Car-free adventures aroundKing’s LynnNorfolk
Fine old merchants’ houses stretch down to the river between cobbled lanes and the elegant Custom House overlooks the harbour. Perhaps the only thing keeping King’s Lynn from being crowded by tourists is its lack of direct motorway access. No problem for car-free visitors, who can arrive on the hourly trains from London and Cambridge to find a network of buses heading off to the wild west Norfolk coast and countryside. Here are some of the many adventures on offer around King’s Lynn. And if you think it sounds like a great base for a staycation (you'd be right!) scroll down to the bottom for more tips on transport and places to stay.
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1. Stroll or cycle around town
A twelfth-century church, England’s largest chapel (with carved angels on the ceiling), a 4000-year-old timber circle, a museum of fishing heritage or an elegant customs house from the maritime glory days: don’t overlook the town’s own treasures in a rush for the sea and sand.
- The Tourist Information Centre (inside the chequered Town Hall opposite the impressive Minster) has handy maps with detailed routes past the major sights or cycling maps for heading further afield. There’s also lots of information on the Explore West Norfolk website, see Good Journey’s directions. The Stories of Lynn Museum in the same building has an ornate medieval cup and a spooky old gaol house.
- The bus and railway stations are pretty central and the town itself is not huge so it’s easy to explore on foot. Don’t miss the Victorian park and Red Mount chapel, almost next to the railway station, with Greyfriars Tower, part of a medieval friary, nearby.
- In the Lynn Museum, right next to the bus station, you can see the Seahenge wooden circle found on the west Norfolk coast at Holme-next-the-Sea.
- Ten minutes’ walk north from the Lynn Museum, True’s Yard Fisherfolk Museum celebrates the town’s fishing heritage and houses two whole cottages, a smokery and smithy as well as a tea room. Nearby St Nicholas Chapel has a ceiling covered in beautiful carved angels.
- King’s Lynn marks the start of the Norfolk Coast cycleway so you might want to bring your bike on the train and head off on two wheels.
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2. Coastliner bus
The Norfolk Coast is just a bus ride away. You can ride along the splendid shoreline and explore the coastal nature reserves between Hunstanton and Holkham – and beyond!.
- Lynx buses run frequent services (34, 35, 36) from King’s Lynn to Hunstanton, leaving four times an hour from the bus station (twice an hour on Sunday).
- Bus 36 once an hour (every two hours on Sunday) runs on along the coast as far as Wells-next-the-Sea.
- You could hop off at the award-winning Orange Tree pub in Thornham and walk along the coast. Wildlife lovers will be in heaven on this stretch of the Norfolk Coast Path. The dunes and marshes are alive with waders and waterbirds like avocets and oystercatchers, terns and egrets.
- There are more pubs and cafés in Old Hunstanton and, nearby, the iconic striped cliffs of the seaside resort of Hunstanton begin. The striking red and white sedimentary rocks were deposited more than 100 million years ago.
- You can ride the bus all the way to Holkham for dune-backed beaches and playgrounds, a deer park, walled garden and elegant Palladian mansion. It’s nearly two hours by bus from King’s Lynn, but the journey is packed with interest, from the woods around Sandringham and the lighthouse-topped cliffs of Hunstanton to stretches of saltmarsh, purple in summer with flowering sea lavender. Follow Good Journey’s directions.
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3. Lynn Ferry, waterside walks and pontoons
The grand buildings near the River Great Ouse are part of the town’s rich maritime heritage. As part of the Hanseatic League, King’s Lynn was once a key medieval port and the classic merchants’ houses that line the cobbled lanes near the old docks show how much wealth was generated by trade. Today, turnstones forage on the mudflats and small boats bob on the tide.
- For a bracing four-mile walk, you can head south along the waterside walkway in King’s Lynn with the river on your right, cross the bridge and walk along the other side to the West Lynn Ferry.
- For a great view of the riverfront, simply catch the Lynn Ferry over the Great Ouse to the village of West Lynn. The ferry has operated here since the twelfth century and still helps people avoid the long drive round between this riverside village and King’s Lynn.
- The boat leaves frequently, six days per week.
- Back in King’s Lynn, walk along Ferry Lane and turn left to see the Guildhall of St George, Corn Exchange, the St Nicholas Chapel and True’s Yard Fisherfolk Museum a short walk away.
- For much longer hikes, you could follow the Fen Rivers Way towards Watlington and Downham Market (trains back from both) or the Nar Valley Way, through wide-skied fens 13 miles to Narborough with very regular B Excel or C Excel buses back.
- If you are an avid leisure sailor, you can visit by boat from the Wash and moor-up in the town!
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4. Roydon Common
Sandy paths wind through the purple heather of Roydon Common. Scarlet dragonflies hover round yellow gorse flowers while birds of prey wheel over the birch trees. You can take a walk from Roydon’s village pub around this beautiful, little wilderness not far from the town. Bus 48 runs regularly from King’s Lynn bus station (Monday to Saturday with limited Sunday service) and stops opposite the Three Horseshoes.
- You can follow a track through clumps of trees past an area known as Grimston Warren, with an unusual observation tower, built to help with training during World War II.
- A winding, sandy path with waymarks leads across common, past lonely trees and a small pond. With a map, you can easily find your way back to Roydon, where there are buses to King’s Lynn.
- The Lynx Coastliner buses (see 2 above) also stop near Castle Rising, where you can explore the well-preserved English Heritage stone keep (one of the most famous twelfth-century castles in England).
- There are lots more adventures just a bus ride from the town, whether you’re looking for history, wildlife, good food, fresh air, or a combination of them all.
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Bikes, buses, places to stay and eat
With all this on the doorstep, King’s Lynn is a great base for a staycation, whether you’re travelling by bike, boat, bus, on foot or a combination.
- Cyclists who need to hire bikes might contact Wheel Travel who can deliver a bike to you at a station or hotel or wherever you need it.
- A PlusBus ticket can take you all around town on the day you arrive for a very small extra fee on top of your train fare (very handy, for instance, if you want to stay at the Travelodge, a little way out of the centre but come back into town for a riverside supper).
- Lynx buses have different tickets for multiple journeys or a whole week of travel or a Day Coast Pass for the 36 bus and others.
- There’s a range of hotels and guesthouses in King’s Lynn, from the fancy harbour-side Bank House Hotel to some bargain bedrooms at the Globe via some comfortable choices like the Duke’s Head Hotel.
- Plenty of places for eating and drinking too: the town centre includes the riverside Marriot’s Warehouse restaurant with sunset-facing tables on the cobbles by the River Ouse or Cobbles Tearoom round the corner.
- Don’t miss the Riverside restaurant down Ferry Lane near the Saturday Market Place, where you can sample elegant tarts made from leeks and King’s Lynn brown shrimps with a view out over the water from the converted fifteenth-century warehouse.
