals on the Junior Farm where there is an indoor play area, and there’s all the fun of the fair too with rides, slides, train, remote controls and ride-ons (for an all-inclusive price) and even an 18-hole adventure mini golf course.

Family Adventures

Roarr! Dinosaur Adventure. Enjoy a dinosaur-themed family day! Featuring Dippy’s Splash Zone with 31 water play features and Norfolk’s largest indoor play area ‘Dinomite’ with three levels of fun including climbing nets, bridges, ball pools right and three massive slides which go from gentle slopes to a terrifying vertical drop! You can also follow the Dinosaur Trail – with 85 acres and over 110 life-sized dinosaurs to discover.

For high wire adventures, whizz over to Predator High Ropes and go on the world's first parallel sky rails, an exhilirating high ropes adventure. Visit the Secret Animal Garden and take a walk through the park to spot the life-sized animatronic dinosaurs. And for younger visitors, there is Dippy-Ville, an indoor soft play area, where you can enjoy an interactive BEAM floor game.

Holkham Hall. Visit the magnificent 18th-century stately home and experience a fascinating day out. Surrounded by parkland rich in wildlife including a large free-roaming herd of Fallow Deer, visitors can enjoy nature trails and a beautiful six-acre walled garden. There's plenty of fun in the interactive Holkham Stories Experience with its tractor simulator and test your head for heights in the woodland play area and ropes course. Explore the landscape and Repton-designed lake by foot or hire a boat or bike.

Broads Tours. Join award-winning Broads Tours in Wroxham for a river trip in the Broads National Park. All trips include an entertaining live commentary covering the history, wildlife and other points of interest. For the independent explorer, Broads Tours also operates a fleet of self-drive dayboats and day cruisers.

Shopping, Artisans & Studios

Dalegate Market. Enjoy independent shopping, great food and drink, and local artisans and producers at Dalegate Market in Burnham Deepdale throughout the year. There are permanent shops, pop up shops that change weekly, the Deepdale café and special events all year round including a local artisan and producers. A fantastic north Norfolk coast hub, where you can relax, shop and meet with family and friends.

Alby Crafts & Gardens, Epringham. Spend a day among some of Norfolk's finest craftspeople surrounded by four acres of beautiful gardens and ponds. The brick and flint Norfolk farm buildings are also home to a gallery and gift shop, furniture showroom and tearooms. Situated at the edge of the beautiful Norfolk Broads and a short distance to the north Norfolk coast, Alby Crafts & Gardens has been established for over thirty years. During that time, it has been home to many resident craftpeople who run a range of workshops from basket weaving to sculpture courses, to linoprint to learning mosaic techniques.

Langham Glass. Experience a fascinating live glassmaking demonstration with informative commentary from the expert glassmaking team. You can also create your very own glass masterpiece ranging from tealights to glasses and vases. Langham Glass runs half and full day glassmaking courses. 

History & Exhibitions

Bure Valley Railway. Experience a nostalgic trip by steam on Norfolk’s longest narrow-gauge railway which runs between the market town of Aylsham and bustling town of Wroxham, at the heart of the Norfolk Broads. The 18-mile round trip (45 mins) runs through beautiful Bure Valley countryside following the River Bure through meadowland and pasture, passing through the picturesque Broadland villages of Brampton, Buxton and Coltishall.

Wroxham Miniature Worlds. Visit the UK’s largest indoor modelling attraction stretching over 10,000 square feet and see some of the largest model railways in the world! Admire the different ‘worlds’ of model railways, slot car displays, a whole city made from Lego bricks, model boat displays and a host of toys from across the decades. Enjoy the vintage penny arcade, interactive flight simulators, train simulators and more new railway layouts; some of which you can drive yourself.

Muckleburgh Collection.  The museum located on the site of the Second World War and post-war Weybourne Anti Aircraft Training Camp. Today, the site still has a RAF radar receiving station and is the location of the University of East Anglia Weybourne Atmospheric Observatory and a Metrological Station. The museum has over 150 artillery pieces, tanks and other vehicles, most of which are in working order. The museum is home to The Suffolk and Norfolk Yeomanry collection, the North Norfolk Amateur Radio Group and numerous special displays. 

Visitors an enjoy rides in a military vehicle or take a tank driving session in a FV432. Among the 25 working tanks are Panzer P-68, Chieftain and Stuart M5A1, Soviet T-55 and Canadian-built Sherman tank. 

Museum of the Broads. A unique day out is a visit to the only museum of Broadland life at the historic Stalham Staithe.  Discover iconic boats, the landscape and wildlife, see how people lived and worked, and find out how invaders and windpumps shaped the Broads.  Take a river trip on a steamboat, or on the accessible, electric boat. Take a picnic or buy drinks, ice creams and snacks to enjoy by the river. There are events, trails and activities for all ages and families. Dogs are all welcome.

Thursford Steam Museum. Take a look around the world’s largest collection of steam engines and organs. Listen to Robert Wolfe, one of the world's leading theatre organists, play the mighty Wurlitzer at 12.30pm and 2pm daily, ride on a fairground carousel and gondola (subject to availability and extra charge) and watch silent movies. Pack up a picnic or enjoy a bite to eat in the cafe with homemade food and Thursford's own blend of coffee. Go gift shopping in the ‘Olde Worlde’ shopping village and there is a fantastic play area for children of all ages.

North Norfolk Railway. Take a journey back in time on one of the UK's great five heritage railways, The Poppy Line. Enjoy a spectacular scenic ride from Sheringham,  along the coast to Weybourne, and through the heathland to Holt. Enjoy unlimited hop on, hop off travel all day with rover tickets and discover hidden gems such as the William Marriott Museum, meticulously crafted model railways, buffets, souvenir shops, and the picturesque stations themselves.