From Sheringham Festival to GoGoDiscover T.Rex and Mammoth Trail to the Magic of Thailand Festival, there are so many budget-friendly summer activities in Norfolk and Cambridgeshire for you to choose from. No matter your preferences, you’re bound to find something to while away the sun-filled hours.
In the following sections, we’ll explore our top ten budget-friendly summer activities so you can fill your schedule.
Sheringham Seafront, The Crown, Lifeboat Plain, East Cliff, Sheringham, NR26 8BQ | August 28 2022 | 12 pm to 6 pm | Entry: FREE
Sheringham Festival is an all-new street food celebration organised by the team at Fat Teds (they serve burgers, fries, and flatbreads) and Sheringham Carnival.
The event will host six street food vendors and play live music at The Crown pub.
The Carnival itself is running from August 1 to 7, which involves a fireworks display and a parade. Its brand-new status makes it one of the best budget-friendly summer activities this year.
Raveningham Centre, Beccles Road, Raveningham, NR14 6NU | July 31 2022 to September 5 2022 | Book your own time slot | Entry: Adults £6, Under 18s FREE
This year’s Raveningham Sculpture Trail features beautiful artworks set in three acres of woodland, gardens, and meadows. It’s perhaps one of our personal favourite budget-friendly summer activities for 2022. Why? Because they feature new artists every year!
From July 31 to September 5, you can gaze upon the work of 63 UK-based artists curated by Sarah Cannell as a Creative Odyssey CIC Project. There’s even three pop-up gallery spaces. However, you’ll need to book your own time slot to enter.
Locations around Norfolk county | Now to September 10 2022 | Entry: Donations appreciated
Charity Break, an organisation supporting children and young people in the care system, launched their GoGoDiscover T.Rex sculpture trail last year. They erected a plethora of statues across the city of Norwich, but they’ve gone five steps further for their 2022 event!
There are 55 different dinosaurs for you to meet — there’s even an Elvis-themed statue. Alongside these prehistoric creatures, you’ll find 24 Steppe mammoths and 98 smaller Breakasaurus across the county. Yep, you read that right; they’ve stretched their event across the entire county of Norfolk instead of keeping it in the city.
Cromer Town Centre | August 1 2022 to August 19 2022 | Entry: Lots of free events, full programme on Cromer Carnival site for more information
Up next on our list of budget-friendly summer activities is this year’s Cromer Carnival.
The main day is 17 August at the Carnival Field situated on Runyon Road. If you can’t get enough of the Red Arrows, you’ll definitely need to attend on this date because there’s a display at 12:30 pm.
Alternatively, head to Cromer Carnival on 18 August for children’s entertainment in the afternoon, plus a fireworks display and a torchlight parade at night.
#5 Magic of Thailand Festival
Eaton Park, Norwich, NR4 7AU | 30 July 2022 to 31 July 2022 | 10 am to 7 pm | Entry: Adult day tickets £5, Under 15s FREE
As the name suggests, the Magic of Thailand festival brings the culture to Norwich. Specifically, to Eaton Park.
You’ll be treated to a myriad of events, including traditional dancing, eating competitions, massages, and sword fighting.
This will be the fourth incantation of the festival. Previous versions have seen thousands of people flock to the event, thanks to its offerings for humans of all ages.
You can even win tickets before the event by heading to the Magic of Thailand Festival’s Facebook page.
LockHouse Escape Games, 70 Regent Street, Cambridge, CB2 1DP | Entry: £24.99 per team with a two person minimum
Cambridge City Escapes let you play the traditional escape room in a non-traditional setting — outside! You’ll visit some of the city’s most beautiful locations, solving cryptic puzzles and finding clues along the way.
It’s a self-guided game, meaning you can speed run it or decide to take your time. Why not stop for a spot to eat halfway through? It’s entirely your day (and, of course, fits nicely into your budget-friendly summer activities!).
The game works on phone screens, allowing you to keep your distance from other players without a problem.
Here’s the premise:
Your college professor is missing. Their disappearance has put the ground-breaking new technology under threat. Your job? Save the professor and the whole of human kind!
You can book right now and play at any point in the next 30 days. You’ll begin at Corpus Clock in Cambridge (find the address in the Crafter’s Retreat Welcome Folder), and can start at any point during daylight hours.
