It is a city and a region which is steeped in heritage and boasts some of Britain's finest attractions. But after a recent whistle-stop visit to Norwich and its surrounding countryside, Taylor Swift singled out some rather unusual highlights from her time here.

The 25-year-old singer, one of the world's biggest acts, was in the region at the weekend performing at the Radio 1 Big Weekend event, in Earlham Park. She enjoyed a brief look around the area before taking to the stage and, in an interview with Radio 1 DJ Nick Grimshaw, broadcast yesterday, she recalled what had most grabbed her attention.

She said it had been 'great to be in Norwich', and listed its 'greenest grass', 'wooden fences', 'stone fences' and 'old little church graveyards' as her personal highlights.

She also said the city had reminded her of her upbringing on a Christmas tree farm, in Berks County, Pennsylvania.

'It reminds me of the farm I grew up on,' she said, adding that the 'old English countryside' was 'really beautiful'.

It is not clear exactly what parts of the city and surrounding area she saw during her visit – or which wooden and stone fences had so caught her eye.

One of the city's greenest areas is Earlham Park itself, although the singer could have been referring to one of its many other parks, or Mousehold Heath.

As for the stone fences, she could have caught a glimpse of the old city walls, or been enchanted by the walls fronting the terraced homes of the Golden Triangle.

During the interview Taylor also told the presenter how thousands of shows around the world had not fended off problems with pre-performance nerves.

'I do get nervous about those things because it matters,' she said.

According to the musician, leaving cats Meredith Grey and Olivia Benson, whose names were inspired by TV series Grey's Anatomy and Law and Order, behind was the hardest part of jetting around the globe for tours, but said that performing to fans was worth it.

'When you walk off stage and you are drenched in sweat and tired and your legs hurt and your neck hurts from thrashing your hair around and you've got another meet-and-greet, you feel like you're really working for your job,' she said.

'Sometimes... I just don't feel like it's really hard at all and it's nice to feel tired afterwards.

'I really like the feeling of 'you know what, I've been busy, I deserve this two hours of watching TV at the end of the night'.'

After her performance at the festival, which saw Taylor jet in from the States mid-way through her 1989 World Tour, she took to her Twitter account to praise the Norwich crowd.

She posted: 'So @BBCR1 #BigWeekend was amazing! INSANE crowd! Can't wait to be back in the UK for our Hyde Park show next month:)'