Close your eyes and picture yourself spending a week exploring the North : your mind is probably conjuring up images of big skies, long coastal walks, sweeping beaches, windswept salt marshes, warm pub lunches, gorgeous flint houses and hot chocolates being slurped in cosy cottages with cosy fireplaces. That’s exactly what Norfolk is. That’s what our little slice of coastland does best. We have one foot on the land in the other in the sea, as they say. But while we do living in the moment and enjoying the here and now better than anywhere else in the UK on earth, we’re a county steeped in some seriously awesome history too.

We have history everywhere you look, to the point where we’re starting to think it must be super easy to get historical landmark status in Norfolk. There are castles and cathedrals and old market towns and all sorts of older-than-time spots that will take your breath away. But because there are so many of them, knowing which ones are worth popping at the top of your “what to do in this autumn” list is kinda-sorta impossible... for those that don’t read this guide anyway, because we’re going to tell you exactly which historical hotspots you should put on your bucket list.

Of course, you’ll want to make some time to explore the epic beaches, little delis and tasty eateries that make North Norfolk so send-a-postcard-home-to-your-parents beautiful, but when it comes to planning some day trips back in time - whoa! - these places will melt your mind.

1. Sandringham

Whether you like making yourself jealous, you’re a massive monarchist or you’re a bit of a magpie when it comes to shiny things, you need to pop along to the Royal Family's rural retreat in Sandringham. We’re talking about having the chance to explore the Queen’s perfectly landscaped gardens (all 25 hectares of them) before stepping inside her country abode and wandering around the sumptuous reception rooms usually reserved for royals. The art is fascinating, the gifts from European and Russian royalty glint in the sunlight, the furnishings haven’t changed since the Edwardian Days and the vintage car collection is astonishing - from the first ever royal motor used in 1900 to the buggy the Queen Mother loved to bounce around race tracks in. This is the most famous house in the east, fact.

Where to stay: Norton House in is a piece of rural luxury that sleeps 10

2. Holkham Hall

There are places you go to spend a few hours and there are places you go and never want to leave because you could be there for an entire week and never scratch the surface. Holkham Hall is the latter. Set in the heart of a 25,000 acre estate, Holkham Hall is a stunning, elegant, exceptional, breath-stealing Palladian-style stately home from the 18th Century. There are marble halls, Venetian bedrooms, stately sitting rooms, chapels, libraries and original paintings by Rubens, Van Dyck, Claude, Gaspar Poussin and Gainsborough -- but the outdoors it where it really wows. Gardens, deer park, boating lake, beaches, dunes, salt marsh, grazing marsh, coastal pinewoods, scrub and bird hides, all of which lead onto the most pristine shoreline you could ever imagine, no exaggeration needed. And we haven’t even mentioned the bike rides, high wire adventureland or children’s all-natural playground.

Where to stay: Dales Cottage in is a quaint bolthole in Nelson’s birth village.

3. Blickling Estate

Spoiler alert: Nobody - and we mean nobody - ever forgets the first time they catch a glimpse of Blickling Hall. Everything about it makes your heart pound and breathing pause because seeing this reddish Jacobean mansion sat at the end of a long driveway lined by ancient yew hedges and surrounded by a huge park in the beautiful Bure meadows is sensational -- and autumn makes it even more so. Inside the house is total extravagance from top to bottom, start to finish, including the most prestigious collection of books held by any National Trust (hint: there are 12,500 volumes) and outside is a combination of formal gardens and historic parkland to explore by foot or by bike, all 4,600 acres of it.

Where to stay: Little House in South Creake is a luxurious space between Blickling & the beach.

4. Houghton Hall

They say this is one of Norfolk’s most beautiful stately homes (and by “they” we mean the modest owners of the hall), but we feel no need to be so humble: Houghton is next-level staggering. The hall, the history, the outdoors sculptures, indoor collections, gardens, everything. This is a day out you don’t want to miss out on. No way. Even if you just go to see the ornate staterooms overflowing with gilt, tapestries, velvets and period furniture, that will be enough to make your stay. But that’s not all you’ll see because there are 600 deer in the grounds surrounding the home, a huuuge walled garden decorated with contemporary sculptures and everything else you need to enjoy an eccentric, exuberant and incredible stroll. And if you’re lucky, you might time your visit with one of the awesome exhibitions that have become a constant here. From Damien Hirst to James Turrell, Houghton has hosted the hottest artists in the world.

Where to stay: Holly House in Thornham is a charming flint house that sleeps 8.

5.

This isn’t just an ancient castle; this is one of the most famous 12th Century castles in England. This is a real step-back-in-timer, and you’ll be stepping back a long, long way. The stone keep was built around 1140 AD and is heralded as one of the most epic examples of its kind anywhere in the country. That’s why you need to make this short trip inland - to explore a slice of history you can’t explore anywhere else, including the massive earthworks it is set upon. From a hunting lodge to a royal residence that was once home to Queen Isabella, the history here is seriously cool -- and you can almost live it because Rising has a way of bringing the history alive with incredible reenactments that include Medieval sword fights, archery contests and so much more. This is one for everyone.

Where to stay: 6 Courtyard Barns in Docking is the perfect place for 8 of you to relax.

6. Lynn Museum

We checked and, yup, it’s not every day you get to see a huge hoard of Iceni gold coins up close, or the skeleton of a Saxon Warrior, or learn about The Seahenge Gallery, which grabs you with its old fables and tales of early Bronze Age life and the ancient timber circle that somehow survived for 4000 years despite being submerged beneath seawater and marshland until 1998. Try on some old Roman armour, dress the tailors dummy, stare into the snarling eyes of a tiger shot by Edward V11 and find out just how awesome the history of North norfolk really is in an afternoon here. Trust us: this one won’t disappoint.

Where to stay: The Old Rectory in is a truly magnificent place that sleeps 16.

7. Warham Fort

The best parts of history are the bits cloaked in mystery, guessing games, speculation and “what ifs” - and the Fort at Warham is all of those and more. Hidden in an anonymous field, across a small bridge, through a gate, over a stile and down an overgrown footpath rich in hedgerow fruits are the remains of an Iron Age hill fort that many believe to have been occupied by the Iceni. But, if anything, this fort simply reminds us just how little we know about this period in Britain's windswept past. Whatever the story of this little-known horseshoe camp is, though, it remains a piece of history that you’re free to explore - and one of only a handful of such forts in Norfolk (but easily the best preserved).

Where to stay: Horse Yard Barn is a breath-stealing barn conversion on the Holkham Estate that sleeps 13.

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