This tropical paradise in a 90-foot long flight area features more than 400 butterflies flying free in and around visitors. If you wear bright colours you might even be lucky enough to have one land on you!

At 30°C and with tropical humidity, the new butterfly house provides the perfect living conditions for these amazing flying jewels.

Visitors can visit the flight area once or constantly throughout the day – a useful tip as it can get quite hot inside.

Book now for a visit during the school holidays and remember to book early for a handling experience as spaces book up fast before the day.

See our earlier stories:

• Invertebrate zoo in Lenwade wins business start-up award
• Lenwade insect zoo crowdfunding for conservation area
• Bug Parc gets new additions for summer

The post Tropical butterfly house opening at the Bug Parc appeared first on REEPHAM LIFE.

Interested in history, art, music or food? Would you consider volunteering at Norfolk’s best kept secret, Wolterton, a stunning stately home situated in the heart of the North Norfolk countryside?

Wolterton is a privately owned Georgian historic house that will be opening its gates to the public for the first time this summer with its inaugural art exhibition accompanied by a series of operas, plays and dining experiences.

We are looking to build a team of fun, responsible and positive volunteers to help us host and steward these events. If you would like to know more, please email to register your interest.

We will be hosting a Volunteer Open Morning at 11 am on Saturday 17 May. Please join us to hear further details and we will show you around the hall and supply copious amounts of tea and biscuits!

Email: volunteer@wolterton.co.uk
Tel: 01263 768966
Find out more HERE

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Organisers of the Reepham Festival co-ordinated the campaign to raise the £6,000 required to get a GoGoSafari lion, raising £2,000 themselves. Contributions were also received from Reepham Lions Club, Reepham WI, Taverham Lions Club and Reepham Town Council.

Residents supported the campaign by donating their loose change in collection buckets about the town and by donating on the JustGiving page set up by Break. There were also generous donations from local shops and businesses.

The GoGoSafari trail runs from Monday 23 June and runs until Saturday 30 August. Reepham’s lion, who has been named Prince, will be located in the Market Place and is being painted by one of Break’s regular GoGo trail artists, Mik Richardson from Aylsham.

The exact location and design are being kept secret for the time being – the location will be announced nearer the time, but visitors will have to wait until the trail starts to see the actual design.

There will be 51 sculptures in total – many in Norwich city centre plus a county trail that includes the sculpture in Reepham.

Trail maps and a trail app will be available, and there will also be a trail hub, called the Lookout, in The Forum, Norwich, throughout the trail for further information.

Break raises funds for its work with young people going into care, while in care and after leaving care. The GoGoSafari Trail will generate money for them when the sculptures are auctioned off after the trail has finished.

The post Target reached to secure GoGoSafari lion appeared first on REEPHAM LIFE.

Located on Nowhere Lane, Lenwade, just a few miles south of Reepham, the facility was opened last year by bug enthusiast and collector Martin French, who bought the five-acre location in 2020, just as the pandemic hit.

He then spent more than two years building the first phase of the park in the “middle of nowhere”, without any facilities.

The park currently features three large tropical invertebrate houses housing more than 200 species, invertebrate handling sessions, a gift shop, a café and a children’s play area with a large jumping pillow, undercover sandpit and swings and slides.

Already the largest invertebrate park in the UK, over the next 10 years Mr French wants to build the next five phases of the project, finances permitting, which will make the facility possibly the world’s largest specialist tropical invertebrate park.

Plans for the future include: walk-through butterfly experiences; a one-acre planted bee and butterfly garden surrounding the bee visitor centre; two wildlife ponds to attract dragonflies and damselflies; a dipping pond for children; a sculpture trail winding through the pine woodland; a “faerie” village for small children; and 13 more large visitor centres housing different orders of invertebrates.

The Bug Parc and gift shop is open from 10 am – 5 pm, seven days per week during school holidays and half term, and open on bank holidays. At all other times it is open from Wednesday–Sunday only; closed Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

The Chrysalis Café is open Wednesday–Sunday from 8.30 am – 4 pm (also Monday and Tuesday during school holidays and on bank holidays; closed Christmas Day and Boxing Day).

The Bug Parc won the New Business of the Year at this year’s Broadland & South Norfolk Business Awards.

The Bug Parc

Nowhere Lane, Lenwade, Norfolk NR9 5PD

Tel: 01603 855165

Email: info@thebugparc.com

www.thebugparc.com

The post Tropical invertebrate zoo re-emerges as The Bug Parc appeared first on REEPHAM LIFE.

The café serves all-day breakfasts from 8.30 am seven days a week, and also offers lunches, hot and cold drinks, and home-made cakes throughout the day.

All food is prepared on the premises and made from locally sourced ingredients with an emphasis on eco-friendly products.

There is plenty of room to eat inside or al fresco on the large dog-friendly patio, making it an ideal place to meet up with friends.

The café caters for all dietary requirements, allergies and intolerances and, if customers call ahead, will be happy to accommodate most needs.

The café is running special offers, including a 10^th-coffee free loyalty card and a two-item breakfast bap free after the purchase of five breakfasts.

There is full disabled access with plenty of room to move around the café, which welcomes families with children.

The eatery can cater for birthday parties, group bookings and most functions in the 60-seat café, which is decorated with a butterfly theme and can cater for any large party if booked ahead of time.

It can also cater for early-evening private functions by appointment, and potential hirers can arrange to meet the chef to discuss menu options.

