Julie found this nine-minute You Tube film on Facebook. It is lovingly filmed in 4K High-Definition video. The deserted city is shown in detail, and despite the eerie feeling of seeing so few people, and no traffic, it really is a peaceful and quite beautiful experience to watch.
Norwich is the largest city in Norfolk, and the closest city to Beetley, at just over 18 miles to the east. It has a population of 213,000 including its suburbs, and is home to the largest hospital and university in the county. Most days, it is also packed with shoppers heading for the three large malls, and the extensive covered market in the centre. Traffic in and around the city can be a nightmare at times, and it can also be impossible to find a space to park in one of the many city car parks.
The city is dominated by an impressive Norman castle, and home to a magnificent Gothic cathedral. Roman, Saxon, and medieval walls can still be seen, and the narrow streets are home to many surviving houses from centuries ago, as well as an Art Deco City Hall, and Brutalist style car parks and shopping complexes. The side streets are full of attractive small shops, restaurants, pubs, and bars. At the weekend, they are popular with people from all over the county, who flock to the entertainment centre of Norfolk.
There are also theatres, galleries, exhibition centres, cinemas, and an attractive historical riverside to enjoy too.
To see this huge city devoid of people and traffic is to see it revealed in all its glory.
Norwich: A Fine City. It was that back in 1972 when I started at UEA and it still is. Much seems to have changed, but there is also a lot in this beautiful video that is reassuringly familiar. Thank you for pointing me towards this, Pete.
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Happy to hear you enjoyed the film, Clive.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I did, Pete. A lovely watch 😊
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As someone who actually studied abroad in Norwich myself (at UEA) and still maintain some ties to the city (I have friends from studying at UEA for a semester, and I’m a Norwich City supporter), I have so many feelings and emotions watching this video. Thank you for sharing.
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Great to hear that you studied at UEA, Brendan. You probably know Norwich better than I do!
I agree, this is a great film, a rare chance to see the city so quiet.
I don’t follow football now, but as I am originally from London, I nominally still support Spurs. Norwch were doing very badly before the games were closed down. 🙂
Thanks very much for following my blog too.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Maybe. I studied there in Fall 2014, so the place has probably changed at least a little bit since I was there.
Norwich were doing badly. Ironically, Norwich may end up staying up because of the pandemic. Though that would be a sucky way to stay up…I’d rather have us have to fight for it.
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2014? I might have passed you on the street. 🙂 I moved to Beetley in 2012.
We like to take Ollie to the UEA sometimes at weekends. This will remind you… 🙂
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The city is wonderful. But the silence is horrible, even withour traffic it would be nice for events. Thank you for sharing, Pete. Best wishes and thanks to you wife too. Michael
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I really like it like that, but it’s not good for business. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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I loved the tour and enjoyed knowing that is your big city to Beetley. I smiled when I saw Five Guys since we have one a few blocks away from us.
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I have never been to Five Guys. It is considered to be good but very expensive, by UK standards. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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I was amazed it was there. Here it is moderately priced for comparable places.
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We have imported almost all of the US food chains by now, I believe. No Taco Bell though. Taco takeouts never really caught on. 🙂
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Too funny. We live a few blocks from one. When my daughter was little she complained that there were no “famous restaurants” in our neighborhood. They were all independent ones. She wanted KFC, McDonald’s and the like.
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Parts of the city are lovely, and remind me a lot of York. I thought the fast zooms were wrong, though. I imagine there will be a lot of similar films taken at the moment, which will be very useful for future historians! Cheers, Jon.
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Parts are similar to York, I agree. The fast zoom thing didn’t bother me, but I know what you mean. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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We managed to see many of those sights on our one day visit to Norwich in the rain! We used the park ‘n ride scheme which works well. One of the most unexpected parts of the city centre (which has its fair share of bog standard high street stores) is the lovely Art Nouveau Royal Arcade which I didn’t see in the film. Elm Street and around the cathedral and the riverside walk are really wonderful. And the cathedral is very beautiful. The city seems a decent size with lots of history.
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Yes, they missed the arcade out. I reckon you know Norwich much better than I do, Jude. I still haven’t been to the castle or cathedral. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete. x
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You should visit the cathedral Pete, it is one of the best. And the Riverside walk is very nice.
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Norwich is one of my favourite cities in the UK…I spent many happy days doing Christmas shopping there when my daughter lived in Hunstanton…memories…Be well and stay safe, Pete 🙂 x
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Thanks, Carol. It’s a tribute to Norwich that you went there from Hunstanton, instead of shopping in King’s Lynn. 🙂 It must be strange for you to see it this quiet! x
Best wishes, Pete.
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Yes but then as you said you can appreciate its beauty..Donna loved Norwich she didn’t like Kings Lyn..Norwich was our prefered place to shop and eat… Be safe and well, Pete 🙂
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Wow! The world is almost surreal right now.
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That as a pretty amazing film, Jennie. To see the largest city in Eastern England like that was indeed a revelation. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Yes, indeed!
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Beautiful video Pete 🙂 Looks gorgeous and tranquil others have implied 🙂 Anyway, keep up the great work as always 🙂
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Thanks, John. I really enjoyed seeing our nearest city like this for once. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Beautiful city with so much history! And quite mysterious deserted. Thanks for the tour!
