East Anglia Overview

The swampy fens in East Anglia were drained in the 1820s, yielding fertile farmland. The water that drenched enormous medieval peat bogs was channeled into a maze of waterways known as the Norfolk Broads, now a popular national park. Norman invaders brought stone over the flooded fens to build the Ely Cathedral. In a village to the south, renegade scholars from Oxford set up a rival institution along the River Cam in the 15th century.

Punt along the River Cam in the university town of Cambridge, one of the world’s oldest centers of scholarship.
Gaze at Ely Cathedral, a medieval masterwork towering over fenland.
Celebrate in Norwich, once the largest town in Anglo-Saxon England, where wool markets and festivals have endured for centuries.

Transportation

The major rail operator is National Express East Anglia (☎0845 600 7245; www.nationalexpresseastanglia.com). An Anglia Plus pass (£13), available at stations within East Anglia, grants you a day’s unlimited travel on all train and local bus routes in the region. An Anglia Plus Three Day pass allows three days (£26).

Cyclists and hikers appreciate East Anglia’s flat terrain and relatively dry climate, although bike -rental shops are rare outside of Cambridge and Norwich. The area’s most popular walking trail is Peddar’s Way, which runs from Knettishall Heath to Holme and includes the Norfolk Coast Path and Weaver’s Way. TICs in Norwich, Bury St. Edmunds, and several Suffolk villages issue the guide Peddar’s Way and Norfolk Coast Path.

Harwich (HAR-idge) is a ferry depot for the Netherlands, Germany, and Scandinavia. Felixstowe has ferries to Belgium (see By Ferry ). Call the Harwich Tourist Information Centre, Iconfield Park, Parkeston, for details. (☎01255 506 139. Open Apr.-Sept. M-F 9am-5pm, Sa-Su 9am-4pm.) The Felixstowe TIC is on the seafront. (☎01394 276 770. Open daily 9am-5:30pm.)

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