First of all, apologies to Norwich for not knowing that much about it despite setting foot somewhere in Norfolk most years but ending up ploddin' around places like Loddon, for example.

Who knew it was also so old with some of it dating from... the 1970s! Yes, some of you regular readers, yeah right, might remember Sale of the Century where 'And now, from Norwich, it's the quiz of the week.'

Hosted by the incomparable Nicholas Parsons, contestants competed to win £4 or a hair dryer by cashing in their current winnings for reduced-price prizes and this regional contribution to the ITV network was filmed in this very building, probably.

If you don't remember Anglia TV and an ident not normally seen outside of the county... '  And now, from Norwich, it's the quiz of the week.'

Norwich Castle, on the other hand, is old and we're talking Willie Conker-old with it built not long after him and his mate Norman came a-conquestin'.

It appears almost magically, Disney™-like, as you spill out of the Royal Arcade, one of Norwich's preserved, Victorian passages hidden within the more modern retail.

You can get up and at the castle via some landscaped gardens surrounding a rare, East Anglian mound making an ideal spot for a stronghold since it's also very handy for the shops.

The castle has had several facelifts over the centuries and it looks like it's having another meaning no access to the ramparts, which, let's face it, is the only part you're prepared to pay for in a castle.

That means the Norwich Museum's ancient trinkets, of which this area has no shortage, what with them Romans and Saxons and all that, will have to be skipped. Ancient trinkets and teapots, actually, and while we're fond of a cuppa, we're not that fond so what's next Norwich?

Why it's only Norwich's colourful outdoor market with over 200 striped stalls all laid out in a neat grid for optimum browsability.

It's the original medieval layout, they say, which even back then could hardly be considered progressive, but modern-day peasants were revolting when the council proposed to reduce the number of stalls to 170.

They soon caved in under the pressure of protests but by the looks of things, that would just have made for about ten fewer coffee vendors. Or vape sellers.

The pen-pushers whose proposals triggered the protests were peering from the windows of Norwich City Hall, probably, which looks down on the stalls.

This Art Deco whopper has elements inspired by its equivalent in Stockholm, supposedly, making for one of Norwich's most iconic buildings.

Cheers for it, however, were more ironic at its appearance in  Alpha Papa, the first full-length feature for Alan Partridge who could be considered Norwich's most famous, albeit fictional, son?

That was at the first and global screening right here in Norwich of a film that was far, far better than anyone expected and the audience at the premiere was 'in' on it. Speaking of Premier Inns...

City Hall is one of a trinity, yes a trinity, of big buildings with one of them of the holy variety.

St. Peter Mancroft's is the largest parish church in Norwich, whatever that means exactly, and faces the more modern Forum, which itself earned cheers of approval during the screening of Alpha Papa.

This multi-functioning venue houses a public library, exhibitions and a pizza provider for when you're in a hurry. It's also home to BBC™ Radio Norfolk but not North Norfolk Digital, which is why you won't find no Partridge here.

He did make a brief appearance in 2020 as a brass statue posing out front, created and donated by a pair of local sculptors. It was visible for not that many more days than the three years it took to make in their spare time.

Three years? In their 'spare time'? Now that's what you call a hobby!

There has been some talk of how old Norwich looks but that's something that's only been evident in parts, so far. Head up past City Hall, however, and down Lower Goat Lane, not kidding, into an area of which much is medieval.

Medieval and post-industrial, actually, where a handful got very wealthy with the wool and now repurposed as the Norwich Lanes, the 'Vibrant and independent heart' of the city, they say.

If you squint, you could be in York, say, although this definitely isn't York. No, this definitely isn't York because it's not full of Saturday afternoon boozehounds scaring off the Japanese visitors and Harry Potter™ fans, fact!

There are plenty of fleshpots and still plenty of churches to seek forgiveness in on and around Pottergate and St. Benedict's Street.

