Food in a German restaurant was all Phil Hopkins needed to form his friendship with fellow thespian and theatre lover, Tony Cooper. Here he writes about his subsequent journey to Norwich where he renewed his friendship with ‘Mr Norfolk’, ending a 40-year hiatus since he was last in the county.

Our first meeting was over schnitzel in Leipzig, the city that played a pivotal role in signalling the end of East Germany’s Communist regime, but it would be more than two years before we would share dinner in Mediaeval Norwich!

Fellow writer, Tony Cooper, and myself instantly had much in common, he an expert on Wagner and me a musical theatre man from the Lloyd Webber / Rodgers & Hammerstein school. Between us we talked for hours.

But Tony, unbeknown to me, had another informal title that probably even he didn’t realise: Mr Norfolk! “Come and see me in Norwich, you won’t regret it,” he’d write in his subsequent monthly emails to me. “When are you coming down?”

So, after much persuasion, I began the 182-mile journey south where the promise of Great Yarmouth’s famous Hippodrome Circus and Norwich’s magnificent cathedrals beckoned, despite the prospect of a mammoth, near five-hour journey!

It had been more than four decades since I’d been in the county and, even then, Norwich had escaped me all those years back, other than as a mention in varying tales from friends who’d sailed small cruisers up and down the famous ‘Broads’.

But why had I waited so long: magnificent!

Norwich has always been one of those English cities whose reputation seems to travel less widely than it deserves, however four days in Norfolk revealed a place where Norman grandeur, medieval streets, independent shops and some wonderfully eccentric pieces of history sat comfortably alongside a lively modern city.

Me and Mrs H had began our tour a few miles south of the regional capital at Dunston Hall Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort, an imposing Elizabethan Revival mansion approached through 150 acres of wooded Norfolk parkland.

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Construction of the Grade II-listed hall began in 1859 for Robert Kellett Longe, with architect John Chessell Buckler's work later being completed by prominent Norwich architect Edward Boardman. It eventually became a hotel in the early 1990s, now forming part of The QHotels Collection.

With 169 bedrooms, an 18-hole golf course, spa, indoor swimming pool and extensive grounds, Dunston Hall provided the sort of country-house base that made returning after a full day's sightseeing in nearby Norwich and beyond, part of the holiday rather than simply somewhere to sleep.

However, our first introduction to Norwich itself came through one of its great institutions: Jarrolds.

Jarrolds: a family affair since 1770

In an era when so many traditional department stores have disappeared, Jarrolds felt refreshingly alive. The family business began when John Jarrold opened a grocer's and draper's in Woodbridge, Suffolk, in 1770, moving to Norwich in 1823. More than two centuries later, members of the founding family are still involved with the much diversified Jarrolds empire.

Lunch was at The Pantry, the store’s first restaurant and recently the subject of an extensive refurbishment.

Outside, Norwich continued the architectural theme at the Royal Arcade. Opened in 1899 and designed by local architect George Skipper, the Grade II-listed arcade occupies the site of the former Royal Hotel and, before that, the historic Angel coaching inn. Its glazed roof, bowed shopfronts and decorative tiles create an unexpectedly flamboyant passage between the market and the city streets beyond.

From there, Norwich seemed increasingly to invite exploration on foot.

Elm Hill was the obvious example. Often described as one of Britain's finest surviving medieval streets, its cobbles, timber-framed merchants' houses, galleries and small independent shops appeared almost purpose-built for a period drama. Much of the street was destroyed by a devastating fire in 1507 and subsequently rebuilt, creating the remarkably complete historic streetscape seen today.

The Mediaeval glory of...

...Norwich's Elm Hill

Nearby, Norwich Market offers a rather different sort of continuity. With origins stretching back around 900 years, its colourful ranks of stalls remain part of everyday city life rather than a preserved historical curiosity. That combination – history still being used rather than simply admired – is one of Norwich's most appealing characteristics.

However, nowhere was its history more monumental than Norwich Cathedral. Founded by Herbert de Losinga, the first Bishop of Norwich, in 1096, the great Romanesque building has stood at the heart of the city for more than nine centuries.

Norwich Cathedral

Its medieval cloisters, soaring interior and 315ft spire reward slow exploration, while the surrounding 44-acre Cathedral Close provides an unexpectedly peaceful enclave only minutes from the commercial centre.

St John the Baptist RC Cathedral

Unusually Norwich offered another cathedral of very different vintage. The Roman Catholic Cathedral of St John the Baptist appears medieval but is actually one of Britain's great Victorian Gothic Revival buildings. Construction began in 1882, funded by the 15th Duke of Norfolk, and was completed in 1910.

And, almost hidden beside it is one of the city's loveliest surprises, the Plantation Garden.

The inspiration of...

...Henry Trevor

In 1856, prosperous Norwich upholsterer and cabinet-maker Henry Trevor leased what was essentially an abandoned chalk quarry and spent the following decades transforming it into an extraordinary Victorian garden.

