What’s it Like? My Favourite Norfolk Days Out
Following on from my what’s it like Suffolk round up, as we are so close to the beautiful county of Norfolk, it seemed an obvious choice. As an East Anglian Blogger I love sharing all the amazing places we have surrounding us in Suffolk and Essex, yet Norfolk is the one that’s most well known with tourists.
With its stunning coast and inviting cultural city, it may only be the county next door, but its beautiful beaches and abundance of family attractions, mean there is more than enough for us to venture only as far as Norfolk for a holiday. There are easily more than a weeks worth of places to visit throughout the county.
Similar to my Suffolk ‘What’s It Like’ post this will be the place to celebrate days out and trips away to Norfolk that either we’ve been on or have been shared and rated highly by others.
Whether its a new place we’ve found or revisiting an old favourite – there will be a quick capture on what its like, including what you need to know before going. Then going forward, I will be adding to this blog sharing lots more ideas for places to go in Norfolk.
I’ll be using the hashtag #Whatsitlike too each week so they are also easily searchable for later. If you have some of your own tag me on Instagram and stick the #on so I can share them in my stories and add you into this blog.
Wells Next to the Sea – What’s It Like
Wells feels a good place to start, being the part of Norfolk I visited most as a child and having recently visited with my own children, its a great place to visit as a family.
- The beach is amazing (a windbreak is good because it’s so open, plus a picnic, as it’s so big you can easily end up walking far away from everything)
- The beautiful pinewood forest behind the beach is definitely worth a visit.
- We stayed at Pinewoods and I was pleasantly surprised how nice the caravan was
- Lovely little café (Nelsons) in the town for breakfast or coffee and cakes
- There are some little independent shops to look round on the lanes off the harbour
- There’s a mini train that runs every 20 minutes from the town to the beach
- I’ve written all about our trip and how it compares to the Wells of my summer holidays as a kid over on my blog A Last Minute Mini Break to Wells Next to the Sea
Bewilderwood – What’s it Like
A forest full of magical fun. Bewilderwood Norfolk is somewhere I’ve wanted to go for ages and when we finally visited for the first time a couple of months ago we were certainly not disappointed.
- You start off in a little boat trip that takes you into a forest clearing full of wooden play structures – from towering mazes, tree houses and climbing frames to trails and (very high) zipwires, my children loved it.
- There’s also a story element too with the adventure park themed around a local authors children’s book, so there’s a story to get involved in and themed activities to take part in too.
- My children are seven and nine and could do everything (Although my daughter didn’t fancy the high zipwire, but then neither did I!) But, I would also recommend if you have little ones. Most of its pretty easily accessible with adults able to go on most things to help and there was a little outdoor theatre show that’s great for toddlers and pre-schoolers.
- I booked in advance when we visited and it seems really popular so I’d book online as far in advance as you can
- The food was great for lunch and they had plenty of areas to sit and relax in the forest.
There’s also another Bewilderwood in Cheshire that Natalie from the blog – Meme and Harry has shared her experiences and review of when they visited – Bewilderwood Cheshire, tips review and FAQs
Great Yarmouth – What’s It Like
A traditional seaside town and a glorious golden beach stretching as far as the eye can see – A family weekend in Great Yarmouth was the perfect tonic when we visited for the weekend last summer, after a year in Lockdown.
- First up, obviously there’s the beach. We loved the wide sandy beach, it stretches out for miles with sand dunes and the busy promenade behind it.
- My children’s favourite at the seaside is always the amusements, so we started with the piers. There are two in Yarmouth, both full of rides, amusements arcades and all the normal seaside snacks and sweets. The promenade is also cram packed with arcades too, much to my kids delight.
- We stayed at The Imperial Hotel on the front. It was a traditional British Seaside hotel with friendly staff, comfortable clean bedrooms, lots of space for leisurely drinks in the bar and and a great restaurant for evening meals overlooking the beach.
- I’ve shared lots more detail over on my blog A Family Weekend In Great Yarmouth
Lyndsey who blogs over on MehimTheDogAndABaby also loves a day out in Great Yarmouth. Here are her top highlights when visiting – follow the links below to read her reviews:
‘Great Yarmouth is a great day out for the whole family and there’s so much to do there. All along the sea front you’ll find a whole host of entertainment and attractions.
SeaLife offers something both fun and educational and also indoors in case the weather isn’t too nice. The Pleasure Beach is perfect for thrill seekers while Joyland offers rides for a younger age range. If you’re looking for a show then the Hippodrome is the place to be; they have 4 different shows a year! You can’t go wrong with fish and chips and making sand castles on the beach either.’
So that’s my starter for ten so far, but be sure to pop back as I’ll be updating this blog regularly as we find new ‘What’s It Like’ places in Norfolk to share…
Alongside this blog I love celebrating and sharing UK family days out (especially East Anglia) over on my Suffolk Mum Facebook and Instagram pages:
Some more blog posts you might like…
The 10 things I’ve learned being a family in Lockdown
