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Luxury Car Hire uk Norwich Guide
Norwich
One of the five largest cities in Norman England, Norwich once served a vast hinterland of East Anglian cloth producers, whose work was brought here by river and exported to the Continent. Its isolated position beyond the Fens meant that it enjoyed closer links with the Low Countries than with the rest of England - it was, after all, quicker to cross the North Sea than to go crosscountry to London. The local textile industry, based on worsted cloth (named after the nearby village of Worstead), was further enhanced by an influx of Flemish and Huguenot weavers, who made up more than a third of the population in Tudor times. By 1700, Norwich was the second-richest city in the country after London.
With the onset of the Industrial Revolution, however, Norwich lost ground to the northern manufacturing towns the city's famous mustard company, Colman's, is one of its few industrial success stories and this, together with its continuing geographical isolation, has helped preserve much of the ancient street plan and many of the city's older buildings. Pride of place goes to the beautiful cathedral and the castle, but the city's hallmark is its medieval churches, thirty or so squat flintstone structures with sturdy towers and sinuous stone tracery round the windows. Isolation has also meant that the population has never swelled to any great extent and today, with just 170,000 inhabitants, Norwich remains an easy and enjoyable city to negotiate. Yet Norwich is no provincial backwater. In the 1960s, the foundation of the University of East Anglia (UEA) made it more cosmopolitan and bolstered its arts scene, while in the 1980s it attracted new hi gh-tech companies, who created something of a mini-boom, making the city again one of England's wealthiest. As East Anglia's unofficial capital, Norwich also lies at the hub of the region's transport network and serves as a useful base for visiting the Broads, and even as a springboard for the north Norfolk coast.
Norwich Getting around guide
Norwich 's grandiose train station is on the east bank of the River Wensum, ten minutes' walk from the city centre along Prince ofWales Road. Long distance buses terminate at the Surrey Street Station, also little more than ten minutes' walk from the town centre, but this time to the South off Surrey Street (though some stop in the centre on Castle Meadow too). Information on local and regional bus services is provided by NORBIC, 17-19 Castle Meadow (Mon-Sat 8.30am-5pm; 08453/006116). The First Eastern Counties' Bus Tourist Ticket (£7), valid for a day's unlimited travel on most East Anglian bus routes, is available here, as is the three-day ticket for unlimited travel on three days in seven (£16).The tourist ofHce is in the gleamingly new, glassy Forum building beside the Market Place (June-Sept Mon-Sat 10am-6pm & Sun 10.30am-4.30pm; Oct-May Mon-Sat 10am-5.30pm; 01603/666071, www.Norwi
ch.gov.uk). The Broads Authority Office, 18 Colegate (Mon-Fri 9.30am-5pm; 01603/610734, www.broads-authority.gov.uk), is a useful source of information for those heading for the Broads (see p.578).
The best way to see the city is on foot and the tourist office's city walking tours (April, May & Oct Sat 1 daily;June & Sept 4 weekly;July & Aug Mon-Sat 1-2 daily; lhr 30min; £2.50) are a good way of getting the lie of the land. It's also worth bearing in mind the riverbus (May-Oct 5 daily; 15min; £1.50), which runs from the Elm Hill Quay to the Thorpe Road Quay, opposite the train station, providing an inexpensive means of cruising Norwich's central waterway. They are operated by City Boats (01603/701701, www.cityboats.co.uk), who also offer a limited range of longer cruises out into the surrounding countryside and to the Norfolk Broads from both the Elm Hill and Thorpe Road quays.
As you might expect, Norwich has accommodation to suit all budgets, but there's precious little in the town centre. Most B&Bs and guest houses are strung along the Earlham Road, a tedious, mostly Victorian street running west towards UEA, which itself offers rooms, primarily during the summer and Easter vacations.
Airport LDN Stansted Airport Airport 0870/000 0303, www.stansted.co.uk.
Banks and exchanges There are banks all over the city centre, and you can also exchange traveller's cheques at the main post office (see below); at American Express, 25 Sidney St 01223/345201; and Thomas Cook, in the Grafton Centre 01223/543000, and at 23 St Andrew's St 01223/543100.
Bike rental Station Cycles, outside the train station (Mon-Fri 8.30am-6pm, Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 10am-4pm; SJ01223/307125); Mikes Bikes, 28 Mill RrJ (Mon-Sat 9am-6pm, Sun 10am-4pm; 01223/312591); and H. Drake, near the train station at 56-60 Hills Rd (Mon-Fri 8.30am-5.30pm; 01223/363468).
Bookshops Heffers has several outlets with its main branch at 20 Trinity St; Cambridge University Press has a shop at 1 Trinity St; Borders is at 12-13 Market St; and Waterstones at 22 Sidney St. For second-hand books try the shops down St Edward's Passage off King's Parade: G. David, at no.3, is an antiquarian's and hard-back hunter's paradise; the Haunted Bookshop, at no. 9, is better for first editions, travel and illustrated books.
Buses Most city buses pull in at - and depart from - the stops along Emmanuel Street. Close by, at the top of Emmanuel Street, the Drummer Street bus station is for long-distance services. For information on Cambridgeshire bus services, call the information line (0870/608 2608), or drop by the Premier Travel Agency, beside the Drummer Street station (01223/572300). In addition, Airlinks ( 0870/574 7777) operates direct services to the London airports; and National Express (0870/580 8080) runs services to London and other major cities.
Car rental Avis 01223/212551; Budget 01223/323838; Europcar 01223/233644; National 01223/365438.
Internet Internet Exchange, opposite St Mary the Great church.
Left luggage 24-hour lockers at the train station.
Pharmacies Boots, 28 Petty Cury 01223/350213; Lloyds, 30 Trumpington St 01223/359449.
Post office The main office is at 9-11 St Andrew's St (Mon-Sat 9am-5.30pm). Taxis There are ranks at the train and bus stations. To book, call Diamond 01223/523523; or Panther 01223/715715.
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Norwich/ Norwich Getting around guide/ Norwich Accommodation Guide/ Norwich information listings