Aloe Lodge

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.

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.

Bressingham is a steam museum and gardens just west of Diss. The museum has several railways running through the grounds, including the Fen Railway and the Waveney Valley Railway, and a locomotive shed where you can get close to the engines.

Tip: Check the train running timetable on the Bressingham website before you go, so you can plan your rides around the day.

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.

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.

Framlingham Castle is a Norman-era castle in the Suffolk market town of Framlingham, now looked after by English Heritage. Its curtain wall has thirteen towers and no central keep, and you can follow the wall-top walk right round the defences. Panels point out the town, the outer earthworks and the Mere, and the tall Tudor chimneys on the towers each have a different brick design.

Tip: Book advance tickets online to save money on the gate price, and pick up the free audio guide to get more from the wall walk.

Grime's Graves is a large Neolithic flint mining complex in Norfolk, 8 km north east of Brandon. Miners worked here from around 2600 to 2300 BC, digging shafts into the chalk to reach seams of flint, which was much in demand for making polished stone axes. Some of the largest shafts are more than 14 m deep and 12 m wide at the surface.

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.

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

Ely Cathedral stands above the flat Fenland landscape, which is why locals call it "the ship of the Fens". The earliest parts of the present building date to 1083, and it is one of the largest Norman churches built in its day. Its nave is among the longest in Britain, and the central Octagon, with its lantern above, creates a remarkable space inside.

Tip: Book tickets and tours in advance, as tour places are limited, and check opening times first because it is a busy working cathedral.

Helmingham Hall is a moated manor house in Suffolk, begun by John Tollemache in 1480 and owned by the Tollemache family ever since. The house itself is not open to the public, but you can admire it from the grounds, with its 60-foot-wide moat and two working drawbridges that have been pulled up every night since 1510.