Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Where to Stay
De Vere Dunston Hall It has all the style of an Elizabethan mansion with
tall brick chimneys and red-brick gables, but this 19th-century mansion-turned-hotel
is a 21st-century dream of elegant comfort. It even has its own golf course on the
grounds. There are wonderful four-poster bedrooms, large family rooms, and attic
hideaways plus a spa with nice pool and three restaurants.
Ipswich Rd., Norwich, Norfolk NR14 8PQ. www.devere.co.uk. &   01508/470444. Fax 01508/470689.
169 units. From £109 double. AE, MC, V. Free parking. Amenities: 3 restaurants; bar; bikes; 18-hole golf
course; hot tub; indoor pool; sauna; steam room; spa; gym. In room: TV, hair dryer, Wi-Fi (free).
Maids Head Hotel In business since 1272, the Maids Head may well be the old-
est continuously operated hotel in the U.K.; certainly Elizabeth I is said to have
stayed here, and the four-poster Queen Elizabeth I Suite is very popular. The hotel is
a mix of Elizabethan and Georgian architectural styles, and many bedrooms have oak
beams, but there's nothing old-fashioned about the decor. You'll find the hotel oppo-
site the cathedral, and you don't have to stay the night to use the Maids Head Bar,
where Norfolk hero Horatio Nelson once drank.
Tombland, Norwich, Norfolk NR3 1LB. www.maidsheadhotel.co.uk. &   01603/209955. Fax 01603/
613688. 84 units. From £89 double. AE, MC, V. Free parking. Amenities: Restaurant; bar; room service.
In room: TV, hair dryer, Wi-Fi (free).
13
THE NORFOLK BROADS
Wroxham: 7 miles NE of Norwich
The Norfolk Broads were created by locals cutting peat for fuel between the 12th and
14th centuries. Whether you're messing about with boats, walking past the reed beds
and cow fields, or just sitting at a waterside pub watching the world go by, the Norfolk
Broads are a unique holiday destination. The Broads are Britain's largest protected
wetlands, its third largest inland waterway, and in 1989 they became the Broads
National Park ( &   01603/610734; www.broads-authority.gov.uk). The lake-like
waterways linked by the rivers Bure, Waveney, and Yare are to the east of Norwich,
and along the county's coastal border with Suffolk. The Broads cover 124 miles of
navigable waterways, which you can explore with your own boat, by taking a day-trip
or by hiring a boat for a day or more. As you sail lazily through the waterways you'll
spot alder trees, willows, and birch along the riverbanks and marshes, which are
home to rare plants and animals. Wroxham, on the River Bure, is regarded as the
capital of the Broads and is a good base for exploring the area.
Essentials
GETTING THERE Trains (NXEA) from London's Liverpool Street Station go to
Norwich; trains from Norwich to Hoveton and Wroxham station take 15 minutes; the
full journey takes 2 1 2 hours and costs £45. Traveline buses ( &   0871/2002233;
www.travelineeastanglia.org.uk) cover all of Norfolk. If you're driving from Norwich
take the A1151 to Wroxham.
VISITOR INFORMATION Broads Information Centre at Hoveton/Wroxham,
Station Road ( &   01603/7560970 ), is open Easter to October, daily 9am to 1pm and
2 to 5pm. Other offices are at Potter Heigham, Ranworth, and Whitlingham.
 
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