Otters Mead Boutique Lodges - Fun Days Out

Sandringham House is a royal country house on a large estate in the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is owned personally by the monarch rather than the Crown, and the house is Grade II* listed. The landscaped gardens, park and woodlands are on the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens, and the site has a history stretching back to Elizabethan times.

Visitors can explore the house and gardens, then walk the woodland and waymarked trails of the Royal Parkland. There is a shop selling estate produce, home and garden wares and plants. For food, the Sandringham Courtyard and the Stables Takeaway Café in the gardens serve breakfast, light bites and sweet treats made with local produce. It suits anyone who enjoys royal history, a stroll through historic grounds, or a relaxed day with a cup of tea at the end.

Tip: If you're bringing a dog, check the estate's dog-friendly areas on its website before you set off.

Banham Zoo is a 50-acre zoo in Norfolk, run by the Zoological Society of East Anglia, a registered charity. It opened to the public in 1968 and is the largest zoo in the region. Animals include giraffes, snow leopards, Amur tigers, cheetahs, red pandas, meerkats and California sea lions, along with a well-regarded collection of smaller monkeys.

The day mixes animal encounters with daily talks, live shows, outdoor play areas and seasonal events. There are animal experiences, including hand-feeding giraffes, and a Bird Garden reached by a short walk along a meandering path. Families will find plenty to fill a day, and the activities are designed for all ages. Money from tickets also supports the zoo's conservation work.

Tip: Check the website's what's on page before you go, as daily talks and seasonal events change, and you can book tickets online in advance.

Norwich Castle was built by William the Conqueror as a royal palace, and later served as a gaol before becoming a museum and art gallery. The medieval Castle Keep has rooms furnished to give an authentic sense of twelfth-century life, along with immersive storytelling.

Inside, The Gallery of Medieval Life, a British Museum partnership, displays over 900 objects. Other galleries cover art, archaeology and natural history, and there is also the Royal Norfolk Regimental Museum. Temporary exhibitions and special events run through the year. It suits anyone curious about the Norman era and the castle's long story, from royal fortress to prison to museum.

Tip: Pre-booking tickets online gets you the best price for entry, and a free digital guide is available to help you explore the castle and its collections.

Holkham Hall is an 18th-century Neo-Palladian country house, designed by William Kent for Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester. It is Grade I listed and still the ancestral home of the Coke family. Inside, you can see the Marble Hall, made of pink Derbyshire alabaster, and the Saloon with its red velvet walls. Guided cellar and attic tours take you behind the scenes.

The estate offers plenty beyond the house. There is a six-acre Walled Garden with Victorian greenhouses, a kitchen garden and a vineyard, plus the Holkham Stories exhibition on the estate's 400-year history. Outdoors, you can walk the parkland, home to a herd of fallow deer, or take a deer and wildlife safari on a tractor-trailer. The high ropes course has swinging bridges and two ziplines, and takes around an hour. There are cafés at the park and the beach, and Holkham Beach is part of the estate.

Tip: You can book the Hall, Walled Garden and Holkham Stories in advance, and the ropes course too. Check opening times first, as they vary.

Oxburgh Hall is a moated medieval manor house near Swaffham, with Victorian Gothic interiors. It was built in the 1480s for the Bedingfeld family, who still live in private apartments there. You cross the moat to a tall brick gatehouse, then explore the hall, which has a priest hole and needlework hangings worked by Mary, Queen of Scots and Bess of Hardwick.

Outside, there is a Victorian garden with a kitchen garden and orchard, a French-style parterre, a wilderness area and My Lady's Wood. The parkland sits on the edge of the Norfolk Brecks, and there are woodland walks including a Woodland Explorer trail. The National Trust says families can build dens and hunt for secret doorways. The Servants' Hall tea-room is there for a break, and there is a shop and a second-hand bookshop.

Tip: Parking is free on site, and the hall is about 250 metres from the main car park along a flat gravel path.

Blickling Hall is a Grade I listed Jacobean country house near Aylsham in Norfolk, set in 5,000 acres of parkland in a loop of the River Bure. It was built after 1616 for Sir Henry Hobart on the ruins of a Tudor house once held by the Boleyn family, and it is now cared for by the National Trust.

Inside, the library holds one of the most historically significant collections of manuscripts and books in Britain, with an estimated 13,000 to 14,000 volumes. Outside, the grounds include a lake, a ha-ha and a Doric Temple. During the Second World War the house served as the Officers' Mess of nearby RAF Oulton, and the RAF Oulton Museum on site tells that story. A statue and portrait of Anne Boleyn carry an inscription saying she was born here.

Tip: Head for the library first if you only have limited time, as it is the house's most celebrated feature.

The Muckleburgh Military Collection sits on a former military camp at Weybourne on the North Norfolk coast, a site used for anti-aircraft training in the Second World War. Exhibits include working tanks, armoured cars, artillery, anti-aircraft guns, missiles and light weapons, plus displays on the Norfolk and Suffolk Yeomanry and on sea rescue and reconnaissance.

Most of the collection is indoors, with some vehicles and facilities outside. There is a café serving hot and cold meals, and an outdoor picnic and play area near it, which is handy with children. Visitors typically spend three to four hours here, depending on how thoroughly they look around. Dogs aren't allowed inside, but there are sheltered kennels with beds and water. The site has wheelchair access.

Tip: The collection closes for the season, so check its website for current opening before you travel. Parking on site is free for paying visitors.

Castle Rising is a ruined medieval castle in the Norfolk village of the same name, built soon after 1138 by William d'Aubigny II. It was designed as part fortress, part palatial hunting lodge, with a deer park behind it. Queen Isabella lived here after her fall from power in 1330, and entertained her son, Edward III, on several occasions.

The great keep is the main draw. It has extensive Romanesque detail, including pilaster buttresses and arcading, and historians Beric Morley and David Gurney consider it "one of the finest of all Norman keeps". Around it, three baileys are defended by large earthworks covering 5 hectares (12 acres), which archaeologists rate among the most impressive in Britain. The castle also sits beside a planned medieval town and its church of St Lawrence, so there is plenty to see for anyone interested in medieval history.