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SUMMER IN THE CITY

If you have to spend the summer in a city, let it be Norwich with its fine open spaces and those huge Norfolk skies, hopefully blue now after the rains of July. Here are some of the best events to enjoy in the next couple of months in the city. A fuller list is available from Visit Norwich.

Throughout August, boos and oohs will fill the air as the city’s youngsters are treated to a summer of free outdoor theatre in Norwich’s open spaces. The ChildPlay summer season starts with Wonderland with Alice on August 3-5. The following weekend sees the performance of Carnival Child, a puppet show with music from Latin America and the Caribbean. The Magic Theatre Company will be off to the stars with Captain Marshmallow from August 17-19.

The Goldilocks tale gets a modern update from the Booster Cushion Theatre over the August bank holiday weekend while the season finishes with a riot of puppetry, juggling and dancing from the Krazy Kat Theatre and their interpretation of the Red Riding Hood story on August 31 September 1-2. Friday performances start at 3pm in Waterloo Park, Saturday shows - again at 3pm - in Castle Gardens and Sunday morning shows at 11am in Eaton Park.

Norwich is hosting its second biennial contemporary arts festival this summer, linking exhibitions at the city’s major galleries, such as the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Art and the Norwich School of Art and Design, as well as installations in city shops and open spaces and live performances. AfterShock, at the Sainsbury Centre, brings together the work of 16 international artists on the subject of violence and conflict. At the Anglia Square Shopping Centre, art galleries from Europe, will run temporary exhibitions focusing on the work of a single artist.

From September 6-9, many of Norwich’s most interesting buildings will be open to the public as part of Heritage Open Days. Top of the list should be the Great Hospital, a 750-year-old almshouse that still cares for the poor and is rarely open to curious visitor wanting to see the tiny monastic cloisters and the breathtaking panelled ceiling of the chancel. Also worth a look will be City Hall, a 1930s Art Deco masterpiece.

Norwich was one of medieval England’s greatest cities and that heritage is evident in the stunning buildings from the period, particularly its ancient churches and inns. In recent years, the city has shown itself to be thoroughly modern, with the opening of the Forum Centre and two new shopping centres.

Despite the latter, the city’s market and independent shops have thrived and make it one of the best places to live in Britain. Here are our favourite things about Norwich but we'd like to hear your favourite summer-in-the-city tips. Enter our summer in the city competition, tell us how you like to spend a day in your favourite city and you could win a weekend in London.

1. The Plantation Garden, in the grounds of the Beeches Hotel, off Earlham Road was created by a Victorian cabinet maker Henry Trevor, who spent 40 years converting it from a chalk quarry into the secret garden that is my favourite green space in Norwich (just shrugging off intense competition from Mousehold Heath).

Although some of the original features have been lost – such as a palm house – there is still plenty to see, including a tall Gothic fountain and a recently rebuilt folly. A long wall runs the length of the garden and is dotted with grotesque stone faces. The garden is open every day from 9am to 6pm. Entrance £2. The best time to visit is on a summer Sunday when you can enjoy afternoon tea in the garden from 2.30 to 4.30pm.

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