Coffee & Catch-up - Routes for Little Boots

West Stow Country Park

Dipping our toes over the border into Suffolk! What a great place. We were looking for a cheap afternoon out – this was spot on. We opted for the fab Beowulf and Grendel Trail (1.5km). There are six large themed carved sculptures and information boards that capture the story as well as info about the […]

Gooderstone Water Gardens & Nature Trail

This is a charming, short walk for kids in six acres of beautiful gardens, with ponds, bridges and nature in abundance. Just south of Swaffham, the site also has waterways, bridges connecting the different areas, beautiful trees, shrubs and borders, a nature trail, tea room and facilities. It’s a lovely little place – lush and […]

Holkham Hall Nature Trail

(Last visited May 2021) If we go for a family walk, we usually try to explore lesser-known places. However, although we know Holkham well, a new nature trail was opened around the lake in April 2021 so we thought we’d pay it a visit! The trail is a 2.5 mile loop around the lake with […]

Norfolk Lavender

(Last visited June 2021) We saw this when looking up Visit North Norfolk’s dementia friendly walks, and realising the lavender was about to pop out, we headed up to Heacham at the weekend to have a look! We were still a tad early (end of June) but the lavender was starting to come out. Nevertheless, our […]

Spixworth

We went along this lovely short walk with friends and loved it. It’s a good length for toddlers and, although the path is quite stony in places, it’s nice and flat so most pushchairs should cope with it. The bluebell carpets in the woods were lovely and the woodland walk was gorgeous with the sun […]

Salhouse Broad

I love this spot – one of the first places we discovered when she was a tot and it’s been much improved in recent years. Fabulous trees on the lead up to the Broad, accessible paths and beautiful views over the water. And ducks. The addition of the Hungry Otter van is great. It’s at […]

Horstead Mill

(Last visited March 2018) This is a great little pub walk and the The Recruiting Sergeant has a link to it on the ‘local walks’ section on their website. Some sections are next to roads so with my live wire I had to be super vigilant when we visited a few years ago, but the […]

Thornham and Holme

(Last visited June 2019) I absolutely love it here. Both can be found along a really accessible stretch of the Norfolk Coast Path and are fantastic if you’re into your nature. At Holme there is the nature reserve, with a coffee shop, toilets, car park and access to the beach. The coast path here has […]

Sandringham Estate Country Park

Sandringham Estate Country Park is probably one of my favourite discoveries. I think it might be the one place that has everything – nice café, parking, pushchair friendly, play area, woodland walks of different lengths, sculptures, trees to climb on, baby change, gift shop, free entry (although there are car park charges), dog friendly… I […]

Secret Garden, How Hill

We absolutely adored this walk. We parked at the main car park (not the one at the house which is reserved for guests) – the walk starts just behind the house. It starts off as a lovely little woodland walk and tucked away further on is the secret garden – a beautiful little boarded walk […]

Oxburgh Hall

(Last visited July 2021) What a beauty! Beautiful snowdrops in the spring, beautiful place full stop. We had a stunning walk around here. Some gorgeous carpets of snowdrops in My Lady’s Wood and the area by the chapel. And a fantastic ancient oak and other cracking trees along the woodland walk. Lots of accessible paths […]

Holt Country Park

(Last visited January 2020) There are few places that tick all the boxes but this is one of them. I love it here. We have an amazing time every time we visit – it took us forever to walk round the last time as we had about 4000 stoppages for a 4-year-old to engage with […]

Wensum Walk, Norwich

(Last visited February 2020) Norwich is a medieval city that retains cobbled streets, ancient buildings and half-timbered houses. Meandering through its centre is the River Wensum – a tributary to the Rive Yare which has historical significance as a means of transport for goods and trade.This is a short but pretty walk along the River […]

Alby Crafts & Gardens

(Last visited February 2020) I have visited here before but only to the tearoom – in February 2020, I had the chance to visit the four acre garden too. What a little gem! This is a perfect stop along the A140 between Aylsham and Cromer. The Artisan Café is utterly fab, there is a gift […]

Sparham Pools

(Last visited August 2020) A beautiful little spot about 20 minutes or so out of Norwich in the pretty little village of Lyng. It’s a Norfolk Wildlife Trust nature reserve which also runs alongside the Norfolk Trails Wensum Way. The reserve itself isn’t large and is approximately one mile route around a former gravel pit […]

Poringland Community Woodland

Introducing Penelope! 🐍 When we went to Poringland Woods a few weeks prior to visiting here, quite a few people mentioned the other woodland in Poringland… and Penelope! Penelope is a pebble snake that the community have lovingly created and added to over time – she’s pretty long now. The kids loved looking at all […]

Taverham Mill

(Last visited September 2020) I never tire of this place. Covid has meant the blue route we usually take around the lake is now closed for walkers and just open for fishing, so we had to take the longer red route for the first time… Although it is lovely, it’s not quite as magical as […]

Holkham

(Last visited October 2020) We’re usually off finding lesser-known places, but I love returning to the summer honeypots in the autumn and winter when it’s quieter. So many people know Holkham well, but if you haven’t been for a while, the Lookout is a great addition – my husband has a disability and having some […]

Kelling Heath

(Last visited September 2020) I’ve known of Kelling Heath for years but didn’t realise that a) it had so many walking trails and b) that you didn’t have to be staying there to visit them! I wanted to meet some friends with a 6-month old baby so wanted to find somewhere that had facilities – […]

Chedgrave Staithe

(Last visited August 2020) I’ve had a lot of chats with people recently about wheelchair accessible walks and am determined to find more. I’ve been directing people to the Norfolk Trails Access Tested routes – and this is one of them, as I wanted to give it a go (you can find it under the […]

Lynford Arboretum

I’ve been meaning to go here for ages and I’m so glad we did eventually visit! It’s a great set of managed trails – one of which is an access-tested trail with good surfaces. There are three trails to choose from – we did a mash-up of all three and there are some lovely beauty […]

Trowse Woods

(Last visited August 2020) A lovely little wood off Whitlingham Lane – I must have driven past it on the way to Whitlingham so many times and not noticed it! Just over a mile round but definitely “undulating” to put it gently! Some quite steep climbs. Which, of course, my daughter loved and proceeded to […]

The UEA Broad

(Last visited August 2020) This is an absolutely stunning walk! So many different routes to explore off it too. In 2020, the UEA created an official set of waymarked trails to follow called ‘Active Campus’ for students and visitors to explore the campus and learn about its history and heritage, with each trail varying in its […]

Brandon Country Park

(Last visited June 2019) LOVED IT! This had been recommended to me again and again and I’m so pleased we finally made it there! We tagged it onto a mini break to Center Parcs as it’s only 5 mins down the road and I was in need of a walk away from the crowds. It’s […]

Castle Acre

Castle Acre is a little gem of a place in West Norfolk and I can’t recommend it highly enough! Aside from being really special to me (it’s where my husband proposed and where my distant relatives lived for generations!), it is steeped in history with both castle and priory ruins, but also has some great […]

Ranworth

This is a beautiful place and perfect for a family walk at any time of the year… but it comes alive in the summer! I’ve been coming here since I was a child and I never get bored of it. There is much on offer and I am seeing it with a new set of […]