Norfolk’s theme and adventure parks are brilliant for a day out, and a great way to have fun as a family! There are lots of adventure and theme parks in the county, offering a wide variety of themes, activities, rides and attractions, with something to suit everyone.
From small family run adventure parks with animals and gentle rides, outdoor adventures, beachside fun fairs and amusements, to loud and large theme parks which big kids and teenagers will love, Norfolk theme parks have got the lot.
My A-Z guide of theme parks in Norfolk, with a helpful interactive map, will make it easy for you to choose the best one to visit. All you need to do is have fun!
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BeWILDerwood Adventure Park
Best for: Families with younger children between 2 and 12 years of age.
Probably the number one family attraction in Norfolk, BeWILDerwood Norfolk is located in the village of Horning to the east of Norwich. This award winning forest adventure park is a brilliant place for kids to burn off lots of energy climbing the numerous treehouses, hurling down zip lines and slides, and crossing the many rope bridges strung between the trees.
I love the vibe at BeWILDerwood – the woodland setting makes it feel gentler than many other theme parks, and the fun comes from natural surroundings and lots of running around, rather than loud rides and amusements (althoguh they have their place too!).
The whole park is character themed from a series of kids books, and this forms the basis of story-telling and craft sessions held daily, and there is also a cafe and gift shop. You probably need a full day here, especially in the school holidays when its usually very busy!
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Bug Parc
Best for: families of all ages
A new attraction for 2022 and close to Norwich, BugUK Parc is perfect if you’ve got kids who love all things creepy crawly. There are three large tropical invertebrate houses, home to over 200 species, as well as the opportunity to handle live invertebrates, but you do need to book this in advance.
For those that are fascinated by minibeasts, this makes for a great day out and the live handling sessions are excellent. Managed by an insect expert, you’ll learn about the bugs in a small group session.
If you really don’t like bugs or spiders, you can easily bypass the spider and tarantula houses… phew!
Church Farm
Best for: families with younger kids
Church Farm Stow Bardolph, between King’s Lynn and Swaffham, is a great place for a day out with the kids. Meet rare breeds, cute baby animals, race around on pedal tractors, enjoy adventure play in the fantastic indoor treehouse, ride on a donkey and even play with piglets, who will roll over obligingly for a belly scratch!
For grown-ups, there’s also outdoor theatre in the summer, beautiful woodland walks and a tea room where you should absolutely try one of their delicious home-made cakes!
ExTREEme Adventure Park
Best for: adults and older kids
Near King’s Lynn is ExTREEme Adventure, where quad safaris and an assault course make for an action packed and fun day out.
Enjoy an off-road adventure on a Suzuki ATV quad bike trek, or test yourself on an Army style assault course where you’ll tackle, climb over, crawl under and race around obstacles constructed from wood against the backdrop of the beautiful natural setting.
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Go Ape Thetford
Best for: adventurous families with older kids and teenagers
Not your traditional theme park, but more of an outdoor adventure land, Go Ape Thetford Forest at High Lodge is a great place for a family day out and one of the best adventure parks in Norfolk.
With their signature Treetop Challenge, Treetop Adventure and Treetop Adventure Plus, as well as all wheel drive Forest Segways, you’ll find a fun activity whatever your age or ability.
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Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach
Best for: families with teenagers and young adults
Sitting at the top of Great Yarmouth’s Golden Mile and sprawling across a huge nine acre site is the Pleasure Beach, Great Yarmouth’s number one attraction. This theme park is loud, colourful, and in your face, making it the perfect place to take older kids and teenagers for a day out!
With a mix of 28 adrenaline pumping rides, traditional attractions including a 1932 wooden roller coaster, gardens, amusement arcades and food outlets, you need to devote a whole day to the Pleasure Beach, even though you’ll be exhausted by the end of it!
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Hemsby Fun Park
Best for: families with younger children
Hemsby Fun Park is a small family run funfair behind Hemsby beach. Kids love the huge slide which you come down in a sack, before traipsing back up the stairs to repeat, and repeat! There are also waltzers, dogems and petrol go-carts for older kids.
Hemsby itself is a lively village resort behind the beach with shops, amusements, and cafes, a bit like a mini Great Yarmouth! The fun park is close to all these attractions, making it an ideal stop when you visit or stay in Hemsby for your Norfolk holiday.