All you need to play is the following:
- A team of detectives (at least two people, but you can play with up to six)
- A fully charged smartphone
- 90 minutes (average duration)
Thanks to its self-guided nature, the experience unfolds on the web app. You can use up to six phones per team, allowing everybody to follow directions and the hints.
#7 Punting
Jesus Green, Cambridge, CB5 8AG | Entry: £25 for two people
Punting takes you directly to the heart of Cambridge. Essentially, it’s a rite of passage — if you’re in the city, you need to go punting! If you don’t, did you really visit Cambridge? Not to mention it’s one of our budget-friendly summer activities that will give you a thoroughly unique view of the city’s prestigious universities.
Plenty of punters are available to take you on a tour. But you can choose to do the actual punting yourself if you’d like to decrease the cost even further and add an extra spot of challenge to your day.
For the most sensibly priced tickets, book your punting session through the Cambridge Punt Company.
Gressenhall, Dereham, Norfolk, NR20 4DR | 11 March 2022 to 28 October 2022 | 10 am to 5 pm | Entry: Adults £12.40, Kids (4-18) £10.50, Concessions £11.75, Family from £43.65
The Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse is a popular school trip destination, but it’s one of our favourite budget-friendly summer activities too. There are plenty of things to do here, with children or without. You’ll get access to the following when you purchase a ticket:
- Workhouse museum — The evocative workhouse setting lets you discover first-hand stories of those who once worked within its whitewashed walls.
- Museum of Norfolk Life — The museum walks you through the history of rural Norfolk. You’ll spy thousands of objects from the county’s previous generations.
- Gressenhall Farm — It’s a working farm, so you’ll find horses, pigs, sheep, and chickens.
- Adventure playground — Bring the kids? They’ll love this part.
- Gardens and grounds — It’s set in 50 acres of stunning countryside. You could walk the grounds for hours.
- Café, gift, and bookshop — Need we say more?
- Library and archive — If you’re researching families or the history of Norfolk villages, you’ll find priceless information in the library and archive. The staff members are lovely, and they’re always on hand to help you identify objects or find the information you require.
- Village row — Here, you’ll find old village shops, a quintessential 1930s rural cottage, and a schoolroom.
- Norfolk Collections Centre — Consider this a gallery for all-things Norfolk. You won’t ever want to leave.
- Family and workhouse history — This is another section for the family historians among you. The team have created numerous resources to help you.
You can visit at any time during opening hours. However, you might want to check their events page to see if you’d like one of these budget-friendly summer activities better than general admission.
The Farmland Museum & Denny Abbey, Denny Abbey, Ely Road, Waterbeach, Cambridge, CB25 9PQ | March to October Thursday through Sunday | 10 am to 4 pm | Entry: Adult £6, Concessions £5, Children £3.50, Family £17, Under 5’s FREE, English Heritage Members FREE, Farmland Museum Annual Pass Holder FREE
Situated in the beautiful rural Cambridge setting, the Farmland Museum and Denny Abbey is the perfect day out for the entire family (and it’s particularly close to our hearts).
The independent museum retells the story of farming and daily life in the Cambridgeshire Fens. It recounts the 850-year story through hands-on and interactive exhibits. Plus, the Denny Abbey (an English Heritage property) is available for walking tours.
While we may be a bit biased (we have familial connections with the Farmland Museum), it’s one of the best budget-friendly summer activities Cambridgeshire has to offer.
Spa Lane, Aylsham, Norfolk | July 1 2022 to September 30 2022 | 10 am to 4 pm | Entre: FREE
Our final top budget-friendly summer activities is taking a trip to Redwings Horse Sanctuary Aylsham, where you’ll meet over 50 rescued horses, ponies, mules, and donkeys — they can’t wait to say hello! There’s even a whole army of mini Shetlands they’ve dubbed the Gangsters.
You can stop for a bite to eat and drink at Gulliver’s Café. Plus, there’s a play area for children to explore and a multitude of souvenirs in the git shop to raid your wallet.
On top of that, they offer a variety of family-friend activities throughout the summer holidays — you can even bring your dog (provided you keep them on a lead).
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