Archaeology & Wildlife of East Anglia

Today is devoted to exploring Norwich, once one of the largest and wealthiest provincial medieval cities outside of London. After the Norman Conquest in 1066, it became a major trading hub and at its centre, Tombland (an old Scandinavian word meaning open ground) was a hive of Viking activity with the trading of pottery, wooden and leather goods, furs from Scandinavia, herring from the North Sea and wool from Flanders. Its important stature was reflected in architectural extravagance, examples of which can still be seen today. We will visit the Cathedral, a magnificent Norman structure which has dominated the Norwich skyline for the last 900 years and its equally solid Castle which now incorporates the city museum.

Hotel: Norwich

A day in the Norfolk Broads. This watery jigsaw of rivers, lakes, meres and dykes originated in the 10^thcentury when peat was discovered and for the next 2 centuries pits were dug to collect this useful fossil fuel. When tides began to rise, the pits were filled creating more than 200km of navigable Broads. It is one of Europe's finest and most important wetlands for nature conservation, a fact recognised by its designation as a National Park. We will visit Hickling Broad which supports a high percentage of the UK’s population of common crane as well as numbers of bittern, marsh harriers, barn owls, red deer and otters. Later we view Turf Fen Mill, one of the Norfolk Broads most iconic landmarks. Standing at 31 feet, this drainage mill was built by William Rust in 1875 and has been loving restored with its original machinery intact. 

Hotel: Norwich

We return to archaeological exploration today with a visit Grimes Graves, an area of chalky grassland dimpled with over 430 prehistoric flint mine pits. Neolithic flint mines are the earliest industrial monuments in Britain. First dug into the chalk around 4000 BC, these shafts were cut in order to extract seams of flint, some reach a depth of 30 feet - a remarkable achievement for people using tools made of only bone and stone. In the afternoon, we visit Kings Lynn, an important port in the Medieval era and a town rich in maritime history. We will take a walking tour around its historic core and visit Lynn Museum to see ‘Seahenge’, the remains of an early Bronze Age timber circle found on the north Norfolk coast.

Hotel: Norwich

Our day starts with a visit to Blakeney Point, a four-mile-long sand and shingle spit with dunes, salt marshes and tidal mudflats. Designated a Site of Scientific Interest and an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, well known for its thriving seal colonies and abundant bird life, there is plenty of wildlife to see all year round. Tide and weather permitting, we will take a boat trip from Morston Quay. In the afternoon we will visit Binham Priory, once a wealthy Benedictine monastery and for over 400 years home to a community of monks. The Priory’s history is a colourful one with a succession of unscrupulous or unstable Priors, one ending his days buried in chains in the churchyard.

Hotel: Norwich

Travelling into Suffolk, we spend the morning at the ‘royal’ burial complex at Sutton Hoo, one of the most significant sites in English archaeology.  A series of eighteen burial mounds, have been identified and excavated, dating to the end of the 6th and beginning of the 7th centuries AD. The most famous of these, the ship in Mound 1, was originally excavated by Basil Brown and then Charles Philips of Cambridge University, at the behest of the owner, Mrs Pretty. They uncovered the slight remains of a 27m (89 foot)-long clinker-built timber ship containing a burial which had never been touched by grave robbers and was found to contain a rich variety of high-status finds. We continue to the lovely seaside town of Aldeburgh, inspiration for many artists and writers from Turner to Wilkie Collins and M R James. We will walk to see the Martello Tower before taking some free time to explore the town independently.

Hotel: Norwich

Our tour comes to an end and we make our journeys home.