The Chrysalis Café is open seven days a week, from 8.30 am – 4 pm, at Nowhere Lane, Lenwade, Norfolk NR9 5PD. Tel: 01603 855165.

After you have enjoyed a hearty breakfast, you might like to check out the new five-acre tropical invertebrate parc next door at BugzUK, the newest, most unusual and unique tourist attraction in Norfolk, which is open seven days a week, from 10 am – 5 pm.

The post Butterfly-themed café serving all-day breakfasts opens in Lenwade appeared first on REEPHAM LIFE.

A total of 445 heritage organisations will share £103 million to help restart vital reconstruction work and maintenance on heritage sites, keeping venues open and supporting those working in the sector.

Whitwell Station is to receive a grant of £49,000, which will be used to purchase tools for the workshop and a new system for scanning historical documents and allowing online access, and to help provide a safe play area for children.

The grant is from the Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage and the Heritage Stimulus Fund, administered by Historic England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Both funds are part of the government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund, which is designed to secure the future of the country’s museums, galleries, theatres, independent cinemas, heritage sites and music venues with emergency grants and loans.

Richard Bailey, a trustee of Whitwell & Reepham Railway Preservation Society, said: “This grant is essential to keeping historical items safe and ready for the future. It will also help attract more people to the station in these hard times.

“We have been open since venues were allowed to have customers back inside, and we have found a lot of support, both for what we have done and for what we have planned to do with this grant.”

Whitwell & Reepham Railway opened in 2009 as a heritage railway, nearly 50 years after it was closed to passengers.

The preservation society aims to continue restoring Whitwell Station to its former glory, re-laying track and sidings, acquiring rolling stock and adding more items to its museum.

The post Whitwell Station to receive £49,000 recovery fund grant appeared first on REEPHAM LIFE.

As well as the campsite, all the indoor and outdoor seating areas at the popular visitor attraction on Whitwell Road, Reepham, will be open Monday–Thursday 11 am – 5 pm, Friday 11 am – 8 pm and weekends 10 am – 6 pm (weather dependent). The car park will be closed and locked 15 minutes after the closing times.

The car park is already open for visitors to use to take a walk or exercise on Marriott’s Way, and a range of food and drink for takeaway can be purchased from the station building, with card payments only (no cash).

All food and drink will be served in disposable containers, and customers are reminded to maintain appropriate social distancing while collecting and paying for their items.

There will be no toilet facilities available until 4 July.

Opening/closing times may be subject to change. Check the website for the latest information.

See our earlier story:

• Limited reopening of Marriott’s Way access at Whitwell Station

The post Whitwell Station reopening on 4 July appeared first on REEPHAM LIFE.

Now in its fifth year, the event features more than 100 veteran, vintage, classic and future classic cars and motorbikes descending on Reepham for a day of indulgence for collectors, enthusiasts and the curious from around the county.

With previous years focusing on Britain, Italy and Germany, this year the festival plays host to classic American cars from the 1940s, 50s and 60s, such as Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Ford, Lincoln and Pontiac.

During these post-war decades, Americans felt bold and enthusiastic about the future and they wanted their cars to portray those feelings. They piled on the chrome and wanted bigger, faster and prettier – and Detroit did not disappoint, responding with monsters that dripped opulence and luxury.

When it came to bikes, both Harley Davidson and Indian motorcycles ruled the route and the men (and women) who rode them indulged in the counterculture that saw the start of the café racing trend that identified with a free spirit and the open road.

The 1960s saw the explosion of biker gangs taking the American classics to their hearts, and visitors should be able to see fine examples from each era in Reepham’s Market Place.

There will be music in the King’s Arms courtyard with the Hal Wrayzer Combo, as well as burgers, hot dogs and entertainment from an era in American history that marked a huge time of change in the motoring world.

To register your car or bike for the event, contact Hugh Ivins or Peter Fitzjohn reephamclassic2018@outlook.com or 01603 871102.

Please note that this year, only registered exhibitors with numbered passes will be allowed access to the Market Place. Once a vehicle is accepted, an emailed “windscreen pass” will be sent to the owner/driver.

The post Car and bike show to celebrate the American Classic appeared first on REEPHAM LIFE.

The Society has now launched a petition that seeks to clarify the term “railway land” pertaining to the Lynn and Fakenham Railways Act of 1876-1881.

The heritage railway group wants the UK government to confirm that there is an Act of Parliament still in force for the land to be used as a railway and, if this is the case, to clarify who has preference over the land.

The petition can be signed HERE

The post Whitwell Station renews bid to extend railway line to Lenwade appeared first on REEPHAM LIFE.

The sign on the main Norwich to Fakenham road in particular will hopefully attract more people to one of Reepham’s main visitor attractions.

There are also signs on Whitwell Road near the high school and at Townsends Corner in Reepham town centre.

To get the signs, station owner Mike Urry said the Whitwell & Reepham Preservation Society first had to join a recognised tourist association.

A substantial sum was paid to acquire VisitEngland accreditation, the official tourist board for England, and the Quality Rose Marque was awarded last May.

After some delay, and yet more cost, Norfolk County Council eventually erected the signs.

Mr Urry pointed out that the total cost (more than £4,500) for getting the signage was paid for from functions and events at the station. “However, this means we need to do more to recoup this money,” he added.

The post Whitwell Station gets brown signs’ on A1067 ‘ at last appeared first on REEPHAM LIFE.