I was lucky enough to be able to spend a couple of days in Norwich recently, I’d never been before and I wasn’t disappointed. It’s the most intact medieval city in England and has many medieval buildings including a castle and cathedral. But primarily I was here for the shops! Norwich is full of little independent shops like antique shops, not the glossy expensive showrooms but the higgledy piggledy ones I love.

I had decided to stay in an apartment rather than a hotel or B&B and I found Pigg Lane Apartments which was very conveniently located and very comfortable. When we arrived we were met by a lady with a key and shown around. There was already milk in the fridge so I could have that all important cup of tea before starting to explore.There was also a place to park the car.

One of the prettiest streets I found was Elm Hill, it’s filled with antique shops, craft shops and tea rooms.

I had tea and cake at The Briton Arms Coffee House which you can see at the centre of this picture. There was an open fire and the homemade coffee cake was truly yummy!

Very near to where we stayed was a street called Magdalen Street. It housed the usual interesting array of shops, which also included fabric & haberdashery shops. I found a lovely shop called Anglian Fashion Fabrics where I bought the London Fabric in the previous tutorial and some very colourful daisy trimming. There was also a store offering craft courses which was connected to Anglian Fashion Fabrics.

Next to the London Fabric you can see one of a Goat Making Clothes, I bought this from a store called Jarrold’s in the centre of Norwich. They have been trading since 1823 in an area called The Lanes but their fabric & haberdashery department is only a year old.

I love the crooked look of this building, it had a gallery downstairs & an antique centre upstairs, which is where I bought the four small keys in the picture with the fabric.

The shopping in Norwich is fairly varied from the Art Deco style Royal Arcade to the largest daily outdoor market in the country.

So if you ever find yourself in the area definitely make a visit, I’m sure you wont be disappointed.