Great Days Out in Norfolk & Suffolk 2016

Norfolk Tourist Attractions’ Association (NTAA) launched the 2016 Great Days Out in Norfolk & Suffolk booklet at the Sealife Centre and Merrivale Model Village Great Yarmouth, on Tuesday, March 8. The launch featured a costumed characters and mascots race celebrating English Tourism Week, won by the Sealife Centre’s Shaky the Shark.  

Norfolk and Suffolk’s attractions continue to invest in new projects and events. Sealife Centre Great Yarmouth is opening Turtle Shelter, a themed exhibit featuring turtles in their natural habitat. Merrivale Model Village has installed the Merri Eye, a 12ft high observation wheel for the resident ‘Merrivalians’.

King’s Lynn’s stunning new heritage attraction, Stories of Lynn, opens at Easter, telling the stories of seafarers, explorers, merchants, mayors, magistrates and miscreants who have shaped the town. The project was made possible by a grant of £1,850,600 from the Heritage Lottery Fund, £800,000 from the Borough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk, and investments from other funders.  Holkham Hall is transforming former stables and pottery buildings in a £4.5million project to create new and improved visitors facilities including an exhibition telling the story of Holkham’s unique farming heritage.

The Great Days Out booklet features 53 quality assured attractions across Norfolk and Suffolk and £285 of discount vouchers The booklet offers an unrivalled menu of activities from boat trips on the Broads, theme parks, world famous museum collections and country houses and gardens to zoos and animal collections, heritage railways, top draw live shows and much more.

New members in the 2016 booklet are Beccles Lido and Big Dog Ferry, Fakenham Racecourse, Richardson’s Day Boats and Stories of Lynn. 

Some 400,000 booklets will be distributed across the six counties of the East of England. Great Days Out in Norfolk & Suffolk can also be downloaded from www.norfolktouristattractions.co.uk.

Martin Dupée, Chairman NTAA and Visit Suffolk Attractions said: “All is set for a fantastic year at Norfolk and Suffolk attractions. The Great Days Out booklet features 53 excellent  reasons for day trips and short breaks in the region. Our good news includes the Stories of Lynn at King’s Lynn, Holkham Hall’s farming exhibition and Courtyard Cafe and Dippy’s Splash Zone at Dinosaur Adventure. And we are proud to number Cromer Pier in our ranks, Pier of the Year 2015 and home to Europe’s only end of the pier show.”                                                                                            

“It’s great to see both large and smaller attractions continuing to invest in new facilities and innovative events, improving the visitor experience and giving a boost to our £4.8 billion tourism economy in Norfolk and Suffolk.”  

Further information about new projects 

Church Farm, Stow Bardolph is expanding the indoor play area for under 5s in time for Easter and will add a new pedal tractor trail in the outdoor play area by early summer, www.churchfarmstowbardolph.co.uk

City Sightseeing Norwich will be fully accessible for visitors with disabilities from May. www.awayadays.com

Dippy’s Splash Zone at Dinosaur Adventure launches with Dippy’s Splash Zone Party from May 28 to June 5. www.dinosauradventure.co.uk 

Holkham Hall: New exhibition opening in 2016 telling the unique story of Holkham’s farming heritage, plus Courtyard Cafe and shop; and in the hall a special exhibition, ‘Remembering the 7th Earl of Leicester 1936-2015’. www.holkham.co.uk 

Merrivale Model Village has installed the Merri Eye, a 12ft high observation wheel for the resident ‘Merrivalians’ and new ‘X-Factor’ stage. www.merrivalemodelvillage.co.uk

Pleasurewood Hills  new Waveswinger attraction, opening date to be confirmed.
The Main Street area of the park is being refurbsihed with improved décor and changes to two food outlets which will be renamed Smokey Joes and Sharkies Fish & Chips. Woodycopters and the Mini Twister have been relocated, complemented with extensive landscaping.  www.pleasurewoodhills.com

Sealife Centre Great Yarmouth: Turtle Shelter is a new themed exhibit featuring turtles in their natural habitat. The walls will be adorned with interactive and educational elements describing the 200-million year history of these reptiles. www.visitsealife.com/great-yarmouth 

Snettisham Park new for 2016, children’s pony treks and rides www.snettishampark.co.uk

Stories of Lynn: King’s Lynn’s stunning new heritage attraction Stories of Lynn opens this Easter.  Telling the stories of seafarers, explorers, merchants, mayors, magistrates and miscreants who have shaped the town, the exhibition along with the borough archives cover more than 800 years of history.

Set within the atmospheric 15th-century undercroft of the magnificent Trinity Guildhall and parts of the old town gaol, the exhibition features exciting new audio-visual and interactive displays along with a host of artefacts, exhibits and treasures.  The King John Cup, a lavishly decorated 14th-century drinking vessel, takes pride of place, set within the dark, dramatic Treasury.  Housed within Stories of Lynn are the borough archives – a unique collection of documents dating back to the 13th Century which tell their own stories of the townspeople.  The Red Register, the oldest complete paper archival book in England, is the centrepiece of the collection. www.kingslynntownhall.com/stories-of-lynn