A line from Noel Coward's play Private Lives: "Very flat, Norfolk". It certainly is in the east and north, although inland towards the south-east it gets hillier. It's that flatness that brings a certain charm to the coastal parts of the county: large skies and the extensive stretches of water known as the Broads. These are essentially lakes formed where rivers have expanded and the interlocking waterways provide miles of boating pleasure for both sailing craft and motor boats.
Apart from the slightly raucous Great Yarmouth with its end-of-the-pier shows and holiday camps - a sort of mini-Blackpool - there are several quieter holiday resorts, each with its sandy beach. So long as the wind is not too bracing, places such as Hunstanton and Cromer almost recall the golden age of bucket-and-spade holidays. The Queen spends Christmas each year on her Sandringham estate near King's Lynn. Originally named Bishop's Lynn, the town was part of the manor of the Bishop of Norwich in the 12th century. By the 14th century, the town ranked as the third port of England. It still retains two buildings that were warehouses of the Hanseatic League that were in use between the 15th and 17th centuries. When Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in 1538, the town and manor became royal property.
Norfolk is the home county of England's most famous admiral - Horatio Nelson - who was born at Burnham Thorpe.
The county town (or city) is Norwich, with its delightful cathedral. Elm Hill is the city's most famous medieval street, almost the same in appearance now as it was when most of its properties were last rebuilt, after the major fire of 1507.
You will gather that there is an embarrassment of pictorial opportunities this week, but I have selected a picture of Barton Broad, borrowed from the Norfolk Tourist Information web site.
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