Norfolk Motorcycle Museum
Norfolk Motorcycle Museum.
Station Yard, Norwich Road, North Walsham, Norfolk, NR28 0DS.
Tel: 01692 406266.
Situated in North Walsham Railway Station Yard, the Norfolk Motorcycle Museum is a unique and wonderfully authentic display of motorcycle history dating back over the past 100 years.
The museum is family run by enthusiasts whose passion for and knowledge on the subject of motorcycles is immediately clear.
Inside, the collection includes over 100 motorcycles, dating from the 1900s to the 1980s, with examples covering almost every significant part of motorcycle history. There are also scooters, mortised choppers, pushbikes and all manner of motor biking accessories and memorabilia. There is also a display of early Dinky and other die cast toys dating from the mid-1940s.
Offering a fascinating visual (multi-sensory in fact – the heady and somewhat addictive fragrance of leathers and engine oil is all around you) journey through the history of the Motorbike, Norfolk Motorcycle Museum is a must for anyone with an interest in these impressive and often beautiful machines.
Alongside the exhibits you will see bona fide restoration work going on. The museum undertakes private restoration work, supplying both original and replica spare parts from wheels to forks for all makes of early motorbike.
Entrance £3.50 (Snr Citizens £3), Children £1.50.
Open 7 days a week 10am-4.30pm (Closed on Sundays October-Easter).
Doodle Pots Ceramic Cafe
Doodle Pots Ceramic Café.
1A New Street, Holt, Norfolk, NR25 6JJ.
Tel: 01263 713135.
Imagine a place open to everyone – the very young to the very old, that combines the relaxed vibe of a café with the facilities to let you unleash your most artistic tendencies. Doodle Pots is such a place.
Located just off the main High Street in Holt, Doodle Pots Ceramic Café is based on a simple, but appealing philosophy: choose a piece of pottery, decorate it with your own design (go on, go wild!) and then once it is fired and glazed (process takes 3-4 days•) you can take it home to display in all its glory. Remember when your Parents first hung a picture you did on the wall when you were 4 years old? Well imagine recapturing that feeling now. And if you have your own 4 year old, let them unleash their inner Bernard Leach so you can display their fabulous creation with pride. All while sipping a delicious Lavazza cappuccino (you, not the child).
Doodle Pots has heaps of colours, brushes and stencils to select from, as well as books and, of course, the friendly and enthusiastic Café staff.
If you’re visiting the area briefly or want to make something you can take home the same day, you can ‘Make and Take’. Try your hand with mosaics or use acrylics on pottery. The technique of Decopatch allows you to revamp any old object (furniture, photo frames, dishes, trinket boxes…) by covering it with beautiful paper and varnish to create a stunning, long-lasting finish. Recycling never looked so elegant.
Doodle Pots also hosts Children’s parties, Office/Corporate sessions and Hen Parties. Doodle Pots can come to you for parties, youth groups or fund raising events. Please contact Rachel on 01263 713135 for more information.
Doodle Pots also offers a Baby/Toddler Hand and Footprint service to capture those tiny baby hand and footprints forever. The perfect gift for Mothers/Fathers Day or for adoring Grandparents.
Open Mon-Sat 10am-5pm (plus Sundays during the summer).
Group booking at other times.
Closed Thursdays Sept-May during school term time.
Booking is advised during school holidays to avoid disappointment.
*don’t worry – Doodle Pots can also post your creation safely in enough bubble wrap to keep your kids entertained all year!
Bircham Windmill
Bircham Windmill.
Great Bircham, Norfolk, PE31 6SJ.
Tel: 01485 578393.
Found only a few miles from Sandringham and Hunstanton in North-West Norfolk, Bircham Windmill is considered to be one of the best remaining examples of a British Windmill. It is also the only working windmill in the area to be open to the public. Brave visitors can ascend the five floors to the fan stage and, on windy days, you can see the sails and milling machinery turning.
Carefully restored to look just as it did over a Century ago, a visit to Bircham Windmill offers the rare opportunity to experience the history and character of a Norfolk Corn Mill – a phenomenon that was once prolific in this region.
On site is also the original bakery and a baking shop, from which the inimitable smell of freshly baked bread will welcome you if you’re lucky enough to visit on a baking day. The baking shop sells various flours, fresh bread, scones and cakes as well as baking paraphernalia, recipe books and much more. ‘Children’s Baking Corner’ enables children to bake some bread to take home for tea (£2 per child).
Also for Children (and grown-up animal lovers of course!) are the adorable Falabella miniature horses, sheep, pygmy goats, chickens and guinea pigs. With the opportunity to meet the animals and an Under 7’s play area, you can relax in the Mill garden while your kids play.
Bircham Windmill also has Tea Rooms (serving home made cakes, scones and light lunches along with their famous Clotted Cream Teas), an Art Gallery (with a different artist each month), Gift Shop, Family Cycle Hire Centre and trails and walks around the Mill for cyclists and walkers.
With so much to do and enjoy, most of which is free and can be accessed separately to the Mill itself, Bircham Windmill is a novel day out in Norfolk that will appeal to all members of the family.
FREE ENTRY into Tea Rooms & Gardens.