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Hilltop Outdoor Centre
Best for: families with teenagers and older kids
Located within 26 acres of picturesque woodlands along the North Norfolk Coast near Sheringham, Hilltop Outdoor Centre is a high quality, accredited, family run independent Outdoor Education Centre running Norfolk adventure days during the school holidays.
This action-packed adventure of high ropes, zip lining, tree top trails and swings, climbing walls and archery is one of the best family days out in North Norfolk. Older kids and teenagers will love the thrill of high ropes courses, zip lines and climbing walls, and parents will love the peace for a few hours!
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Hirsty’s Family Fun Park
Best for: families with kids of all ages
Award winning Hirsty’s near Hemsby is great for an action-packed day out for the entire family. Open during school holidays, this working farm has acres of space to explore and we like the all inclusive entry price, once you’re in, all the activities are covered.
Home to the Summer Mega Maze, the giant maze made of maize is open for the whole of the school summer holidays. Get lost in the corn maze, find the clues to the quiz and collect stickers on your journey to find the way out – this is brilliant fun the whole family, especially if you’re competitive!
Elsewhere on the farm you’ll find a variety of animals to see and visit, and lots of activities like the barrel train, hay bale mountain, zipwire, a soft play area, bouncy castles, go-karting and trampolines. There is also a great cafe and farm shop selling produce grown on the farm and locally.
Hirty’s also run special events which are shaped around the seasons and take place throughout the school holidays, think easter egg hunts, baby lambs and pumpkin patches!
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Joyland
Best for: families with younger children between 2 and 10
A family owned theme park in Great Yarmouth, Joyland is like the next door Pleasure Beach’s younger sibling!
Rides include the world famous Snails and Tyrolean Tub Twist, along with the traditional pirate ship, carousel, ghost train and many others. There is a amusement arcade at the back of the park, with lots of 2p and 10p slots suitable for kids including the addicitive 2p falls, which I still love today!
Next door is the American Diner which has a great menu packed with burgers, hot dogs and shakes – well worth a visit after you’ve tired the kids out in Joyland!
Merrivale Model Village
Best for: all ages
On South Beach Parade in Great Yarmouth, the Merrivale Model Village is exactly what it says on the tin – a theme park where the theme is miniature!
This quaint model village covers over an acre and represents the typical English countryside that surrounds Great Yarmouth, including a busy town centre, a perfectly kept village inn, farm, travelling fair, sports stadium, zoo, holiday park, country club, Norfolk castles and cottages.
Model railway enthusiasts will be delighted by the 350m of 45mm G gauge track running through the gardens. There are 28 different types and styles of locomotive, tram, novelty vehicle and associated rolling stock with carriages, all of which run on different days. You may need to visit more than once to catch them all!
There’s also a crazy golf course, brillian penny arcade and tea rooms serving home-made cake and cream teas, perfect for that afternoon treat!
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Pettitts Adventure Park
Best for: families with children under 9
Pettitts Adventure Park in Reedham is where domestic and exotic animals, kids rides, live entertainment and a cafe make for a great day out.
There are plenty of rides designed for younger children including the tea cups, a caterpiller roller coaster, and the popular farm train. If your kids love animals, there is everything from reptiles to marmosets, with animal encounters available with some.
Smaller children will love the play zones which include mini diggers, crazy golf, indoor play and a construction play area. This is a great place to visit for the kids to let off steam!
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Pleasurewood Hills Family Theme Park
Best for: all age groups, children under 12 years old must be accompanied by an adult
Pleasurewood Hills is not quite in Norfolk, but north of Lowestoft and right on the border between Norfolk and Suffolk, so it’s pretty close!
Set within 52 acres of coastal parkland, the theme park has over 35 rides, shows and attractions, with something for everyone whether you’re an adrenaline junkie, or just looking for a great family day out.
Younger family members will enjoy exploring Woody’s Cub House, a soft play area, while the various family friendly kiddies rides are perfect for young thrill seekers. For the adrenalin junkies there’s a choice of rides including the extreme roller coaster Wipeout, as well as the Cannonball Express and the Water Fun Factory – expect to get wet!
If you prefer gentler rides and amusements, there are two trains to hop on and a chairlift for a birds’ eye view of the park. You’re sure to have a great day out at one of the top theme parks in East Anglia.
Rainbow Park Hunstanton
Best for: all ages!
I loved coming to the sea-front fairground at Sunny Hunny as a kid, and then as a teenager, for the loud music, amusements and dodgems, where I could spend all night!
