After another crazy Christmas I’ve decided this will be the year I ditch routine and do all those things I dream of doing but always put off. So, waking to a beautifully sunny but cold Saturday in January, I decided to start the new year as promised.

I headed to Norwich Cathedral. Dating back to 1096, it took the Normans 49 years to build this spectacular Romanesque domicile, and you can see why. But my visit wasn’t to gasp at the beauty inside, it was to wander outside, to soak up the atmosphere of the largest cloisters in England and to enjoy a walk through the 44-acre site it resides on.

Locally, the Close is known as the ‘village within the city.’ It is as picture-perfect as can be, with a village green, ancient houses, cottages, park benches and cobbled avenues which take you down to the riverside of the Wensum where you find Bishop Bridge – the only surviving medieval bridge in the city (c. 1340) and one of the oldest bridges still in use today in England. It was beautifully tranquil and I listened to the birds singing. It would only have been more perfect if there had been a sprinkling of snow.

Wrapped up warm, I walked, observed and started to unwind, slowly meandering towards the Britons Arms – a magnificent thatched coffee house (c. 1420), offering an inviting roaring open fire and situated on the most complete medieval street in Norwich, Elm Hill. I have been coming here since I was a child and its magic still holds me today. As you walk through the door, down the uneven, centuries-old stone steps you are hit with the smell of rich coffee and homemade sticky flapjacks. A slice of history, a wedge of cake and a steaming cup of house blend and I felt utterly revived and nothing but excited about the year of adventures ahead.

Images courtesy of Norwich City Council and zDilley on Flickr