2-Bedroom Hot Tub Lodge in Rockland St Mary

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.

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.

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.

Blickling Hall is a Grade I listed Jacobean country house near Aylsham in Norfolk, set in 5,000 acres of parkland in a loop of the River Bure. It was built after 1616 for Sir Henry Hobart on the ruins of a Tudor house once held by the Boleyn family, and it is now cared for by the National Trust.

Tip: Head for the library first if you only have limited time, as it is the house's most celebrated feature.

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.

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.

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.

The Muckleburgh Military Collection sits on a former military camp at Weybourne on the North Norfolk coast, a site used for anti-aircraft training in the Second World War. Exhibits include working tanks, armoured cars, artillery, anti-aircraft guns, missiles and light weapons, plus displays on the Norfolk and Suffolk Yeomanry and on sea rescue and reconnaissance.

Tip: The collection closes for the season, so check its website for current opening before you travel. Parking on site is free for paying visitors.