The 19th century Norwich School, whose landscapes and seascapes recall the realism of Dutch 17th century painting, can justifiably claim to be the only regional art movement that England has ever known. If the father of the “Norwich Society of Artists” was John Crome, then its leading exponent was John Sell Cotman, widely regarded as one of the country’s most accomplished water-colourists.

Our course will study some of the finest œuvres of the Norwich School and examine how the Norfolk countryside, its broads and rivers, inspired Crome and his fellow artists.

Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery, the beneficiary of a lavish £12 million refit, hosts the most comprehensive collection of the work of the Norwich School. Alongside paintings by John Crome we will view an unrivalled anthology of oils and water-colours by John Sell Cotman as well as landscapes by Robert Ladbrooke, James Stark and Crome’s two sons, John Berney Crome and William Henry Crome. Other local painters represented in the museum include Sir Alfred Munnings and Edward Seago.

Yet Norwich’s fascination stretches far beyond its eponymous art school: the Sainsbury Centre celebrates the genius of Henry Moore, Giacometti, Bacon, Picasso and Modigliani, whilst Jacobean Blickling Hall evokes an altogether different era. Reputedly home to the headless ghost of Anne Boleyn, Blickling is hung with family portraits by Gainsborough and boasts a splendid “Peter the Great Room”, which commemorates the service of the Earl of Buckinghamshire as ambassador to Russia.

Our architectural wanderings through Norwich will embrace the honey-coloured cathedral, begun in 1096 and finally consecrated in 1278, and the Close, a peaceful enclosure containing the Prior’s Hall and the Bishop’s Palace.

We stay at the three-star George Hotel (Best Western) in Norwich in a quiet conservation area fifteen minutes from the centre of the city.