Herrings, heritage and, huzzah, pirates! A family break in Great Yarmouth

Emma Fast-Field, her husband and two children spent a weekend in Great Yarmouth on Norfolk’s east coast. They discovered a host of family-friendly activities, a compelling maritime history and a warm community vibe that dazzled even more than the neon lights of Great Yarmouth’s famous Golden Mile.

It’s a caravan, not a climbing frame,” I tutted, as Albie (aged 8) and Esme (aged 5) clambered on the wooden framework between the sofa and the kitchen cupboards. We’d barely been inside our caravan at Haven Seashore Holiday Park for more than a minute and they were already finding the fun.

For me, the excitement began as we drove towards Great Yarmouth on the A47. The sea sparkled up ahead and we counted nine traditional windmills standing tall on the flat Norfolk countryside either side of us. But when you’re a kid, that history-infused expanse can’t compete with the thrill of staying in a caravan!

To save our caravan’s carpentry, we set out for the beach, a stone’s throw from our home for the weekend. It was all candy-floss sand, copper-hued water and pink skies as the sun set on the day. As we watched the night draw in, the kids filled their pockets with the pretty pebbles gathered along the shoreline, comparing treasures and getting their toes wet.

We picked our way along the front of the resort to Marina Pavilion where the promise of Papa John’s, Burger King, and the flashing lights of the arcade proved even more irresistible than the beach.

Saturday

Heavenly Haven

The next morning, we prepped ourselves for a busy morning of on-site activities with a leisurely breakfast of coffee and croissants (for the grownups) and soft play (for the kids) at The Cakery, a café stuffed with elaborate cakes.

our single rings for the sought-after doubles so we could go down together, whooping and screeching. The kids loved it; I got motion sick.

Maritime heritage

For lunch, we drove into town to check out Grelly’s (cut-down link). This Great Yarmouth institution serves chips cooked the Did you know? traditional way, in beef dripping. We took ours to a bench overlooking the sea, where we defended our haddock, scampi The scenic railway and chips from the roller coaster at Great seagulls, who clearly Yarmouth Pleasure know a good thing Beach opened in 1932. when they see it. First up: bungee trampolining. The friendly attendant, Gavin, helped Albie and Esme leap higher and higher, making sure they hit It is the second-oldest of only two surviving scenic railway type roller coasters in Britain. The Time and Tide Museum of Great Yarmouth Life (museums.norfolk. gov.uk/time-tide) was the surprise hit of that sweet spot somewhere between the weekend. Set in the UK’s thrilled and terrified. The verdict? “This is best-preserved Victorian herring awesoooooome!” curing works – you can still see the black smoke tarring the brick walls – this museum covers Great “The Time and Tide Yarmouth’s history from an Ice Age Museum of Great sandbank to the seaside resort it is Yarmouth Life was today. If that sounds rather dry, I promise you it’s anything but. the surprise hit of the There are plenty of interactive weekend. Set in the elements for children, from UK’s best-preserved Victorian herring getting behind the wheel of a coastal Drifter to doing rubbings of herring. The kids loved dressing curing works” up like fishermen, wandering through a reproduction of a An hour in the water park was next on the fisherman’s home, and agenda. The timed sessions are just long going fishing for fish enough to make the most of the water slides, facts in a huge barrel. splash areas and swimming pool. We made a beeline for the flumes: Coastal Cyclone and the gentler Tidal Twister. The 5-year-old was just tall enough to ride them. Not that height mattered in the end as they were both too scared to go down without us. We did the walk of shame back down the 10-metre-high stairs to swap

I loved the atmospheric building with rooms reconstructed to look just as they did when Great Yarmouth’s herring industry was booming. Paper herring flutter in the blackened smokestacks while realistic mannequins stir fish through brine in great pits sunk in the floor. We learned that Great Yarmouth was the site of the

Did you know? first Zeppelin raid on British soil in World War I and the worst-bombed seaside town during World War II. And The scenic railway did you know that roller coaster at Great the world’s first

Yarmouth Pleasure fish finger rolled Beach opened in 1932. off the production It is the second-oldest line of a Great of only two surviving Yarmouth factory scenic railway type in 1952? Yep, Great roller coasters in Yarmouth is the home Britain. of the original Captain Birdseye! We left with a deeper understanding of, and affection for, this hardy seaside town. There’s even more to it than neon lights and wind-swept sands – and we allowed plenty of time to enjoy those charms too!

Ahoy, me hearties!

Another fascinating bit of heritage with serious child-appeal is the Hippodrome Circus (hippodromecircus.co.uk). Built by showman legend George Gilbert in 1903 and tucked down an unassuming road just behind the seafront, it’s Britain’s last stand-alone circus building and one of just five left in the world.

Inside, it’s all art deco glass, with a 42ft diameter sinking ring at its heart; the ring can be flooded with water deep enough for synchronised swimming. Houdini, Lloyd George and even Charlie Chaplin have performed here. Since 1979, it’s been owned by passionate local Peter Jay, a circus fan, performer and former pop star who has restored the Hippodrome to its previous glory and imbued it with an infectious new sense of purpose. Not that kids care about all that when there are acrobats, sword swallowers and contortionists rocking – and splashing – about the stage just a few metres away!

