Destination - Great Yarmouth

Frequently asked questions

Why do people visit Great Yarmouth?

Described by Charles Dickens’ character Peggotty in David Copperfield as the ‘finest place in the universe’, Great Yarmouth isn’t just about amusement arcades, thrilling rides and enormous sandy beaches - it also has a rich and proud maritime heritage, and its prosperous herring fishery made it one of the wealthiest towns in Britain in years gone by.

As a result, there are many historic buildings, particularly Dutch and Flemish, to see in the town centre and around the historic South Quay, as well as England’s second most complete medieval Town Wall. The seafront Golden Mile has a mix of beautiful Victorian and Edwardian architecture.

There’s a huge range of accommodation across Great Yarmouth, plus holiday parks at Caister-on-Sea and Hemsby. Across the River Yare, Gorleston-on-Sea is worth visiting too.

Where is Great Yarmouth in England?

Is Great Yarmouth in Norfolk or Suffolk? It’s definitely in Norfolk, but the Suffolk border is just two miles south. Great Yarmouth is 21 miles east of Norwich. Great Yarmouth is on a branch line from Norwich, which has Inter City trains from London. It stands at the mouth of the river Yare – hence Yarmouth.

What is Great Yarmouth famous for?

The advent of Victorian railways meant people could travel easily from London and smog-filled industrial cities in the Midlands to the clean, fresh seaside air of Great Yarmouth. It quickly became a family favourite, particularly during ‘Factory Fortnight’, and there was huge investment in the Golden Mile of amusements, rides, attractions, piers and buildings.

Great Yarmouth is also famous for its herring industry history. Visit the award-winning Time and Tide Museum. The UK’s best-preserved Victorian herring curing works, Time and Tide tells a compelling story of Great Yarmouth’s history from its Ice Age origins, focusing on the town’s rich maritime heritage and popularity as a seaside resort. Look out for exhibits on smoking and curing, what life was like on board a drifter and a re-creation of a typical 1913 ‘Row’, complete with fishermen’s homes, and a 1950s fish wharf. Great Yarmouth still has three herring on its coat of arms, and it was famous for its own type of whole, salted, cold-smoked, or ‘bloated’, herring – known as bloaters (the nickname of the town’s football team).

The celebrated bloater dates from 1835 when a herring-curer called Bishop salted some left-over fish and put them overnight in his oak log-fuelled ‘smoke house’, to prevent them from being spoiled. It is said the next morning he was ‘both astonished and delighted with their appearance, aroma and flavour’. The town had its own entry in the epicurean encyclopaedia.

In 1913, 1,163 fishing boats were operating out of the port – and it’s said you could walk across the river boat-by-boat. On October 23, 1907 fishermen brought in nearly 80 million herring in one day. The herring were exported as far afield as Russia, India and Africa.

What are Great Yarmouth’s top historical sights?

Explore Great Yarmouth’s Heritage Quarter, on the South Quay close to Haven Bridge. Robinson Crusoe author Daniel Defoe said the South Quay was ‘the finest in England if not the world’. Here you’ll find one of the finest buildings in the town, Great Yarmouth Town Hall, built in the 1880s and a classic example of fine Victorian Gothic architecture.

Nearby is the 16th century quayside Elizabethan House Museum, a handsome 16th century home that offers a glimpse into the lives the families who lived there, from Tudor through to Victorian times. In the Conspiracy Room, find out about a fascinating period in Great Yarmouth's history when the town took sides with Cromwell and the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War. Cromwell visited the house on several occasions and led a successful attack on Royalist Lowestoft, aided by Gt Yarmouth volunteers.

Moored opposite is the Lydia Eva, an original and lovingly-restored drifter that was part of the town’s herring industry in the 1930s. At this time it is said the fleet was so big you could walk across the river, going boat by boat. The vessel is now a museum with displays and films that illustrate the herring industry at its peak. It appeared in the Timothée Chalamet Wonka film (2023).

Just off South Quay you will find the Great Yarmouth Row Houses, where port workers lived in cramped tenement conditions, and the Tolhouse, one of the town’s oldest buildings, dating back to the 12th century. It has served as a town hall and prison and the museum focuses on the town’s criminals through history. This is where thieves, smugglers, witches, pirates and murderers were incarcerated!

Is there anything to do in Great Yarmouth?

Great Yarmouth St Nicholas Minster, at the northern end of the Marke Place, was the largest parish church in England until it became a Minster.

On Church Plain is the part-timber house where Anna Sewell, writer of the classic Black Beauty, one of the best-read children’s stories in history and in the top ten most popular books ever written in English, was born on March 30, 1820.

St. George’s Theatre at the edge of central St. Georges Park is a grade I listed building, commissioned in 1714 to be modelled on the church of St Clement Danes by Sir Christopher Wren. The result was a monumental design now recognised as one of the finest examples of Baroque Church architecture outside of London.

Why is Yarmouth Great?

It’s the best seaside resort on the entire east coast for one, but also, in 1272 it was called Magna (Great) Yarmouth to distinguish it from Little Yarmouth across the river Yare, a settlement now called Southtown. Oh, and don’t call it Yarmouth – that’s on the Isle of Wight.

What are the top things to do on Great Yarmouth seafront, the Golden Mile?

Visit the Hippodrome on the Golden Mile, the country’s only complete circus building. When it was opened in 1903 it was called ‘Undoubtedly the finest palace of entertainment in Great Britain’ and dubbed one of the ‘Seven wonders of the British seaside’. It plays host to shows throughout the year, sometimes including the water spectacle that lays beneath the big ring floor.

Ride the wooden 1932 Rollercoaster at the Pleasure Beach instead, otherwise known as ‘The Scenic’. It’s the only remaining ride of its kind in the UK, and only one of two remaining rollercoasters where a brakeman is required to ride the train, as there are no brakes on the track!

Explore Britannia Pier and ride a snail at Joyland.

Go to the races! It’s on the flat at Great Yarmouth. They’re considerably faster than the donkeys on the beaches.

Visit the Sea Life Centre. How long does it take to walk around Sea Life in Great Yarmouth? You can easily spend three hours observing and enjoying the myriad underwater life, including sharks and penguins.

Take an open-air clip-clopping carriage ride on a landau or jump on the Choo Choo Loco land train.

Order freshly-made donuts with lots of sugar coating and see if you can eat one without licking your lips. It’s impossible!

Play crazy golf at Castaway Island or Pirate’s Cove.

What events take place in Great Yarmouth?

Out There in May is the largest free festival in the region, full of outdoor circus and trapeze performances. Wheels Festival takes place on the seafront in June. The Hippodrome has events throughout the year, including Easter, Halloween and Christmas.