Let your mum put her feet up and earn a well earned rest and take her out for a special treat this Mothering Sunday. Simon Parkin suggests a few places to take her and spoil her.
Get Nostalgic
Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse hosts a special treat for mums this Sunday (10am-5pm) with flowers, chocolates and a free cream tea for all mums! Discover the Victorian 'language of flowers', explore the beautiful botanical art exhibition by Isobel Bartholomew. Make a posy of flowers to take home – the perfect way to brighten up your mum's special day. Down on the farm; see if you can spot the first signs of spring as well as meeting our new mums and their baby lambs.
? Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse, March 30, 10am-5pm, normal admission £9.90 (£8.60 cons), £6.50 (4-18), £20 family (1 adult), £29 family (2 adults), 01362 860563, www.museums.norfolk.gov.uk
• Foodie Friday: Treat your Mum this Mother's Day
Messing About In Boats
What could be a more peaceful way to treat your mum than a trip on the Broads enjoying the wildlife and scenery?
Broads Tours offers special Mothering Sunday trips. Leaving from the bridge in Wroxham you can enjoy a great day afloat aboard the double-decker boat. The skipper will give a live commentary explaining the origins of the Broads, whilst pointing out the fabulous wildlife and other things to interest you along the way. It's something all the family will enjoy and every mums accompanied by her child or children will receive a complimentary glass of wine too.
? Mother's Day Tours, Wroxham, March 30, 11.30am (one and a half hour trip), £8, £5 children, under-5s free/2pm (two hour trip), £9.50, £5.50 children, under-5s free, 01603 782207, www.broadstours.co.uk
Family Walk
For mums that love a refreshing walk treat her to a special Mothering Sunday Walk at Fairhaven in South Walsham, near Acle. The guided walk round this lovely Broads beauty spot will be with the head gardener Ian Guest explore the beautiful spring woodland garden with its predominantly yellow-flowering plants - wild primrose, skunk cabbage and daffodils, as well as wood anemones and camellias. As a special treat, every mum will receive a free primrose plant too. Meanwhile at Sculthorpe Moor Community Nature Reserve there will also be a special Mothering Sunday family walk around the reserve.
? Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden, South Walsham, March 30, 11am, garden entry £6.10 (£5.60 cons), £3..60 children, under-5s free, 25pm dogs, 01603 270449. www.fairhavengarden.co.uk
? Sculthorpe Moor Community Nature Reserve, Turf Moor Road, Sculthorpe, near Fakenham, March 30, 10.30am, £5 (£4 cons), pre-book 01328 856788, www.hawkandowl.org
Spring Flowers
If your mum likes flowers you'd be 'daff-t' to miss a special Mothering Sunday openings at Hindringham Hall and Mannington Hall. Hindringham Hall is a Tudor Manor House surrounded with complete 13th century moat surrounded by thousands of narcissi (32 varieties), a working walled vegetable garden and stream garden ablaze with hellebore and primula. Home to Lord and Lady Walpole, Mannington Hall has some 20 acres of shrubs, lake, trees and roses. There are extensive countryside walks and trails to 19th century follies with lots of wild flowers and bird life.
? Hindringham Hall, Blacksmiths Lane, Hindringham, March 30, 10am-4pm, £6, children free, 01328 878226, www.hindringhamhall.org/Mannington Hall, near Saxthorpe/Corpusty, March 30, 12pm-5pm, £6, children free, 01263 584175, www.manningtongardens.co.uk
All Aboard
Take mum on a relaxing journey through the Norfolk countryside aboard Mid-Norfolk Railways special steam train. Starting from Wroxham, experience the magic of steam through nine miles of Norfolk countryside, following the picturesque Bure valley, before arriving at Aylsham. The VIP train and lunch package costs £23, £12 children (booking essential on 01263 733858). Alternatively, just enjoy a steam train ride starting from Aylsham or Wroxham and treat your mother to a cream tea at the Whistlestop.
? Bure Valley Railway, Aylsham/Wroxham, March 30, 12.10pm/11am and 2.20pm, £12.50 return, £6.50 children, under-5s free, www.bvrw.co.uk
Fluffy New Mums
Sit on the bales of hay, get your bottle of warm milk at the ready and watch as the baby lambs are led to the bottles and guzzle away at lambing season continues at Wroxham Barns. This is a hands-on experience not to be missed and it takes place on the farm three times a day. Lamb feeding takes place at 11am, 1.30pm and 3.30pm and some feeding times can be busy so children (ages 2+) might have to share holding a bottle. In addition Worxham Barns hosts numerous craft, art and food shops — so if you want to treat your mum to a special cake or a necklace you can.
? Wroxham Barns, Tunstead Road, Hoveton, open daily 10am-5pm, farm admission £5.75, under-2s free, 01603 783911, www.wroxhambarns.co.uk
Cultural Mums
If your mum likes the romance and fashion of the Art Nouveau period, The Sense and Sensuality exhibition at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts is the perfect destination this Sunday. The exhibition explores the drama and spectacle of early 20th century life with some 65 works from sculpture, graphics, and books to ceramics, glass and furniture. You can have your mum serenaded too as King's Lynn Festival Chorus presents In The Mood at King's Lynn Corn Exchange, featuring well-known classics from the jazz repertoire, including favourites such as I got Rhythm, Blue Moon and Somewhere over the Rainbow.
? Sense and Sensuality: Art Nouveau 1890-1914, Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, until December 14, Tues-Fri 10am-6pm, £8 (£6 cons), £6 children, under-5s free, 01603 593199, www.scva.ac.uk
? In The Mood, King's Lynn Corn Exchange, March 30, 7.30pm, £12, 01553 764864, www.kingslynncornexchange.co.uk
Afternoon Tea
Afternoon tea was originally the brainchild of the Duchess of Bedford who was Lady-in-Waiting to Queen Victoria. For mums that love a spot of afternoon indulgence what better place than the glorious surroundings of Norwich Assembly House. Annoyingly they're closed on Sundays, but go a day early as from 2pm. On Sunday itself try in the palatial surroundings of Lord Lothian's Study at Blickling (booking essential on 0844 8004308), a great spot to enjoy freshly prepared cream teas and naughty-but-nice cakes.
Daring Mums
Mothering Sunday doesn't have to be about relaxing. Take your mum on a family adventure and dare her to do something different. Take a trip to Go Ape at Thetford Forest which has high ropes, awesome crossings, tunnels, bridges and an epic wind-in-your-face zip wire. If your mum doesn't have a head for heights, you can enjoy a Segway forest tour. Meanwhile Bewilderwood has a special Bewildermum's Twiggle Treat Day which sees mums (grannies and great-grannies) go free for the day.
? Go Ape, Thetford Forest, open daily, £32, £24 ages 10-17, £17 children (over 1m), £35pp Segway tours, pre-book 0843 770 3748, www.goape.co.uk
? Bewilderwood, Horning Road, Hoveton, March 30, £13.50 (£9 cons), £11.50 children, under 92cm go free, 01692 633033, www.bewilderwood.co.uk
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