Morning all..
I have a few days off with my 3 girls (14/16/18) next week and we are staying in Bacton. Rough itinerary so far is Norwich for shopping, market, cathedral, castle, Tombland (C.J.Sansom reader) and visit to Louis Marchesi pub (Round Table member here). Great Yarmouth for the rollercoasters. Maybe hire a boat or do a river cruise on the broads. I suppose a beach day (unsure where) and of course, good ol' fish and chips by the sea. What great places am I missing? Some nice stately homes, maybe seal watching.. any personal recommendations of anything?
We stayed in Burnham Market for a week last month.
Wells-next-the-sea is nice for a wonder and a beach. There’s a mini train that takes you from the town to the beach, or you can drive down and park 5”m from the beach.
Cromer is ok for fish and chips and a wonder along the promenade and pier.
Other places are maybe a bit far west if you’re staying in Bacton.
You are on a very variable bit of coastline in terms of the local character of the beaches and towns. They can vary hugely from 'kiss me quick hats and candyfloss' to 'very remote no mans-land'.
Great Yarmouth is a bit of a dump, but is a proper Victorian seaside town with arcade machines, amusements etc.
Great Yarmouth to Hemsby coastline is mainly holiday chalets and caravans.
The character of the coast changes where Hemsby meets Winterton and becomes remote dog-walking beaches to Cromer. Nice beachside cafe at Winterton, but it gets very busy.
The Strands are not very touristy at all.
Cromer crab is world famous, but there is not much else there. Handy for Fish and Chips.
Sheringham is much the same as Cromer, but without as many crabs, but has more pensioners. Also handy for Fish and Chips. There is a tourist train here which runs along the coast from here to Holt.
The Broads will be rammed with plastic noddy-boats, particularly on the weekends, but might be fun if you can find some space of your own away from the marina. Get a small boat, piloting a big one can be very stressful!
The following may be a bit too far to travel from Bacton:
Blakeney is more 'up market', often nick-named Chelsea-on-sea. This is bird-watching coastline along with Cley. Blakeney has some nice pubs.
Wells is OK but there is not much there. Wells Woods has some lovely walks through the woods or on the beach to Holkham.
The Burnham/Brancaster are again more 'up market', with some nice pubs.
Hunstanton is a town of two halves. The main part is a mini Great Yarmouth, but the cliffs along Old Hunstanton are quite lovely.
HTH
I can recommend Blakeney as we had a holiday there in May . Wells and holkham beach is stunning and well worth a visit .
I believe that Walsingham is quite nice but some people have been known to travel as far as the Himalayas to avoid it.
In the Sotadic Zone, apparently.
I see what you did there!Originally Posted by Carlton-Browne
We moved to North Norfolk nearly 4 years ago and barely a week goes by without a trip to Holkham and Wells. The beaches are really fantastic, but don’t tell anyone - they’re also idyllically empty most of the time!
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Suffolk?
I’d recommend grabbing a table in the Birdcage pub in Norwich and then sending someone over the road to the Grosvenor Fish Bar for some of the cities best fish and chips. They will deliver your order back to the pub...the large cod and chips is hilariously huge in size, made all the better by a pint of choice.
Things to do...Wells Next the Sea has been mentioned, either from town via the tram, or park at the carpark nearer the beach. An alternate is Holkham, but just check the tides if you want to even see the sea as it goes out miles.
Yarmouth is fine for a bit of old skool British holiday, however, if you just want a wander along the beach, I wouldn’t dismiss Gorleston, which is the other side of the harbour entrance. Not much there, but the beach walk and cliffs are a lot less manic than Yarmouth.
If the family are young enough BeWILDerwood out at Horning is a few hours well spent. Hiring a boat is also great fun, just choose the starting point wisely. Brundall to Norwich is 1 and a half hours each way, plus beer stops, but there is plenty to see and take in. The new thing is to rent a canoe and paddle between some of the Norwich riverside pubs, which sounds great but is not so good if you get the tides wrong...
If if there is time for a real Beer session, then the Fat Cat in Norwich is not to be missed. Just get a lift home. It is the only pub I have ever been to that you really need to spend 10 minutes deciding just what pint to order...and still ask for help from the bar staff.
Funnily enough I went to the castle this week, I would say don't go, they are starting a major renovation (18 month job) and have cleared out most of the interesting bits in preparation for that. For instance can not go into the dungeons, can not go up to the battlements.
The Keep (what most people think of as the castle) is almost totally empty, the rotunda is the history bit but honestly we struggled with it because everything in there is aimed at teaching in the 1960/70/80s and 'modern' kids don't get the joy of looking at endless glass cases of stuffed birds.
Sorry for us it was disappointing.
OTOH
Well is nice,
If you can time it for high tide then crabbing at Blakeney is fun
No 1 fish n chips at Cromer is worth a visit
If you are into Zoo's then Banham is pretty good
Mucklebough Tank Collection is supposed to be good if you have teens who are into that sort of thing,
Enjoy!
Thanks for the ideas.. I need to get a map out and pencil in some of these places. I have only been to Norwich once and none of the surrounding area, so it'll be a bit of exploring required.
Ah Bacton my home village for 25 years.
Sea Palling beach is worth a look and Horsey is where you'll see any seals. Walk up to Walcott from Bacton and go to the Kingfisher "restaurant" for excellent locally made ice cream.
If you're a foodie then head to Norwich Market (on every day of the week) it's fantastic.
Head up to Sheringham park for a woodland walk with a gazebo on top of a hill and great views toward the coast and over the North Norfolk steam railway line.
Will have a think about any other things to do of note.
Andy
If you enjoy Thai food, quality beer then this is the one. Really.
http://www.crawfishinn.com/
NR21 0BJ
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