Breckland vs Norwich

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Breckland in Norfolk and Suffolk is a 39,433 hectare Special Protection Area (SPA) under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. The SPA partly overlaps the 7,544 hectare Breckland Special Area of Conservation. As a landscape region it is an unusual natural habitat of England. It comprises the gorse-covered sandy heath that lies mostly in the south of the county of Norfolk but also in the north of Suffolk. An area of considerable interest for its unusual flora and fauna, it lies to the east of another unusual habitat, the Fens, and to the south west of the Broads. The typical tree of this area is the Scots pine. Breckland is one of the driest areas in England. The area of Breckland has been substantially reduced in the twentieth century by the impact of modern farming and the creation in 1914 of Thetford Forest. However substantial areas have been preserved, not least by the presence of the British Army on the Stanford Battle Area. During the Prehistoric period Breckland was mined for flint, evidence for which can be found at Grimes Graves just outside Thetford in Norfolk. The word 'Breck' is medieval and was defined as being an area of heathland broken up for cultivation before being allowed to retreat back into wilderness.

Up until 200 years ago, much of it consisted of open heathland. The Brecks today are a tourist attraction as well as an area of scientific and geographical interest. The Breckland landscape region has given its name to Breckland District, a local government district that contains most of Norfolk's portion of the Breckland. Parts of Forest Heath and St Edmundsbury districts cover the Suffolk portion. The Great Eastern Pingo Trail is 8 miles of tracks and paths exploring the eastern edge of the Breckland area. The trail takes in the commons at the villages of Thompson and Stow Bedon, and heathland at Breckles and Great Hockham. Thompson Water, an artificial lake, and the woodland at Thompson Carr also form part of the walk. The name of the trail comes from the former Great Eastern Railway and the large number of collapsed pingos found in the area. The trail may be accessed as a detour from the Peddars Way long distance footpath. It is a Local Nature Reserve.

Source: Wikipedia

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Norwich ( (listen)) is a city in Norfolk, England, about 100 miles (160 km) north-east of London. Located on the River Wensum, Norwich is the county town of Norfolk and traditionally seen as the chief city of East Anglia. Its population in 2019 was estimated at 197,212. The local authority for the city is Norwich City Council. The site of modern Norwich was settled by the Anglo-Saxons between the 5th and 7th centuries, near the former Iceni capital and Roman town of Venta Icenorum. Norwich became fully established as a town in the 10th century and developed into a prominent centre for trade and commerce in East Anglia. Norwich Cathedral and Norwich Castle were founded soon after the Norman Conquest in 1066. Norwich was granted city status by Richard the Lionheart in 1194.

The city greatly benefited from the wool trade throughout the Middle Ages and prospered as a port with the status of a staple port; until the 18th century, it was the second-largest city in England (after London).Norwich's fortunes declined with the advent of the Industrial Revolution and the rise of new industrial towns of the north. The city underwent de-industrialisation in the 19th century but remained a regional agricultural and manufacturing centre, with a prominent shoemaking industry. After the Second World War, Norwich gradually transitioned into a service-based economy. The University of East Anglia, established in 1963, is located on the outskirts of Norwich.

Source: Wikipedia