32 things to do at Holkham, North Norfolk in summer 2025
May 19, 2025 | Things to do | 21 minute read
The sun has been shining, and it’s making us excited for the long summer days and warm weather waiting for us. We truly believe Holkham is beautiful year-round, but the Park comes alive every summer, and we can’t wait! Here are a few ways you and your friends or family can enjoy the best of Holkham, whether you’re visiting for the first time or are regular visitors through the gates. There are so many things to do this summer, so let’s dive in!
Just a note: we’ve added symbols to help you work out what’s right for you. Here’s a key to help.
🌱 Nature and gardens
🧸 Family friendly
🏃♂️ Active
🍕 Foodie
❤️ Romantic
🏛️ History and heritage
👛 Free entry / free to do — please note, a parking charge will apply
Things to do this summer in Holkham Park
Most of our events are within Holkham Park, and it’s also here that you’ll find Holkham Hall, the Walled Garden, Holkham Stories and activities aplenty.
Feast in the Park 🧸🍕❤️
The perfect way to spend your summer weekends, Feast in the Park welcomes Norfolk’s favourite street food trucks and pop-ups to Holkham. Choose tasty treats from various vendors (or stay all day and sample them all!), enjoy the views, relax in the sunshine, and listen to live music.
Stay cool in the Hall 🧸🏛️
Looking for somewhere to cool down on the hottest of days? Head to the Hall! Enter into the stunning Marble Hall, explore the sumptuous State Rooms and imagine the goings-on in the Old Kitchen. Room stewards are on hand to answer any questions you might have.
You can book tickets in advance or at Visitor Reception upon arrival. Open Sunday, Monday and Thursday only.
Admire the Walled Garden 🌱🧸🏛️
Horticulture and history your thing? You’ll love the Walled Garden! Enjoy a gentle stroll around the six acres, pausing to point out your favourite plants. You’ll find Georgian and Victorian glasshouses, a vineyard, a thriving kitchen garden, the Samuel Wyatt Vinery (which feels positively tropical on warm days!) and more besides.
Note that the Walled Garden is now an RHS Partner Garden, so RHS members can now enter free of charge! Tickets for the Walled Garden can be purchased in advance or on the day, and can be combined with tickets to the Hall and Holkham Stories if you like.
Unearth our history (and future) at Holkham Stories 🧸
You’ll find our exhibition space in the courtyard right next to the shop and café. Inside, there are interactive displays showcasing Holkham’s heritage, our present and our aims for the future. Our new Room of WONDER opened in 2024 with a focus on our sustainable goals. So whether you’re interested in where we’ve come from or where we’re going, Holkham Stories is well worth a visit.
Get creative at a workshop
We’ve a range of creative workshops taking place this summer, so why not come and develop a new skill?
We’re being joined by various tutors and artists who will be teaching floragami, willow weaving – including creating dragonflies and butterflies for your garden, or basket making, lino printing and oil painting.
The question is, which will you choose?!
… there are youth art workshops too! 🧸
Artist Bryony Knight will be leading more artists ‘in the making’ workshops over the summer holidays, suitable for children and teenagers age 10 years and up.
Each session looks at a different artist: Picasso, Monet, Matisse, Van Gogh and Kahlo, and children can attend just one or multiple days.
The workshops are 10am-3pm, so while they’re painting, you have plenty of time to head out and make the most of being at Holkham!
Picnic in the parkland 🌱🧸🍕❤️👛
With all the green space Holkham Park offers, it’s the perfect spot for a picnic! Pack up your favourite snacks, bring a blanket, and take in the views. Combine this with any of the other activities listed here for a fun-filled day out in beautiful scenery.
Pond dipping 🌱🧸
A popular activity every summer, pond dipping in Holkham Lake is back on Mondays and Tuesdays during the school holidays. Come along with your children, dunk the net, peer into the tray and connect with nature.
Catch an outdoor theatre show 🧸❤️
Outdoor theatre is back this summer, and we’ve got two fantastic shows to look forward to! The Lord Chamberlain’s Men are bringing their performance of Twelfth Night on 5th August, while The Plandits will be performing a family-friendly rock ‘n’ roll musical, The Big Bad Wolf!
Jump aboard the tractor trailer 🧸🏛️
Are you ready to explore of Holkham Park? Climb aboard our trusty tractor trailer and enjoy The Grand Tour! This 45-minute whistle-stop tour will take you all around Holkham Park while you learn about our history from our tour guide, spot deer and other wildlife, and look out for the quirky buildings scattered around.
