The Knowhere Guide

Best and Worst in East Dereham, Norfolk*

East Dereham, Norfolk Triumphs and Tragedies

Favourite Building

• The Church - and also the Maltings (if someone would only restore them!)
• haha. i like the car park above iceland cos they have those gaps in the wall and u can p*ss onto unsuspecting shoppers beneath you
• CHURCH
• Museum
• Woolworths because it has the only decent bog for miles and when your caught short it is always there to rescue you!
• Water Tower
• The windmill?

Demolish It Now Building

• Roys - what an 'orrible end of Dereham - pity it is the first area anybody sees when visiting.
• The ugly out of place shopping area aka Nelson court.
• Splits!
• that really old sports shop in the precient. track and field
• BREAKERS
• Dereham Sixth Form!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Naff 60's developments in town centre, and Roys, oh, and all the other naff 60's developments around the place which have almost ruined this charming little town
• No buildings, but the Gatso`s in Toftwood get our vote.
• That eyesore in the middle of the main car-park, the one by the video shop... Is it a boxing club??? It should be demolished.
• NORTHGATE HIGH SCHOOL!! Ugly place. Or at least they should flatten the art department (other ex-students will understand why).
• Roys of Toftwood because it is so tempting to buy everything......not!!
• Argos, they MUST die
• The Police station.
• Northgate High school
• Bitza, a house built on the old Council dump - ugh!
• The Old Maltings Neatherd Rd
• The whole of dereham needs to be flattened and build a huge 16 lane moterway over the top just to get from Norwich to Scaning village.

The Best Things

• Bed time
• Dereham has been much slagged off on this web site and this is unfair. It might not be a mecca for teenagers, but it is a great place to live if you have young kids; you like the countryside; you dislike big cities; you like to live in bigger houses than you could afford elsewhere; and you generally want to live life in a slower lane. Dereham is not the best place for nightlife around, but then it does not want to be! Local people once you have made the effort to get to know them! Yes they can be retiscent, but they also have hearts of gold/
• you can walk it in around 20 mins
• nothing
• PEOPLE
• National Express runs through for those with any hope!
• If you like the quiet rural life, Dereham is a Mecca. It has a market, lots of unexpected shops, some basic caffs and food places, and a bit of history . I go to Norwich about once a year.
• Dereham YFC, Breckland Photographic
• Dereham is, in many ways, typical of a small Norfolk market town. If you want a hectic life, full of everything up to the minute and lived at a fast pace, don't come to Dereham or Norfolk. If, however, you are prepared to live life at a slower pace, in a place where it's still safe to allow your kids out on the streets, then this part of Norfolk may well be for you. Norfolk is great - plenty of open spaces, it's quiet on the whole, people are usually friendly and polite. Dereham, being in the heart of Norfolk is ideally located for access to the city - Norwich, the *beautiful* North Norfolk coastline with its mile upon mile of golden sandy beaches - beautiful countryside in the form of the Thetford Forest, wonderful heathlands and many, many public rights of way through wonderful country lanes, forest paths and the like. If you are into walking but don't want to hike up and down mountains, try the Peddars' Way footpath and the Norfolk Coastal path. A great variety of scenery with easy walking and plenty of pubs en-route to act as watering holes.
• I SUPPOSE I COULD HAVE BEEN BORN IN THE FENS OR THE OUTER HEBRIDIES
• The lovely girls working at the cinema !!!
• me and my mates....we rule the town!!
• the 'everyone knows everyone ' kind of feeling- it's really friendly, if annoying at times.
• Free parking. Good shops. Massive choice in take-away food. Road, bus and (soon) rail links to Norwich.
• Quiet
• Peacefull to a point no crime
• erm..