Terraces, woodland paths, Gothic features and an Italianate character turned a former industrial scar into a secluded green retreat.

The Museum of Norwich at the Bridewell completed the historical picture, telling the story of the people, trades and industries that built the city's prosperity. The building itself had previously served, among other things, as Norwich's house of correction before opening as a museum in 1925. Check out its magnificent ‘from another era’ pharmacy!

Norwich Museum's ancient pharmacy and its...

...amazing taxidermy exhibits

Norwich, as you might imagine, has historic connections to many famous people from Victorian lepidopterist Margaret Fountaine (a person interested in butterflies and moths!) to Peter The Wild Boy, a young German child who was found living the feral life near Hamlin before being brought to Norfolk at the behest of King George I. The Wildman Pub in Bedford Street still celebrates his memory.

Day three of our stay brought a change of hotel and an altogether different encounter with Norwich's past.

Checking out of Dunston Hall meant only a short journey to the Maids Head Hotel, opposite Norwich Cathedral. It claims to be Britain's oldest hotel, tracing hospitality on its site to the days of Herbert de Losinga in the 1090s; the oldest surviving parts of today's building date from the 15th century.

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• Maid in Norwich!
• The stunning Maid's Hotel

Its roll-call of historical associations was formidable. Edward the Black Prince was entertained on the site in 1359; Catherine of Aragon visited in 1520; the hotel has associations with Elizabeth I's visit to Norwich in 1578; and centuries later J.B. Priestley stayed while researching English Journey.

The Maids Head also appeared in the 1971 film adaptation of L.P. Hartley's The Go-Between.

History, however, came with a playful modern touch. Guests could take complimentary chauffeur-driven spins through Norwich in one of the hotel's vintage Bentleys, including a 1963 S3 and 1950 Mark VI convertible.

Then there was the Filby Junior Suite.

Tucked into the hotel's eaves, with high vaulted ceilings, exposed beams and interiors inspired by the Bird of Paradise flower, it successfully combined the building's considerable age with contemporary luxury.

Unfortunately, there was barely time to enjoy it!

The afternoon involved driving east to Great Yarmouth and one of Britain's most remarkable surviving entertainment venues, the Hippodrome Circus.

A pre show drink...

...in the bar at...

...Great Yarmouth's Hippodrome Circus

Built in 1903 by showman George Gilbert and designed by Ralph Scott Cockrill, the Hippodrome remains one of only two purpose-built permanent circus buildings in England still operating. Even more remarkably, it is one of only three circuses worldwide with a ring that can sink to reveal a pool beneath.

Saved from conversion to bingo after Peter Jay bought it in 1979, it remains gloriously theatrical – a living piece of British seaside entertainment history rather than a museum exhibit.

Back in Norwich, and towards the end of our whistlestop tour, we still managed to squeeze in a visit to the amazing Sainsbury Centre art museum, located on the campus of the University of East Anglia.

The 'modern' Sainsbury Centre...

...featuring the ancient

...and the contemporary

The building itself is almost its own artwork and was one of the first major public structures to be designed by architects Norman Foster and Wendy Cheesman. Completed in 1978 and Grade II listed in December 2012, it now houses one of the most impressive collections of sculpture in the UK.

As our third day drew to a close, fish and chips provided an appropriately uncomplicated supper and an opportunity to thank Tony and his beau for their excellent company and confirmation that we had not been disappointed by Norfolk or its capital city.

Mrs H still managed to squeeze in a late night soak in the luxurious bath in our Maid’s Hotel suite before retiring for the night and, the following morning, after a sumptuous breakfast, Norwich Castle beckoned before the long journey home.

The Norman keep has recently undergone a major transformation, recreating the original floor levels and spaces of the medieval royal palace. Visitors can explore rooms presented to evoke the surroundings that Henry I might have encountered when staying there in 1121, while the wider museum and art gallery collections tell stories stretching from archaeology and natural history to fine and decorative art.

It made an appropriate final stop because Norwich Castle encapsulated much of what had characterised the previous four days: history on an impressive scale, but interpreted for the present rather than embalmed in the past.

It was time to turn west for the journey home to Leeds.

Norwich had proved difficult to pigeonhole. It was a cathedral city and university city, a medieval city and modern shopping centre, a place of grand Norman monuments and tiny independent businesses. It was sufficiently compact to explore without feeling rushed yet sufficiently layered to make four days seem surprisingly short.

Perhaps its greatest attraction was that it did not appear overly conscious of its own importance.

And it had plenty to be proud of. As UNESCO’s first City of Literature, it has been billed as the City of Stories – never a truer word spoken – and, without doubt, it is a city of tall tales, tall buildings and mediaeval intrigue. Four days? That was just the hors d’oeuvre! Worthy of any short break getaway.

FAST FACTS
www.visitnorwich.co.uk
Dunston Hall Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort
www.dunstonhallhotel.co.uk
The Maid’s Head Hotel
www.maidsheadhotel.co.uk