Norwich mini break

A sunny start for our walk by the river

The train to Norwich from London is one of my favourite routes. The line is less busy, and coming home it was lovely and quiet. The countryside is lovely and we stop at places I want to get off at to have a look around. One day, I will.

Having unpacked at our hotel, we took a walk along the river, over the bridge and into the Cathedral area where we nipped into the Cathedral Refectory for tea and cake. This seemed to be the order of our holiday! We then ambled around the city, down alleyways, especiallyTombland. Norwich has an enormous number of churches, most of which are closed. We had hoped to see a few on our visit, but we couldn't find the open ones on our next walk. We did get lost a few times, which is normal for us.

Norwich Cathedral

A lovely cafe, former monastery and pub

On our first full day we visited Norwich Castle. Every time I'd been to Norwich in the past few years, part of the castle had been shut, but now it was fully open, and I can say they have made a good job of it. We went up to the top of the Keep, despite the wind, and enjoyed looking in the rooms. We then tackled the museum/art gallery part, which I had seen previously, before stopping for some lunch at the cafe there. By the time we finished, it was too late to fit much else in. We had booked to see Hamlet at the Theatre Royal that evening, which had an early start, so we returned to our hotel for an early dinner.

Norwich Castle

View from the Keep

Runic script

This version of Hamlet was set on a cruise ship. The lead actor was Ralph Davis (Royal Shakespeare Company). It was an interesting take on the play, though I'd not seen the play before so had no idea what to expect. The part of Hamlet must have been quite exhausting to play for the effort of expression. The words were often slower than other Shakespeare plays I've seen so easier to understand. It was an enjoyable performance with a little humour, and lots of mayhem, madness, revenge and mass murder! What more could you want?

The Assembly House

Norwich Castle

Our last day didn't start well. We decided to visit Strangers Hall, as my friend hadn't been there before. It was closed (always check the website before going!). After dithering somewhat we ended up in a cafe with hot chocolate and cake. See the pattern? We did more walking around the back roads and visited Tombland Books, where I made a purchase! We then made for the cathedral. I was meeting another friend (who lives there) in the Cathedral Refectory, but I started off in the cathedral before meeting my friend. Then we all had tea together before my friend went back to the cathedral, and I set off with my other friend who was my guide on a walk. We visited a small gallery, the Unitarian Church and the Catholic Cathedral.