We caught the matinee performance of Pirates Live! and were enthralled by the onstage antics. It finished in time for a dinner of burgers, kebabs and king prawn tagliatelle at HMS Hinchinbrook (hmshinchinbrookgy. co.uk), a family-run fish restaurant just around the corner on Great Yarmouth’s Golden Mile. It’s named after the 28-gun frigate that was the second Navy command of the man who was to become one of Britain’s greatest Naval commanders: Admiral Horatio Nelson, another notable Norfolk local.

Sunday

The next morning, after a cup of tea and bowl of Rice Krispies on the sunny (and windy) deck of our caravan, we followed the children as they skipped over to Marina Pavilion for Build A Bear, in the light and airy Creativity Area.

As far as Albie and Esme were concerned, this was the most anticipated part of the whole weekend. They chose their teddies, stuffed them with fluff and colourful hearts, decorated t-shirts to dress them in, and filled out their “Pawsports”. Spotty and Brownie (my children are nothing if not original in their toy naming conventions…) have hardly left their sides since.

Mini marvels

It was a tough act to follow for Merrivale Model Village (merrivalemodelvillage.co.uk). We wandered through a tableau of quintessentially English scenes injected with humour: a church with a wedding taking place at one side while graves were dug on the other, a fire crew rescuing a woman from a burning thatched cottage, a protest – complete with tiny banners – at a rocket launch. Model trains rumbled through it all. The 8-year-old was in heaven. I was more taken by the vintage penny arcade, where we exchanged 21st-century cash for chunky old coins to play the slot machines, the Passion Tester (“hot stuff” here, thank you), and the Fortune Teller: “Venus and Jupiter join to make the week fun and exciting. Even the most boring events will turn out enjoyable, but take care that your natural naughtiness doesn’t land you in the dog house.” How did she know?!

Clackety-clack

Lunch was a generous fry-up at Sara’s Tearooms (thetearooms.co.uk), another Great Yarmouth institution. Sara started the Tearooms in 1999, with a background in cake making. She still bakes the cakes (I can vouch for the divine lemon cake) but nowadays the place is run by Matt, Sara’s son. Occupying a prime spot between the dunes and manicured gardens Sara’s Tearooms is a passionately local enterprise, deeply entrenched in the community. As a teenager, Matt even had a holiday job operating the brakes on The Scenic rollercoaster at the nearby Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach (pleasure-beach.co.uk).

It was someone else’s turn to be trained up for the job when we hopped into our cars on the historic rollercoaster. Arriving at Great Yarmouth in 1932, it’s a Grade II-listed building and one of only two scenic railways still in operation in the UK, and seven in the world. More importantly, it was our children’s first experience of a rollercoaster and boy did it deliver! It’s no Formula Rossa (the world’s fastest rollercoaster, which reaches almost 150mph), but it’s got the thrills – and the views across Great Yarmouth and out to sea are spellbinding. Plus, the clackety-clack of the rails and the feeling of placing your life in someone else’s hands do add a certain frisson!

After a couple of hours screaming and/or laughing like maniacs in the Haunted Hotel, Fun House, 4D Cinema and Dodgems, it was time to leave Great Yarmouth. There’s no greater testament to the fun we had than the fact that three of us fell fast asleep on the drive home!

For more information on the family-friendly things to do and see in Great Yarmouth, check out visitgreatyarmouth.co.uk.

Our mobile home from home:

Haven Seashore Holiday Park

“A range of restaurants, free activities and evening entertainment would make for a stressfree and pleasant weekend” Haven Seashore Holiday Park fans out from the sands about two miles north of Great Yarmouth’s lively Golden Mile. It’s upbeat, family friendly and a lot of fun.

The welcome

Unfailingly friendly! From the man at the entrance gate who directed us to our caravan to the security guards and Gavin who seemed to genuinely care that our children had a great time on the bungee trampoline, all the staff members we encountered were helpful and smiley.

The accommodation

There are five types of caravans available at Haven Seashore, covering all budgets. We stayed in a Silver caravan with three bedrooms for six guests and a deck area outdoors. Towels and bed linen were provided, along with two Freeview TVs, kitchen utensils and cutlery, a microwave and a fridge freezer. This is a selfcatering break so bring everything you might need, from washing-up liquid to tea bags. The on-site Nisa supermarket sells the basics and more, should you forget anything.

The entertainment

It would be easy to while away the entire weekend at Haven Seashore Holiday Park. There’s loads to do, from riding the water park’s flumes and mastering the crazy golf to playing the penny slot machines in the resort’s bright and breezy arcade. The range of restaurants, free activities and evening entertainment would make for a stress-free and pleasant weekend if you just want to park up and put away the car keys for a few days. At certain times of year, a land train runs regular trips to the centre of Great Yarmouth.

A Haven holiday at Seashore Holiday Park starts from £129 for a 3- or 4-night break in a Saver caravan (sleeps 4). For more information or to book, visit haven.com

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