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Thanks Susanne. One of the benefits of living in England is that most of our towns and cities have wonderful ancient centres.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I think you’ve got the ideal living situation, Pete. You have the pleasure of living in a quaint village like Beetley, but you are also close to a bigger city when you are looking for a little more action.
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True, Pete. Luckily, I am rarely looking for ‘action’ these days! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Never been to Norwich but it is now on my list of places to visit!
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It’s quite small in the centre, and full of interesting things to see. The university is on the outskirts, and worth a visit on its own too. Very unusual buildings, and built around a broad. Here’s a post about it.
Thanks, Chris.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Thanks for sharing this Pete…sometimes a city needs a break like this to restore itself and allow its natural beauty to be seen…
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When you know somewhere quite well, it is very strange to see it like this. I finally got to appreciate that is is a pretty wonderful place. Until the people and the traffic come back. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Yes Pete, the beauty of a city is usually ruined by cars and crowds!
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this does show the beauty of the city, but I am sure the town would prefer that there were people walking its streets and visiting its shops and pubs.
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True, Jim. This once-in-a-lifetime chance to see it empty was very fortuitous though. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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there are a lot of once-in-a-lifetime opportunities right now, for photographers, sociologists, health-care workers, and it’s a good thing that people are recording such events…
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As Harold Godwinson once said to Guilliaume le Conquérant, “You Wensum, you lose some…” Oh, and that view of Haymarket tickled my brain. But, seriously, Norwich is a beautiful city with an intriguing mix of modern and medieval.
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It is certainly a place where you can see every style, from Roman times, right up to the last few years. And I have never seen it devoid of traffic and people before, so that as a bonus. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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I just noticed that Guillaume is incorrectly spelled. I copied/pasted the full name due to the accent I needed for Conquérant. Just goes to show you that you can’t trust the internet!
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Beautiful City, the old buildings embedded in history if only they were able to talk. Great Tour, Thanks.
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Thanks, Jaques. It is great to be able to see it ’empty’ for once. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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it is a beautiful city, Pete! somewhat lonely but it is charming and lots to offer. lovely tour; thanks for sharing 🙂
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Only lonely temporarily because of the lockdown, Wilma. But it gave us all the chance to see what it really looks like. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Beautiful and haunting and perhaps the future a world almost without people.
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Nature would not take too long to reclaim a city, Felicity. I would love to be around to see that happen, but sadly won’t be.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Agreed!
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Maybe I’m strange, but I have enjoyed the slower pace of things. It brings back memories of childhood, when stores were closed on Sunday, and families were home together more. That video is a great example of returning simplicity. Our only modern problem now, is we are used to running on the razors edge of making that dollar. So slowdowns are devastating.
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Yes, I know what you mean, Ron. I have also enjoyed that almost ‘post war’ 1950s feel of life. But that could all turn very nasty, once the economy goes bust.
Best wishes, Pete.
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My wife and I really liked Norwich, when we were there – well, the sightseeing [on two days] that is. I didn’t like the third day that much when I needed to see a dentist. 😉 But it proved to be painless: just putting in a crown again that hat come out. Luckily I didn’t swallow it.
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It must be strange to see it again with no people or traffic, Pit. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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I haven’t watched the video yet, but I’ll certainly do.
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Amazing Pete! I can only imagine how congested it is normally.
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Yes, it’s pedestrianised in the centre, except for buses and taxis, and cars queue on the edges of the city for spaces in the car parks. In this film it is unimaginably quiet.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Quite creepy. The few people about could be the survivors of something cataclysmic. I actually see more people out and about in my wee town.
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I suspect it was filmed very early, and at a weekend. But it does make the city look quite wonderful. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Lovely to see it like that. It was our nearest town when we lived at RAF Coltishall, my Mum took me with her shopping there, and was particularly fond of Elm Hill, which used to have a shop called Samarkand in one of those old buildings. She did an oil painting of the street which is still up on my wall here.
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I normally avoid going there, but if it was always like this I would go every day. 🙂
https://www.annington.co.uk/properties-for-sale/norfolk-badersfield-formerly-raf-coltishall-barton-rd
Best wishes, Pete.
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Sad that the RAF camp is no more. Couldn’t live in that now though, has to be a detached house or we’d have trouble with the neighbours on music nights! 🤣
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Yes, eerie!
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If it wasn’t for the few people and the cyclists, it is almost post-apocalyptic. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Indeed….
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I don’t often go to Norwich, as BSE is nearer. I’ve been to the Holiday Inn there for various functions, but can’t remember ever going shopping there. I have a friend who lives in Eaton, and we usually meet halfway at the Pulhams.
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It is packed with history, Stevie, and this short film shows it off wonderfully. I tend to go in by bus, as I get too stressed trying to find a space in one of the car parks. And I use my bus pass for free travel too. 🙂 Bury is lovely, but a bit of a mission from here, over 75 minutes driving, instead of 20 or so to Norwich.
Best wishes, Pete.
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About the same to Norwich for us – 75 mins, and about 25 to Bury. I used to go to the skin clinic in Unthank Road, but that’s as far as my trips to Norwich went. However, we like the North Norfolk coast, especially Cromer and Sheringham, but again haven’t got up there for a few years now as we tend to go to the IOW.
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