The Worst Things

• blokes - why are you all rough, arrogant, or thick? educational institutions people - full of NFN (normal for Norfolk) + inbred families - nearby villages usually dominated by one huge family lack of tolerance for anything different - intelligence, outsiders as relatives and 'talking posh' are all no-nos the accent 'outsiders' attempting to mimic the accent - you have to live it to be able to do it lack of transport to villages squaddies all over the place drugs problem only one young goodlooking policeman Dereham teenagers are a bunch of assholes - if you want your kid to grow up as a well rounded individual don't bring them here Saying that Dereham is the armpit of the Universe is an understatement - someone please drop a bomb on it and put everyone out of their misery
• The person who thought it was a good idea to not have any male clothes shops!
• WH BROWN..........the real estate agents.........they couldnt run a hot dog stand let alone a real estate agency. I know as I had some dealings with them.
• Dereham, a cemetery with lights.
• People who slag the town off all the time!
• All the people moving in pushing up the house prices & taking the jobs, another 1000 houses being built, who can afford them, not the locals.
• Somebody please build a McDonalds!
• everything
• Dereham is my hometown and I moved to the States 20 years ago and believe it or not, I miss good old East Dereham. I can't wait to come back to live and sit with my Uncle who wears that vest and who has the best natural tan without using a machine. He at least has the guts to do what he wants without caring what everybody else thinks. So to you who writes about him, GET A LIFE and worry about yourself!
• THE OTHER PEOPLE
• My God when I remember this horrid, butane cheap deal town, I get the fear. Pure Horror runs down my spine when I remember what I left behind one winters morning. I guess the real sadness, is that people are still there, coping, surviving, slithering along the edge of a dull, numb pain - that is existence in East Dereham for any body below the age of full mental and physical development/ responsibly. Of course those of an age beyond, have only them selves to blame, they are for now and ever excluded from human evolution.
• If you don't like the quiet rural life, or have no transport, or have never left the place, it must be hell on earth!
• The flasher down the snicket on the Scarning estate.
• USA Chicken, Downstairs, Bakers Oven, Super Chef chip shop (grumpy bastard!)
• It is *quiet* - if you want the latest in nightlife, forget Dereham and as a whole, forget Norfolk. Mind you, some of us like it quiet! You pays your money and takes your choice!
• dirty people. people from the neathered.
• the inbreds who moan about the soldiers. they should remember we got posted here, we wouldnt live in a dump like dereham by choice. dereham is full of jealous inbreds who cant stand the fact that us soldiers earn good money, dress better, look better and have decent cars. Give up, you'll never beat the British Army!!
• The one-way system, you kinda get swept along, like a little fish in a river.
• the girls...its about time some foxy chicks moved in.
• The one-way system
• Lack of places to go at night, lots of younger people hanging around trying to look cool, the vast amount of pensioners that come out of the woodwork on a tuesday, and the town mayor.
• Squaddies causing riots in the town centre, and kids dressed as fairies trying to pull a 300 foot Christmas tree out of their arse as they run away from the police.
• Dull Insular Imbread
• Dereham is a hole, drive thru it at ur own risk.
• That man with the vest (yes you know who i'm talking about) buy him some deodrent please and tell him it is winter and you don't wear a vest in winter . Also the alcholic that sits on the bench outside the momorial, not the mayor, but the 70 year bloke who wears the same clothes everyday and also smells

The Knowhere Guide started out as a list of places to skateboard in the UK. It is a compilation of (unedited) information and views supplied by users like yourself. It is not a conventional tourist guide!

In most cases, the information in each section has been submitted by more than one contributor (the credits at the bottom of the page list some, but not all, of the contributors) and some of it dates back to the 1970s.

We make no claims as to the accuracy of the information in the Guide - our only purpose is to provide a forum for users to share their knowledge and opinions. So please keep a large bag of salt handy and be prepared to read between the lines!

If you disagree with a comment, or information is out of date, please submit an update! The contributors come from all walks of life, and their opinions are bound to be subjective, so if your view isn't represented, please speak up and contribute to the balance of the Guide. See below in the 'Have Your Say' section for how to add your voice.

If we have helped you out or made you laugh you can buy us a pint.

Have Your Say...

You can tell us more about East Dereham. This is also the method to use if you want to correct some of the information already here. (But please remember you're not mailing the person who actually wrote whatever-it-is.)

You can use the add an event form to tell us about events happening in East Dereham.

Or, if you'd just like to leave a message for other users of this site, take a look at The Knowhere Board (handy if you're just trying to get in touch with someone).

Credits

Last updated: 2007-02-07