Rainbow Park has fairground rides for every age group and two amusement arcades where you can find all the traditional games like fruit machines, air hockey, penny falls and grabbing cranes, alongside the most up to date and interactive arcade games.
With long opening times, well into the evening, you’ll be pleased to find there’s lots of places to eat offering seaside favourites like fish and chips, doughnuts, candyfloss and ice creams, and the famous Rocky Thompson sweet stall, which has been at this site for over 50 years!
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ROARR! Dinosaur Adventure Park Norfolk
Best for: families with children of any age up to 15 years old
Just outside Norwich is ROARR!, a dinosaur themed adventure park and a Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice for 2022. Full of life size dinosaur models, dotted along the dinosaur trail and hidden in the woods, your kids will be terrified and excited when one of them moves and roars!
There is also a reptile house, an opportunity to pet lots of cute animals, a seriously fun splash park, crazy golf (who doesn’t love a round when you’re on holiday?), go carts, play areas with dino slides, a high ropes area, and even a deer safari. There really is a lot to do here, and it all comes with a feeling of space and lots of places for a picnic (both indoor and outdoor) or to just sit and take a rest.
There are also a few food outlets to choose from, including grab and go snacks, pizza, fish and chips, a cafe with indoor play area, and a restaurant – even if you have fussy eaters, you’ll find something here.
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SEA LiFE Centres
Best for: families of all ages
SEA LiFE is like a giant aquarium theme park, and their sites in Great Yarmouth and Hunstanton are perfect for explorers who love anything to do with the oceans and animals.
Kids can get up close to the marine animals and interact with Humboldt penguins, starfish and incredible rays for a really special experience. You’ll also be able to attend daily talks about different marine creatures and help with animal feeds.
In the vast aquariums, you can watch deadly sharks and crocodiles, beautiful turtles and seahorses, mesmerising octopus and fascinating jellyfish. There’s even a shark nursery to visit.
The SEA LiFE Centre at Hunstanton is a bit different as it’s also home to Norfolk’s Seal Rescue Centre and Hospital. Based in Hunstanton because of the large population of Common Seals and Grey Seals along the nearby North Norfolk coast, the seal hospital cares for injured and vulnerable seals and seal pups until they can be released back into the wild.
A visit to a SEA LiFE Centre is the perfect way to combine education with family fun, and an especially good place to visit when it’s raining – which has been known to happen in Norfolk!
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Snettisham Park
Best for: families with younger children
Snettisham Park and Park Farm is a working Norfolk farm growing wheat for animal feed, barley, sugar beet and grass, which is grazed by a 400 flock of sheep, a herd of red deer, and horses and ponies from their own stables.
The 329 acre working farm is open to the public, and is a brilliant day out with kids. See lambs being born, take a 45 minute deer safari, bottle feed baby animals, collect freshly laid eggs and ride ponies, and take a walk on one of their three wonderful trails.
Wroxham Barns Fun Park
Best for: families and kids of all ages
There’s something for everyone at the award winning and popular Wroxham Barns, one of the best things to do in Wroxham and a TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice for 2022.
For families, the Junior Farm has animals galore for kids to pet, groom, feed and enjoy, including guinea pigs, goats, sheep, alpacas (my favourites) chickens, ponies, pigs, ducks, turkeys & donkeys!
The Fun Park has a fun daily programme of activities for kids, with unlimited rides, activities and a mini golf course, along with brilliant seasonal events like the annual Maize Maze, Pumpkin Festival and Lambing Live. You must book tickets in advance for the Junior Farm and Fun Park.
For grown-ups there are craft studios and art galleries where you can watch and meet local crafts people, and shops where Norfolk produce and crafts can be bought, from handmade fudge, bottle beers and local foodstuffs to stained glass, woodcraft, ceramics and jewellery.
Once you’ve had your retail therapy fix, you can take a break in the Courtyard Cafe, which serves a range of delicious hot lunches, savoury snacks and and popular afternoon teas. If you’ve got kids with you, head to the Farmyard Cafe, which serves child friendly meals at the weekends and during school holidays.
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Map of Theme Parks in Norfolk
How to use this map – Use your finges (or computer mouse) to zoom in and out. Click or touch the icons to get more info about a place, and click the arrow in the box top left to open the index. To add to your own Google Maps account, click the star next to the title of the map.
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