Market Place

The Market Place in Fakenham is where the town's heart actually beats. It's a proper Georgian square, all red brick and period frontages, the sort of space that makes you understand why Norfolk market towns mattered. There's still a market here on Saturdays - nothing fancy, just local produce, clothes stalls, the usual - but it's the architecture that stops you. The buildings lean slightly, which shouldn't work but somehow does. You can stand here for twenty minutes and see the whole town flow past.

This isn't a museum or a ticketed experience. There's no entry fee, no gift shop, no ropey cafe. It's just a working town square that happens to be genuinely handsome. History types will spend a while reading plaques and dating buildings. Kids get bored fairly quickly unless the market's on, then they're hunting for crepes or ice cream. Photographers find good light here, especially late afternoon when the brick goes golden.

It works brilliantly as a stop on a Norfolk Coast caravan holiday. Fakenham's only ten minutes from the glamping sites around here - Wild Meadow and North Norfolk Glamping are both close - so you can base yourself out in the countryside and come into town for lunch or coffee without much fuss. Allow an hour including a browse of the independent shops ringing the square. Go on a market Saturday if you want atmosphere, a weekday morning if you prefer peace.