Riverside Walks, Norwich City Centre

The Riverside Walk follows the River Wensum as it loops around the eastern edge of Norwich city centre, offering a level, largely traffic-free route that links many of the city's oldest quarters. Starting near the railway station, you can pick up the path and follow it past the medieval Cow Tower, up to Pull's Ferry, and on towards Bishop Bridge, one of the oldest surviving medieval river crossings in England.

The walk is best known for the stretches where terraces of pastel-painted riverside cottages rise straight from the water. Around Quayside and near Fye Bridge you'll see rows of pink, yellow, blue and cream-washed houses reflecting in the Wensum, a scene that has become one of Norwich's most photographed views. Willows overhang the banks, swans and geese are a near-constant presence, and small pleasure boats potter up and down in summer.

The route ties together a lot of the city's history in a short distance. Cow Tower is a rare 14th-century artillery blockhouse, Pull's Ferry is a flint watergate that once received stone for Norwich Cathedral, and the path passes close to the cathedral precinct, Bishopgate and the Adam and Eve, said to be the city's oldest pub. Allow an hour to stroll a decent loop, longer if you break for a riverside coffee.