Swaffham (/ˈswɒfəm/) is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland District and English county of Norfolk.

Harry Carter, the grammar school's art teacher of the 1960s, was responsible for a great number of the carved village signs that are now found in many of Norfolk's towns and villages, including Swaffham's own sign commemorating the legendary Pedlar of Swaffham,[7][8][9] which is in the corner of the market place just opposite the old school's gates.

The tale tells of a pedlar from Swaffham who dreamed for several consecutive nights that if he waited on London Bridge he would eventually hear good news.

The shopkeeper laughed, and replied that he often dreamed that if he went to a certain orchard in Swaffham and started digging, he would find buried treasure.

There are regular services to Ely, Cambridge and London King's Cross, operated by Great Northern.

The lines were all closed as part of the Beeching cuts, though the possibility of rebuilding a direct rail link from Norwich to King's Lynn, via Swaffham, is raised occasionally.

[19] First Eastern Counties' Excel bus routes provide a regular public transport link through Swaffham between Dereham and King's Lynn.

[27] It was also built with an observation deck just below the nacelle which was open for the public to climb during the 2000s and 2010s, the only wind turbine in the world to have such a facility.

The centre provided a venue for school trips and event hire, and had educational displays focussing on sustainability in food, energy and transport.

[31] In June 2018 it was announced that the centre had closed for financial reasons and that Ecotricity intended to hand the building back to Breckland District Council (BDC).

[31] As with the rest of the British Isles and East Anglia, Swaffham experiences a maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters.

The nearest Met Office weather station to provide local climate data is RAF Marham, about 5+1⁄2 miles (9 km) west of the town centre.

The pub the Startled Duck in the TV series is better known as the Greyhound Inn, in which the Earl of Orford created the first coursing club open to the public, in 1776.