Blickling Hall with kids – a day out in Norfolk

I’ve always been fascinated by Anne Boleyn, so there was no chance I’d miss the chance to visit her birthplace during our trip to Norfolk, especially with plenty to see at Blickling Hall with kids.

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Ideal if you’re looking for a day out near Norwich, as it’s just a short drive from the city, it was also a perfect place to break up our day travelling out to our AirBNB in Cromer and the Norfolk coast.

With gardens, walking trails and more, there’s plenty to do outside at the Blickling Estate with kids – over 4,600 acres to explore, so you won’t run out of walks, with maps of routes to pick up at reception to help you discover Blickling’s landmarks, views and wildlife.

Unlike some other National Trust houses across the country, the house itself is normally open year-round too. There are some winter closures, while in school holidays, you might find extra trails and activities but there are plenty of quirky things to see in Blickling Hall with kids whenever you visit.

Entering via the gardens, we got our first view of Blickling from the side, the red chimneys rising up in the distance – reminding me of Hampton Court Palace in miniature.

The current mansion was built in 1616, long after Anne Boleyn met her end at the Tower (she also spent much of her childhood at Hever Castle in Kent before heading off to various European courts) although she’s still said to haunt the Blickling Estate once a year.

Go back a few more centuries and there’s another royal link. Harold Godwinson, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, owned a manor house here – before losing to William the Conqueror…

It was also home to Sir John Fastolf, the inspiration for Falstaff in Shakespeare’s plays, as another claim to fame.

More excitingly from my daughter’s point of view, on the way in, you can see the first of a whole herd of bulls – two stone sculptures (both wearing masks during our visit, which made my eight-year-old giggle), with more bulls carved and depicted all across the estate to show the Hobart family’s royal links.

Discover more about Henrietta Hobart, born here in the 17th century, who went on to become Countess of Suffolk, mistress to George II and creator of Marble Hill House in my post

We made our own mini treasure hunt to spot them, before getting distracted by the impressive interior and losing count!

Inside the focus is on Blickling’s Jacobean and Georgian inhabitants, the Earls of Buckinghamshire – one of whom had the grand sweeping entrance staircase shifted from the current side of the house to its existing position because he decided it’d look better there.

To be fair, it does look pretty impressive.

With restrictions on the number of people in each room, to keep everyone distanced during our visit, we also had more time to spot some of the quirky touches rather than my daughter’s usual enthusiastic high speed pace.

And there are plenty of those if you’re visiting Blickling Hall with kids.

For starters, in the bathroom, you can find some early weighing scales – with the emphasis on comfort, as you got to sit down on the padded seat while the device shared your current weight.

The bedrooms are as lavish as you’d expect, with ornately embroidered bedlinen and hangings, although Minnie and I agreed we’d both prefer the four-poster in the Chinese room. You can’t beat a carved wooden four-posted bed!

More unexpected are the little Chinese pagodas in glass cases near the bed. At first, you might think they’re just an unusual decoration, to match the Chinese-style furniture – but in fact they’re actually earthquake detectors.

At the top are little bells which would ring if there was ever a tremor. As Norfolk gets earthquakes once every couple of centuries (and not particularly devastating ones either), I doubt they got much work!

Wandering through the drawing rooms, past a gigantic fireplace with carved angels, you can see rooms where Charles II, and various members of the Stuart and Georgian courts, once trod.

There are renovations going on, so you can’t currently visit all the rooms, including the Peter the Great room, designed to display a tapestry given to the 2nd earl by Catherine the Great of Russia.

Happily we could explore the huge library in the Long Gallery which could have come straight from the Harry Potter films.

Historic books lines the shelves under an intricately plastered ceiling, kept behind a metal mesh for safekeeping (or in my daughter’s imagination, to prevent the books from escaping).

Back outside, the exit led us to yet more gardens – having wandered through the walled garden on the way in, we strolled through the formal gardens including the parterre.

After a bit of hide and seek, and pretending the topiary hedges and trees were a maze, we found more bulls at the Temple, at the end of the path from the parterre looking back towards Blickling Hall.

Keep an eye out for two secret tunnels tucked away in the gardens as well.

Taking a rambling route to get to the path around the lake – via the cafe for a scone and piece of cake – we spotted the RAF Oulton Museum commemorating another part of Blickling Hall’s history.

Closed during our visit, it remembers the aircrew who were billeted here from nearby RAF Oulton, serving as part of Bomber Command squadrons taking part in wartime raids over Germany.

With objects from Blickling’s collections, as well as some donated by the families of those who served here, you can learn more about their story as well as seeing the recreated crew room, using period furniture and wireless, and even reproduction newspapers to transport you back in time.

We definitely weren’t short of things to do though, with more walking trails than we had time to follow, choosing to amble along the one which winds around the lake, looking back to Blickling Hall itself.

The 3km lake walk is one of several different routes you can take around Blickling Estate with kids – there’s also a four-mile multi-use trail which is suitable for wheelchairs (and buggies), a longer walk all around Blickling Park and a shorter one to the Mausoleum and woodland which is good for all abilities. Perfect in spring with great carpets of bluebells under the trees.

If you want more of a challenge, you can even walk to another Norfolk National Trust property Felbrigg Hall, around seven miles away as the crow flies.

Our plan was a bit less ambitious: told to allow an hour, it was a lovely path to wander, with the moody clouds reflecting in the water, fishermen trying their luck, and butterflies and dragonflies flitting around.

And at the far edge of the lake, the water curving around towards it, that fantastic look back towards the grand facade of Blickling Hall – a view that feels like it hasn’t changed for centuries.

Blickling Hall with kids: Need to know

Entry to Blickling Hall is free for National Trust members, ticket prices vary depending on whether the house or only the grounds are open. Click here to buy tickets.

Parking is also free for members or costs £5 for non-members.

There are two cafes and a pub around the Blickling Estate – not all are open year-round so check before visiting.

There is baby-changing in the Estate Barn by the main car park and in the farmyard by the bookshop.

Blickling Hall is in Aylsham, around 30 minutes’ drive from Norwich – for more ideas of things to do in Norwich with kids, check out my pick of the best – it’s also less than half an hour from the coast at Cromer and Sheringham.

Blickling is one of several National Trust sites in Norfolk – for more ideas of things to do in Norfolk with kids, I’ve rounded up the best for all ages, or check out my review of our day out at Oxburgh Hall with kids, as well as ideas for things to do in Norfolk in the rain with kids.

PIN FOR LATER: BLICKLING HALL WITH KIDS

 

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