Amongst the quirky shopping, though, you'll find everybody's favourite, the good old music shop.

Not that Norwich is particularly famed for playing its part in the history of Rock 'n' Roll, the  Farmer's Boys and the Higsons are the only ones we can think of. Who? No, not The Who, they're from London, so it's unlikely any of these customers will be troubling the charts anytime soon.

Not unless they are any good, in which case they'll already have moved to fancy London, anyways, but always nice to see somewhere that's not a GUITARGUITAR™.

The Lanes are a bit of a happy accident, actually, and despite the unnecessary window shopping makes for quite a wonderful wander.

No, we're down this way because there's a river and we know this because we were over it into Norwich Over the Water, really, last night hunting down one of town's traditional tandooris.

The only problem is that the old warehouses and private dwellings won't let you anywhere near so it's back in what's thought to be the direction of the centre.

Things briefly turn more modern before normal service is resumed at the church on Elm Hill.

There's some terrific Tudor frontage down there, they say, or you can simply settle for some of the same on Princes Street and is that? Yes, it's yet another church but more on that in a minute.

Princes Street plops you out onto Tombland, a street with an archaic name that doesn't mean what you think. It's from here that the Normans moved the market to its current location since it seems that they needed the space.

Yes, space to build a whopping great cathedral to replace the inevitable Saxon settlement.

They didn't mess about back then and even cut a canal to carry the imported, French stone from Caen, which is largely what you can still see today.

With no particular interest in the day-to-day business of such places, is it not possible to not admire a stained-glass window?

And who doesn't love a cloister with a vaulted, Norman ceiling?

Medieval monks may once have meditated or even just lounged on the lawn but things wouldn't be so calm for long.

Somehow managing to survive a 'dissolution' and destruction by Cromwell during the English Civil War, some internal restoration has been necessary but these are still the second largest cloisters in England, however it is that you measure a cloister?

The same goes for the spire, second only to Salisbury, but the main part was reputedly only built as an act of penance to the pope for committing the act of simony.

Some old fake bishop or other purchased the title after they crossed the channel, you see, although it's unlikely that Lord and Lady SlyBob will be doing something similar for £39.99 and a PDF.

Things are all very pleasant behind the cathedral and Ferry Lane hints that there might be, at last, some river to soon ramble along. Ferry Lane's straightness also suggests that this was once the canal along which the cathedral's stone was transported and guess what? It was, so that's a top-class observation right there, thanks very much.

The River Wensum comes as no surprise but the ferryman's cottage and 15th-century arched gate do.

We're not much more than ten minutes from the centre of a population centre of over 100,000, remember, but this is ridiculous and that's ridiculous in a good way, by the way.

The Wensum flows down to Whitlingham Country Park, which isn't quite the Norfolk Broads but it's where it meets the River Yare, which flows to Great Yarmouth, which just about is.

That still makes for an agreeable walk around a wide bit of water that was filled in during the '90s when they were done extracting the gravel. That means Whitlingham Broad isn't a real broad, really, but it's where Egyptian geese and a great crested grebe are known to put on a show.

The rest of the wildlife isn't nearly as exotic and you'll be lucky to spot a duck or a pigeon. Perhaps they're holidaying in a broader sense elsewhere?

Unless the rest of the pigeons have now made Norwich their home whose cityscape, if you squint, can just about be seen between the bushes.

There is a famous saying about Norwich, at least there is in Norwich, that it had a church for every week of the year and a pub for every day of the year.

The church claim can be confirmed even if at least one of them is now an antiques centre. As for the pubs, however, it's a situation that's known nationwide and while Norwich's fleshpots are still plentiful, many have closed since that startling statement was made.

Those that remain have to rely on increasingly popular promotions including the bottomless Prosecco lunch, right ladies?

'And now, from Norwich, it's the fizz of the week.'

Not that the King's Head will ever rely on such tacky opportunism but the rest of them can have that one for free.