Did You Know?

Norfolk has the most number of churches with round towers in the country. Norfolk 125, Suffolk 42, Essex 7, Sussex 3, Cambridgeshire 2, Berkshire 2.

Howard Carter the archaeologist who discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen grew up in Swaffham

Nelson's Birthplace. Horatio Nelson was born in Burnham Thorpe, where his father was rector, and he learnt to sail at nearby Burnham Overy Staithe. Nelson of course went on to become the greatest naval commander this country has ever seen.

North Norfolk is one of the few places in the UK where you can see the northern lights, or aurora borealis. Kelling Heath and Wiveton Downs, both have Dark Sky Discovery Status, which means the area is unaffected by light pollution.

Norwich Cathedral's construction commenced in 1096. However, the Cathedral was not finally consecrated until 1278

The Blickling Pyramid. It’s quite unusal to find a pyramid in north Norfolk, but you can find one here! Built as a mausoleum, in 1794 for the 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, the pyramid can be seen in the Great Wood at the National Trust’s Blickling Estate.

When the Romans came to Norfolk in AD46, Great Yarmouth didn’t exist – it hadn’t yet been established by longshore drift. Now its beaches are a great place to go roamin’.

Castle Rising, a Norman fortress was built around 1140.

The Queen's Country Retreat. North Norfolk is home to the Queen’s country retreat, Sandringham; the Royal Family’s only private home and estate in England. And when unoccupied by Royalty, Sandringham is open to the public. .

Cromer on the Norfolk coast is home to the last end-of-pier theatre offering a full summer season, just like piers used to do. While Cromer Pier has suffered its fair share of weather-related incidents (a rig crashed into it in 1993 and cut off the theatre from the pier.

North Walsham market cross was originally built in the 16th Century.

Norfolk coast was the first area of Britain settled in by prehistoric mankind, roughly 1.2 million years ago. An axe found near the early British settlement of Happisburgh forced archaeologists to reassess their understanding of human activity and adjust their historical timeline significantly. The axe was almost 200,000 years older than any other previously discovered artefact!

In fact, the earliest evidence of mankind found outside of Africa was discovered in Norfolk: 850,000-year-old footprints at Happisburgh!

The Chalk Reef located just off Sheringham and Cromer is the longest in the world. Yep, you read that correctly!, It’s over 100,000 million years old and covers approximately 20 miles. We can imagine you weren’t expecting this to be one our fun facts.

In 1963 the Grosvenor Rooms on Prince of Wales Road, Norwich played host to a Beatles gig.