Go wild at Gone Wild 🧸🏃♂️
Bear Grylls’ Gone Wild festival is back this August and we can’t wait! This thrilling, family friendly festival is all about getting outdoors, challenging yourselves and having a real adventure!
As well as exciting activities like abseiling, a colour run, quad safaris, BMX and commando crawls, there are plenty of calmer options too! Plus, well-loved artists will take to the stage each evening including Clean Bandit, Blue, Professor Green, Lucy Spraggan and Ministry of Sound Classical!
Weekend, day and evening only tickets are still available, but don’t delay! Find out more and book here.
Take to two wheels 🧸🏃♂️
👛 if bringing your own bike
Cycling is a fantastic way to explore Holkham Park and the surrounding area, because you can fit even more into your day out! Bring your own bikes or hire from our Cycle Hire hut (which includes e-bikes, children’s bikes, trailers and more). There are several way-marked trails to explore.
On Fathers’ Day (15th June), dads, grandads or guardians ride free!
Challenge yourself at Untamed 🏃♂️
If you fancy challenging yourself, why not take on Pedal Norfolk’s ‘The Untamed’?
This gravel-based day of cycling offers participants various routes ranging from 25-100 miles starting and ending in Holkham Park.
Take to the trees on the ropes course 🧸🏃♂️
Feeling brave? Strap in and swing, zip, climb and balance your way through this tree-top adventure!
Suitable for children and often enjoyed by adults, it’s a great way to spend time together as a family, as you traverse across wobbly crossings and take on bridges and obstacles.
Boat hire on Holkham Lake 🧸❤️
Rent a rowing boat and take to Holkham Lake, where you’ll see Holkham Hall and the landscape from a whole new perspective! Enjoy the peace as you bob along, gazing out at wildlife, rowing around the islands and simply taking it all in.
Catch a game of cricket 🧸👛
Several cricket matches will take place throughout the season, on the south lawn just outside the Hall. You’re always welcome to come and watch — why not tie it in with Feast in the Park?
GoGo Safari 🧸
We’re proud to be supporting the charity Break again this year by taking part in the GoGo Discover trail. Across Norfolk, you’ll be able to spot gorillas, giraffes, lions, elephants and rhino sculptures, each beautifully designed by an artist.
The talented Jina Gelder has been busy painting our animal… but we’ll keep what it is, and where it will be, a surprise for now!
It’ll be with us from 23rd June – 30th August.
See more of the Hall with an attic or cellar tour (or both!) 🏛️
Take a trip around the attics or cellars – both lesser-seen parts of the hall. Join our knowledgeable guides as you uncover the history of Holkham, including the servants’ comings and goings as they serviced the bedchambers, the working heart of the Hall within the cellars, and even what lies behind the Marble Hall’s ceiling (on the attic tour only).
Bat chat and trek 🌱
Led by expert ecologist, Phil Parker, these evening walks will allow you to learn about the bats that call Holkham home. Using ultrasonic bat detectors and thermal imaging, you’ll be able to spot bats in flight within the woodland surrounding Holkham Lake. They’re less spooky and more fascinating than you might think!
Enjoy the sunshine in the courtyard (or shelter in the Courtyard Café) 🧸🍕
When it’s time for a bite to eat, the Courtyard Café offers ample choices. Sweet treats, sandwiches, warm sausage rolls and our much-loved salad bar are all on the menu alongside ever-changing (but always delicious!) hot options. Hot and cold drinks, children’s lunches and fruit are all available too. Enjoy the coolness of the spacious café or sit in the courtyard – a beautiful sun trap.
Pick up some treats in the gift shop 🧸
While you’re in the courtyard, why not pop to the gift shop? We’ve a real focus on sustainability and local produce, showcasing the work of fantastic Norfolk creators and producers, including candles, jewellery, ceramics, preserves, cheeses and chopping boards.
You’ll also find books, accessories, gardening inspiration and even sweets for the journey home!
Relax with a sound bath 🌱
Join Nicky from Sound and Ground for an hour’s relaxing sound bath. Nicky will play sound therapy instruments to allow you to find a sense of calm and restoration, release tension and escape the stress of daily life.
