NEXT STOP, NORTH WALSHAM

November 2025. North Walsham. Norfolk.

A first visit to North Walsham (pop. 12, 829) since 2018, a good year for City fans.

Manchester City fans, that is. The half hour trip from Norwich was “enlivened” by young lads discussing the Canaries terrible form.

“When we played Portsmouth we went 3-5-2 with an overload and it went ****-up”.

I’ve learnt the only reliable tactic is to allow the opposition to pass the ball across their 18 yard box and then give it away.

Our destination is the birthplace of a Manchester City and England legend, probably the best player I’ve ever seen. We’ll come to her later.

It’s a relatively smooth trip through the edge of the Broads, enlivened by the pig farms at Withergate, another place of mystery to me.

They’re keen on their pigs round here, bred especially for Xmas when they’ll be wrapped in blankets or similar pagan/Dickensian nonsense.

They’re celebrated in a town centre that you approach from the railway station by following the clear signage.

Go left, go right, then repeat.

If you’d asked me to describe North Walsham I would simply have said “imagine Littleport or Downham Market” and you’d be none the wiser.

Compact, self-sufficient, the listed buildings obliterated with bright signage.

But the market square is very lovely,

and holds the Hop In, an excellent micro.

This year’s GBG brings a companion to the Hop that could just about make this a beer destination. We’ll come to that next.

For now, decorated pigs,

a mural of the aforementioned Lauren Hemp which looks like she’s behind bars,

and a thatched kebab shop.

Oh, and a spectaular church (once again, patience).

But best of all, it has a Roy’s Wroxham, a British Home Stores of a place for Broadland folk.

A local shop, for local people.

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Published by retiredmartin

Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.

25 thoughts on “NEXT STOP, NORTH WALSHAM”

  1. “I’ve learnt the only reliable tactic is to allow the opposition to pass the ball across their 18 yard box and then give it away.”

    I smell a nasty burn there.

    “They’re keen on their pigs round here,”

    Pink Floyd did a song about them.

    “bred especially for Xmas when they’ll be wrapped in blankets or similar pagan/Dickensian nonsense.”

    It beats Toad in the Hole.

    “They’re celebrated in a town centre that you approach from the railway station by following the clear signage.”

    Of course you’d be across the road at the Jade Garden restaurant when you took that photo.
    (besides, either going up King’s Arms Street or along Grammar School Road then up Yarmouth will get you to the town centre)

    “If you’d asked me to describe North Walsham I would simply have said “imagine Littleport or Downham Market” and you’d be none the wiser.”

    Ayup.

    “and holds the Hop In, an excellent micro.”

    With a drawing of hop vines on the wall; nice touch.

    “For now, decorated pigs,”

    (looks up at pic)
    Er, that looks like a pig crossed with something else.

    (then looks down at the map)
    See! You took that photo at the bottom left corner of a square. Town Centre is up either of the two sides.

    “a mural of the aforementioned Lauren Hemp which looks like she’s behind bars,”

    Phew. Glad I didn’t go for a (slow golf clap) on her earlier hint.

    “But best of all, it has a Roy’s Wroxham, a British Home Stores of a place for Broadland folk.”

    Be still my beating heart?

    “A local shop, for local people.”

    Good for them.

    Cheers

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      1. Wish I had met them. Instead, after having a polite 2 minute convo with a random in there about the architecture he tried to kiss my face goodbye. I blocked the manoeuvre … but urgh.

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      3. Yes, an old breed of reddish pigs that few had heard about before the Tamworth Two escaped from Malmesbury during January 1998.
        Also from Staffordshire are the lesser known Bagot Goats.
        And of course Staffordshire Bull Terriers.
        And Bass.

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  3. Wroxham irritates me as I misread it as “Wrexham” (there’s a place near Slough called Wexham which has the same effect.) Wroxham may have a fabled shop but it doesn’t have the world’s third oldest football club or a Bass mirror factory.

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    1. Meanwhile, folk in Wroxham are irritated by the existence of a town in South Cheshire that sounds similar, and assume that McElhenney and Reynolds plan to take their team from Isthmian League to Europe have been detailed by a typo.

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    2. Notting Hill and Cottingham have a similar effect on me, Bill.

      Neither were portrayed by American TV in the 1950s and 60s as having a castle in a forest clearing rather than on a rock overlooking the Trent Valley however.

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      1. Crewe… over 40 years since I was there. Travelled from Crewe to That London for a job interview, using an MOD rail warrant which made me feel all important. Didn’t get the job though.
        A post on Wrexham to ingratiate yourself with our new friends over the pond would be good. Just remember it’s “Pentre Maelor”. (After you did so well with Pontcysyllte!) Rhosllannerchrugog, Caergwrle and Bwlchgwyn need to feature too.😁

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      3. That reminds me that four days ago I ‘bumped into’ Martin Grosberg of Crewe, who you’ve met, in PACK which, as of Wolves, in an acronyn of Perfect Ale Cask Keg. Sarah Hughes, the Sedgley Surprise, wasn’t drinking as well as it does in Sedgley.

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