Norwich, England

We visited Norwich with the ambition to see a lot of the sights in the town. We came on a Sunday and started with the Church of England Cathedral, then drove over to the Roman Catholic Cathedral for Mass at 11 a.m. By the time that was done, it was lunch time. After a leisurely lunch, the children were ready to go back to our hotel. So we missed the castle, though it looked more like a keep than a castle. We did see some things as we were walking around.

The neighborhood of the Norwich Cathedral (the COE one) is called Tombland. The name seems a little ominous, but in fact it was just a market place for the Saxons. The word merely means "open space" which is convenient for a market and for constructing a cathedral.

A Tombland hotel, not the last place you will stay!

A large gate leads into the cathedral area, which includes a school and a large open green lawn with a statue of Nelson on it.

Gateway to the Cathedral

Same gateway from the Cathedral

School entrance (closed on Sundays!)

Nelson statue

The Roman Catholic Cathedral is near the pedestrianized center of the town. We walked down St. Giles Street after Mass where we found the cafe for lunch. We also saw the Church of St. Giles on the Hill which looked pleasant enough though we did not go inside.

St. Giles on the Hill Church

Further down the street is a very fancy hotel, St. Giles House, with a Waffle House next door! We were surprised to see a restaurant named the same as a popular American chain. Sadly, it looked nothing like an American Waffle House.

St. Giles House Hotel

Waffle House Restaurant

Further down the road changes to Guildhall Hill conveniently enough right at the Guildhall.

Norwich Guildhall

The Guildhall is across the street from the Norwich Market. We saw the World War I memorial which overlooks the market and has the castle peeping out over it.

World War I Memorial

On the other side of the market is St. Peter Mancroft Church. We were surprised by the massiveness of the tower in the front of the church.

St. Peter Mancroft Church

We turned up a side street from here and in ten minutes we were back at the car by the Roman Catholic cathedral. J was tired out after five minutes, so I gave him a piggyback ride, which meant no more photography. We had a pleasant time in Norwich and maybe we'll come again to see the other good sights, like the castle and St. Julian's Church and Dragon Hall!