Entry to Windmill: Adults £3.85, Retired £3.10, Children 4-15 yrs £2.00. Season tickets also available.
Open daily from April 3rd 2012 – September 30th 2012 10am-5pm.
Dogs are welcome on leads.
Disabled parking & toilet facilities on site. All ground floor areas are wheelchair accessible.
The Mo – Sheringham Museum
The Mo – Sheringham Museum.
Lifeboat Plain, Sheringham, Norfolk, NR26 8BG.
Tel: 01263 824482.
Fittingly located on the seafront in Sheringham’s east end, The Mo (named after a girl called Morag who lived over 130 years ago) is a commentary and celebration to the extraordinary heritage of this coastal town.
Looking very ‘new’ and modern – The Mo opened in March 2010, it offers a glimpse into the past with a display about the towns history, including the growth of its popularity as a seaside resort in late Victorian times.
Obviously, the town’s history would be very spartan without a nod to the sea, and the fishing industry that has played a huge part in the development and continued growth of Sheringham. The need for lifeboats became important to a community so reliant on the sea, and Sheringham is the only community in the world to possess four of its original lifeboats. The Mo houses a collection of lifeboats and fishing vessels among other displays that reflects the town’s origins as a fishing village that specialised in crabs and whelks.
From the circular viewing platform, enjoy fantastic views over Sheringham as it is now and beyond. There is also a museum shop well stocked with gifts, souvenirs and works by local artists and craftspeople.
There is ample parking nearby.
Open February Half term 11th-19th February. Main Season 19th March to 4th November 2012, Tues-Sat, 10am-4.30pm; Sun, Midday-4pm.
Admission: Adults £3.70, Conc. £3.20, Children (5-16) £2, U5’s free.
The Studio (Helen Herbert)
The Studio (Helen Herbert).
23 Holt Road, Sheringham, Norfolk, NR26 8NB.
Tel: 01263 821333.
A visit to Helen Herbert’s Studio in Sheringham presents a rare and precious opportunity to get ‘up close and personal’ with an inspiring Norfolk artist in their own creative environment.
Helen has enjoyed a rich and successful artistic career, studying for four years at the Cambridge School of Art before spending some 15 years as an illustrator for children’s books. In 1998, Helen gave up illustration to concentrate full-time on her painting, inspiration for which she finds from travelling to exotic destinations and also on her own North Norfolk doorstep.
Helen says that she is “an observer of people and places” and it is the relationship between individuals and their surroundings that interests her. Through her paintings, she attempts to capture the atmosphere, mood and connection between the sea, sky and people, often with heightened colour.
Truly an artist driven by love rather than commercial gain, Helen’s work shows distinctive themes as she develops and changes in the focus of her interest. Currently she says she is “intrigued by dark against light”.
A visit to Helen’s Studio is by far a richer and more interesting experience than simply seeing artwork in a gallery or exhibition. Helen is only too happy to chat about her work and you can see examples of her paintings at various stages of completeness – a luxury rarely afforded to the public. Naturally, the majority of Helen’s work is for sale, so if you are taken by a piece you can buy it for your own walls.
Helen’s paintings feature in many collections around the world and she exhibits in solo shows around Britain as well as in mixed shows in the UK and abroad.
As well as being on view at The Studio, Helen’s work is on display at Crayford and Abbs Garage in Bodham, Norfolk.
Open 10am-5pm (or later by appointment). To visit The Studio please ring first to check Helen is available!
Norfolk Wildlife Trust – Cley Marshes Nature Reserve
Norfolk Wildlife Trust: Cley Marshes.
On the A149 coast road, 1/2 mile east of Cley-next-the-Sea,
4 1/2 miles north of Holt.
Postcode: NR25 7SA.
Tel: 01263 740008.
The original Norfolk Wildlife Trust reserve and a blueprint for nature conservation that has since been replicated across the Country, Cley Marshes in North Norfolk is regarded as one of the UK’s best bird watching sites. Deservedly so, with pools, scrapes, trails and hides, this nature reserve attracts water birds in the thousands throughout the year (more than 300 species of birds have been recorded at Cley Marshes, with regular visitors including Avocets, Kestrels, Bearded Tits, Cormorants and Oystercatchers).
The Reserve boasts an inspiring and award-winning ‘eco-friendly’ visitor centre that employs a wind turbine to generate its power and harvests rainwater to flush the toilets, among other fascinating green innovations. Inside, the café and gift shop provide protection from the elements on chillier days, whilst still allowing a fabulous view of the Reserve through a vast observation area along one side of the Centre (complete with telescopes and audio-visual presentations).
Nature Reserve and visitor centre open all year (except Christmas Day) 10am-5pm (10am-4pm 1st Nov-1st Mar).
There is a small charge for entry to the Reserve (about £4) but entry is free for children and members of Norfolk Wildlife Trust.
Boardwalks provide access for wheelchairs and pushchairs throughout the reserve and the visitor centre is accessible to wheelchair users via a lift.
There is ample parking in front of the visitor centre.
Other Norfolk Wildlife Trust sites across North Norfolk that are well worth a visit include Salthouse Marshes (just along from Cley Marshes), Foxley Wood, Thursford Wood, Ringstead Downs (near Hunstanton), Syderstone Common and Booton Common.
