Things to do in Thetford, Norfolk

We recently spent a week at my fiancée's parents' house near Thetford, Norfolk - and as we were there, we took the opportunity to explore the nearby town itself. I'm trying to explore more of the UK, especially while we try to save money for our wedding meaning we're travelling abroad slightly less, so this was the perfect opportunity for a day out!

Our friends had also come to visit for the weekend, so they kindly drove us into Thetford; we parked at Pike Lane Car Park, which was free, and then walked round into the town itself. Thetford, if you didn't know, is where they filmed iconic comedy series Dad's Army - so I was keen to tick off a few filming spots while we were there. First of all was the Guildhall,  located in the marketplace area, which served as the Walmington-on-Sea town hall in the TV show. Sadly it was covered in scaffolding, but you could still get the idea, and there were a few foodie vans in this part of town if you want to grab a quick bite to eat. This is also where the Dad's Army mural and museum are! We didn't visit the museum ourselves but you can find out more here.

I used the Brit Movie Tours Dad's Army Self Guided Walking Tour to find all the locations, which was super helpful.

This is when it started to rain, so we decided to head straight to the pub for a couple of drinks; there's a few pubs in Thetford, but we opted for the Bell Inn which was another building featured in Dad's Army. St Peter's Church, which can be seen in the background of many scenes from the TV show, is directly opposite. Drinks at the Bell Inn came to around £17 for 3 alcoholic drinks and 1 non-alcoholic, which I didn't think was too bad either! They do food and afternoon tea, too, and there are plenty of hotel rooms if you're looking for somewhere to stay in Thetford.

After the rain stopped, we walked left out of the beer garden towards the river where you can find a statue of Captain Mainwaring from the show; they had a free outdoor cinema on the riverbank for the kids, too, which I thought was lovely! We had a lovely wander around this area before popping into Instinctively Mystical LTD, as our friend is very into crystals and everything witchy/chakra/etc - it's a really nice little shop and I even picked up a birthday gift for another friend.

From here, we walked round to the free Charles Burrell Museum Thetford; it looks like a garage, and inside you'll find old and perfectly-preserved steam engines, as well as plenty of information about the use of steam engine vehicles in the Thetford and Norfolk area. It's not huge, so you can get around it in probably 20 minutes or so, but there is a super cute cafe inside too if you wanted to stay longer. The staff were fantastic, really knowledgable and friendly, and I'd definitely recommend popping in.

Our next stop was Thetford Priory, a ruined monastery that's around a 5 minute walk out of town. It was super easy to get to, and WOW! So picturesque, especially with those blue skies,  and if you have a furry friend it's a great place for dog walks too. There was information about the ruins and drawings of what it would have looked like, and it was just a great place to see if you're a fan of that kind of thing, which obviously I am.

Thetford is a lovely place for an afternoon out, especially when the weather is good and definitely if you're a Dad's Army fan! If you're in Norfolk and find yourself with a few hours to spare, I hope this short explanation of things to do in Thetford is useful for you.

Have you been to Thetford or anywhere nearby?