The viewpoint on St James Hill is a fine spot from which to view the city, and it also dispels the notion that all East Anglia is flat. It will be seen that Norwich — really an agglomeration of several medieval villages — straddles the River Wensum while tucked within a wide bend of the River Yare. The magnificent panorama ahead is dominated by Norwich Cathedral and, appearing almost behind its spire, the green-patina top bell-tower of City Hall. To the left, the panelled tower of St Peter Mancroft, a true city church, rises elegantly, while to the right and nearer the horizon stands the square-towered bulk of St John the Baptist Catholic Cathedral.
Bishop Bridge, built in 1340, is the only surviving medieval bridge in the city. Nearby is Pulls Ferry, dating from the reign of Elizabeth I; a plaque under the archway and a notice board on the riverbank explain its significance. From here, beautiful houses frame a quiet back street, once the canal along which building materials were hauled to the cathedral. Set serenely in a slight hollow, Lower Close reveals the magnificent southern elevation of the cathedral soaring cliff-like above neat lawns and the largest cloisters in England. This cathedral must have one of the cleanest exteriors in the land, its external stonework revealing rich colouring enhanced by a pastel clock face over the entrance.
Leave by the west door and past the precincts of Upper Close, where Admiral Nelson attended school, before passing through the gateway built almost six centuries ago by Sir Thomas Erpingham, knight at Agincourt and immortalised in Shakespeare's play Henry V.
Elm Hill is a restored medieval street, its cobbled surface rising steadily between irregularly placed frontages of vernacular architecture. St Andrew's and Blackfriars were once vast monastery churches. Nearby in Magdalen Street is Gurney Court, once the home of Elizabeth Fry (1780–1845), Quaker and prison reformer.
Bridewell Alley houses the Museum of Norwich at the Bridewell, which is packed with local artefacts. Beyond, at number three, is Colman's Mustard Shop, where beautifully displayed and presented examples of this local product make useful souvenirs.
Notice the flush flintwork of the Guildhall. Close by, the largest open-air market in England is fronted by St Peter Mancroft and its clear-glass clerestory windows. St Peter's, one of the many city churches, is much used, polished, and lovingly upkept by the people of Norwich; its hammerbeam roof is masked by false vaulting below which the east window filters sunlight through 15th-century Norwich glass.
With its magnificent external decoration, Norwich Castle dates from 1160 and is an outstanding example of Norman military architecture. Today, it houses an equally outstanding museum and art gallery featuring an excellent display of landscape pictures by the Norwich School of Painters, which were avidly collected by wealthy local families in the early 19th century.
Two squat towers above Castle Gardens mark the spot where, in days gone by, convicted criminals were publicly executed to the huge delight of crowds in the cattle market below. Robert Kett, who led a peasant's revolt in 1549, died here, hanged from the castle walls.
The medieval flush-flint archway of Ethelbert Gate takes you out of the rush of the city and into the serenity of Cathedral Close, which contains beautiful houses — some Georgian, some earlier — several of which have now been turned into offices. Just past the cathedral door lies the grave of Edith Cavell, a heroic nurse executed by the Germans in 1915 for helping British prisoners of war escape.
The flint tower of the parish church of St Helen marks the entrance to the Great Hospital, founded in 1249 and still operating. Access to the church is through the gardens via a cloister, where inquiries at reasonable hours will produce a key. St Helen's was once larger, but during the Reformation much of it was divided into communal wards where the sick and elderly took shelter.
From St Helen's, a final stroll along the banks of the River Wensum leads back to the start of the walk. On this final stretch along the riverbank, you will notice an imposing tower by the waterside: the Cow Tower, a 14th-century artillery tower strategically placed to defend the city from potential invasion.
