A port town on the Great Ouse
King's Lynn sits on the east bank of the River Great Ouse, a few miles before it meets The Wash, in the west of Norfolk. For centuries the river made it one of England's busiest ports, and you can still read that story in the quays, merchants' houses and warehouses that run down to the water.
The town is the everyday centre for a ring of nearby communities - Gaywood, South and North Wootton, West Lynn across the river, Castle Rising, Clenchwarton, Terrington St Clement, West Winch, Middleton and Watlington. That is why this directory covers the district, not just the town centre.
Two market places
Most towns have one market square. King's Lynn has two. Saturday Market Place, at the south end of the old town, is framed by King's Lynn Minster and the chequered flint front of the Town Hall. Tuesday Market Place, to the north, is one of the largest market squares in the country and is still home to the weekly Tuesday market.
Walking between the two along King Street and Queen Street is the easiest way to get a feel for the place. You pass Georgian townhouses, St George's Guildhall and lanes leading down to the riverside.
Merchants, mystics and explorers
Lynn traded with the Hanseatic League, the medieval network of North Sea and Baltic merchants, and Hanse House near the Minster survives from that time. The Minster itself began as a Benedictine priory church consecrated in 1101, and was the spiritual home of Margery Kempe, whose book is often described as the first autobiography in English.
On Purfleet Quay, the elegant late 17th-century Custom House looks out over the water, with a statue of Captain George Vancouver, the Lynn-born naval officer who charted much of the Pacific coast of North America. The Vancouver Quarter shopping centre takes its name from him.
Getting around
King's Lynn railway station has direct Great Northern trains to Ely, Cambridge and London King's Cross. Buses link the town with the surrounding villages, Hunstanton and the coast. A small passenger ferry crosses the river between the town centre and West Lynn on most weekdays and Saturdays - check the council's page for current times.
Several council car parks sit within walking distance of both market places. Check signs or the council website for current charges.
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