Official Visitor Website

Beyond the Golden Mile: cultural delights in Great Yarmouth

Great Yarmouth is unlike anywhere in the UK. Abundant with character and charm it has been a popular tourist resort since the 1760s. Overlooking a gorgeous sandy beach, its seafront is a kaleidoscope of sights and sounds, from the grinning faces of the brightly coloured Joyland snails, to the repeated calls to win big ringing out of myriad arcades.

Primeyarc Gallery in Market Gates

The character of Great Yarmouth is deeply intertwined with its maritime history and the wealth that the thriving fishing industry brought is reflected in the grand architecture dotted about the town. Along the seafront are the facades of the historic Windmill Theatre and the Edwardian Empire cinema, now home to crazy golf and a street food restaurant, respectively.

Take a step back from the seafront, and you will discover a host of cultural delights including one of the last remaining hippodromes, an award-winning museum, a National Trust house containing the room in which Charles I’s death was plotted, a contemporary art space inside a shopping centre and a theatre housed in a former chapel.

 

Out There Festival

Out There Arts & The Drill House, York Road

Out There is the much-loved annual festival of circus and street performance that takes over the town and draws 60,000 people to Great Yarmouth over one weekend in the spring; from local artists to international performers, the programme is dynamic and eclectic – and mostly free to attend. Beyond this, Out There Arts run workshops and classes out of the Grade II listed Drill House – which also hosts regular events including circus performances, new music nights and a beer festival.

outtherearts.org.uk

 

The Hippodrome, St Georges Road

Immerse yourself in the rich history that echoes through every corner of Britain’s only surviving total circus building. Built in 1903, The Hippodrome has hosted a wide variety of performance over the last century from singer Lillie Langtry, comedian Max Miller and escapologist Harry Houdini to more recent performances by The Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Julian Lloyd Webber and Billy Bragg. The venue is now best known and loved for its circus shows throughout the year, that blend skilful traditional circus with an unexpected spectacle – beneath the stage is a swimming pool holding 275,000 litres of water! Don’t miss a trip to the backstage museum, packed with over a hundred years of circus memorabilia, alongside nods to the owner’s ‘60s pop career as frontman of ‘Peter Jay and the Jaywalkers’.

hippodromecircus.com

 

Time and Tide Museum of Great Yarmouth Life

Time and Tide Museum of Great Yarmouth Life, Blackfriars Road

Time and Tide Museum explores the rich history and the culture of Great Yarmouth and its people. From the recreated Victorian ‘Row’ that lets you step inside a fisherman’s cottage, to a room celebrating traditional seaside entertainment, this is a celebration of all that puts the ‘Great’ in Great Yarmouth. Set inside a building that was originally the Tower Fish Curing Works, the museum offers a full sensory experience – the evocative smell of the smokehouse still remains to this day.

Alongside the permanent collection is a temporary exhibition space; recent exhibitions have included a celebration of circus, Dinosaurium – featuring fossils found locally and a tribute to dinosaurs in film and TV – and a show centred around JMW Turner’s Walton Bridges painting.

timeandtide.norfolk.gov.uk

 

Elizabethan House Museum

Elizabethan House, South Quay (Seasonal opening hours)

Facing Great Yarmouth’s historic quay, over the years this house has been home to merchants and prominent locals. Oliver Cromwell frequently visited, and it became a regular meeting place for Parliamentarians during the Civil War. You can even visit the Conspiracy Room, where it is alleged that the fate of Charles I was decided in November 1648. Now owned by the National Trust, Elizabethan House has been lovingly preserved to immerse visitors in the experience of the people who lived there – and those who worked for them below stairs. After touring the museum you can relax in the quaint walled garden.

nationaltrust.org.uk/elizabethan-house-museum

PrimeYarc, Market Gates Shopping Centre

Run by artist-led organisation original projects, PrimeYarc is an art space hosting regular exhibitions and residencies by contemporary artists from across the UK. Their public programme is varied, and offers the chance to see work across a variety of different media, exploring many different themes. Shows are complemented by workshops and community projects and the space includes a small shop with prints, t-shirts, books and more by local creatives.

originalprojects.co.uk

 

St George’s Theatre

St George’s Theatre, King Street

The former chapel in which St George’s Theatre is housed is modelled on Sir Christopher Wren’s on the Strand and is now recognised as one of the finest examples of baroque church architecture outside London. Deconsecrated in 1959, it was unused until the early 1970s when it became a popular venue for professional and community performance right up until 2006, when structural issues forced it to close. A National Lottery Heritage Fund in 2009 saved this historic building and it is now a vibrant year-round programme of theatre, live poetry, family shows and music.

stgeorgestheatre.com

 

There’s still more…

Next door to the charming Merrivale Model Village you will find the old penny arcade – convert your coins into old pennies to try your luck on the one-armed bandit, have your fortune told, or wake up a laughing sailor. Head a short way north from the main stretch of the beach and take a relaxing stroll around the Venetian Waterways and Ornamental Gardens. As you wander through the town, keep your eyes open to snippets of the medieval wall – from the Railway Station you can walk the length of the remaining wall.

The Waterways

The Waterways

You’ll find a wide range of restaurants and food stalls throughout the town. Make sure you visit King Street, the pulse of Great Yarmouth, that offers a wide range of culinary experiences. The street is a testament to the large Portuguese community that resides here and a stroll along King Street would not be complete without a pastel de nata from Tropical Cafe.

And don’t forget, no matter how highbrow your cultural tastes, a visit to Great Yarmouth would not be complete without a quick turn on the 2p machines!

For more information about visiting Great Yarmouth with suggestions of where to eat and stay go to www.visitgreatyarmouth.co.uk