…or forest bathing 🌱
In this 90-minute session, Nicky from Sound and Ground will guide you through some simple exercises to help you relax and connect with the trees within the park. Release stress and find yourself at one with nature during this evening of spiritual therapy.
North Norfolk Food and Drink Festival 🧸🍕👛
The North Norfolk Food and Drink Festival always makes for a fantastic weekend celebrating local producers and their produce! Run by a not-for-profit organisation, the event takes place in the Walled Garden adn welcomes over 60 local farmers and artisan producers with a range of delicious food and drink for you to try, and buy! There’s street food to enjoy and a cookery theatre with live demonstrations too.
Things to do this summer in Holkham Village and the NNR
Just outside the north gates lies Holkham Village, and just beyond that, the National Nature Reserve and beach.
Dine al fresco at The Victoria 🧸🍕❤️
It’s a summer luxury, dining outside, and The Vic’s terrace has beautiful views over the National Nature Reserve. Tuck into the summer menu, full of scrumptious seasonal local produce, with light bites available at lunch times. So whether it’s a daytime catch up with friends over sharing tapas or an evening three-course meal as the sun sets, you’re in for a treat.
Of course, if it’s a scorcher of a day, dining inside is just as lovely!
Discover Holkham Village by the Sea 🏛️
Have you ever wondered about the history of Holkham Village, where today you’ll find The Victoria and a small group of shops overlooking the National Nature Reesrve? Join us for this walking tour, during which you’ll learn about the architecture of Ancient House, the alms houses, the village pump and the historic infant school, as well as about the stories of the people who lived and worked there.
Birdwatch or take in the views on the National Nature Reserve 🌱👛
The Holkham National Nature Reserve is home to diverse wildlife and landscapes, as it comprises salt marsh, grazing marsh, dunes, pinewoods and scrub and foreshore. Shelter from the shade under the pines, gaze out over the vistas, look out for Spoonbills, Ringed Plovers, Oystercatches and soaring raptors, and sink your feet into the sand.
Why not stop off at The Lookout, our café and visitor centre, where you can enjoy a drink or bite to eat with stunning views over the marshes?
Things to do this summer at Wells Beach or Holkham Beach
It’s summer, so fingers crossed for some sunshine and good beach weather! Wells Beach and Holkham Beach are two large, sandy beaches, often named two of the best in the UK thanks to the open space. That means there’s plenty of room for everyone!
Swim in the sea 🌱🧸🏃♂️❤️👛
Is summer really summer without a dip in the sea? Whether you’re a paddler, splasher or full-on sea swimmer, grab your cossie or trunks and head to the sand! Remember to check the tide times before you swim, and be careful!
Build sandcastles 🧸👛
It’s a holiday pastime we’ve all known and loved, so find your buckets and spades and see how big a castle you can build!
Play ball games on the beach 🧸🏃♂️👛
Cricket, rounders… whatever you choose, it’s a great way to spend a few hours on the sand. As Holkham and Wells beaches are so expansive, you’re sure to find a suitable space for your game.
Hire a beach hut 🧸❤️
Did you know you can rent a beach hut for the day (or longer!) from our team at Pinewoods Holiday Park? We have huts in both the dog-friendly and dog-free areas of the beach, with windbreaks and deckchairs waiting for you. Beach huts provide shelter from wind, rain and sun in the heat of the day, as well as a place to store your bits and pieces while you sunbathe, swim, play or walk.
Get pizza and ice cream at The Hatch, Wells Beach Café 🧸🍕❤️
Last summer, we started serving delicious pizza and ice creams from The Hatch at Wells Beach Café. It’s all back this summer, and you can enjoy yours on the picnic benches by the café or take it away with you to tuck into on the beach, in the pine woods or in your holiday accommodation.
Perhaps you need to stay even longer…!
Gosh, what a long list! There’s so much to enjoy at Holkham this summer that you might want to think about staying for more than a day.
If that’s the case, take a look at our range of holiday accommodation:
- The Victoria — our 4-star hotel at the gates of Holkham Park
- Our brand new shepherd huts at The Victoria (pictured below!)
- Pinewoods Holiday Park, where you’ll find static caravan holiday homes, luxury lodges and a touring park
- Our range of self-catering lodges, cottages and hideaways across the estate
- The Caravan and Motorhome Club’s pop-up campsite in Holkham Park (14 August-10 September 2025 only)
Whether visiting for a day or a week, we hope you’ll have a wonderful day out with us at Holkham!
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