Great Yarmouth beach, one of Norfolk's finest
Of course there is so much more to Norfolk than just its beaches, especially the Norfolk Broads are remarkable and a paradise for birdwatchers. You can take a boats trip on the broads, either on a tour ship with bar and all, or rent a small boat for yourself, they are available per hour, half day, full day - however you wish. Alternatively you can rent a houseboat for a few days and live on the canals.
The first beach in Norfolkl we've visited was the one in Great Yarmouth. I'd seen it on photos before and knew that it was long and and wide but didn't quite it expect it to be that large. Forget about the pebbles at Brighton or Southend-on-Sea - this is lovely, fine, powdery sand and almost white. This beach is not only more than 15 miles long but also wide and spacious and very clean. We've managed to end up here on the August bank holiday weekend which was also the hottest of the year - and thus the busiest - and there was still lots of space. The town itself was buzzing and the main pedestrian area was so full that you could hardly walk but the beach still appeared to be half empty, even though there must have been thousands of people on this particular day. You can rent a beach chair for the day, facilities are plentiful, and there are enough of snack bars close by. We've tried some of the restaurants along the promenade and food was a bitter disappointment. As beautiful as the beach is - the food was "Greasy Spoon" quality. It took us many years of holidaying until we finally stumbled over, or more into, the "Albatross", a totally unassuming Italian restaurant right at the entrance of Regent Road, the local pedestrian zone. It might look like nothing and is located in a basement which should not let you be put off - they serve the best Italian food north-side of the Alps!
Of course there is also the inevitable pier - this is England after all - and there are some amusement parks with kiddie rides, mini golf etc along the promenade.
Always a hit and no visit to Great Yarmouth would be complete without it is the "snail ride" in "Joyland".
Caister-on-Sea Beach
Much more quiet and relaxed are our trips to the beach in Caister-on-Sea. We went in September for the first time and the snack bar on the beach was already shut for the winter season. In Norfolk the beach seasons are clearly different than in Cyprus but I can't blame them, although it was a lovely day, warm and dry, the only had to share this wonderful beach with an elderly couple and their adorable Jack Russell Terrier puppy.
We still had a great day, collected some sea shells with the girls, took a long walk along the water and didn't miss the pier and fun fair atmosphere one bit but would have loved a drink or an ice-cream. A visit is definitely recommend but we now stock up and bring a small picnic if we go out of the main season. Sea air makes hungry ...
A few kilometres into the sea there is a wind farm called Scroby Sands. The windmills are clearly visible from the beaches of Great Yarmouth and Caister, and it is possible to take a boats trip out there. Apparently there are seals living on the base of the wind mills.E-on, the energy provider who seems to run the windmills, has an excellent little museum on the beach at Great Yarmouth which is admission free and great for kids. We did like the view over the windmills from the Caister side more.
Party time at Hemsby beach
Hemsby Beach is again on of the Norfolk beaches located North of Great Yarmouth.
The village Hemsby has been divided into two parts, the rather sleepy Hemsby Village and the bustling seaside resort Hemsby Beach. There isn't really anything interesting in Hemsby Village, unless you are urgently looking for an ATM, which are surprisingly hard to find in this area, the Spar market offers one that is not charging you for using it.
The main road of Hemsby Beach is aptly called "Beach Road". It's easy to tell that this part of the village is tourist orientated and probably is not home to many permanent inhabitants. One caravan park is located next to the other, there are probably dozens of amusement arcades, lots of snack bars, fast food restaurants and a fun-fair. A party atmosphere hangs over the town that is catching and by the time you have reached the high dunes behind which this beautiful Norfolk beach hides you will crave a freshly baked donut and some candy floss!
We almost got stuck at the amusement and in the end made it to the beach which is, like all in this part of Norfolk, wide and with white and fine sand.
Hemsby beach is great for families, although not if you are on a budget as the kids will drive you nuts with all those rides around. I'm not sure if I wanted to stay in this village, there is almost a bit too much going on for my taste but as a day trip well worth it
Other Norfolk beaches
Sheringham is located in North Norfolk and we ended up here as we had promised the kids a trip on the Poppy Line, a steam train that departs from the Victorian station of the small seaside resort. A trip to the beach wasn't really on our itinerary but we managed to see the sunset. There is a lovely and relaxed atmosphere over the whole town and for some reason it seemed to resemble a pirate's stronghold. No idea where that came from ...
Our only trip to Hunstanton, again in North Norfolk, had to wait until November. This time we weren't so lucky with the weather and it was a cold and stormy day. There is a promenade high above the beach from which we were watching the waves coming in.If you've ever suffered from a hang-over - if this doesn't clear your head out nothing will !
The beach looked lovely and large but it was so cold that we couldn't be tempted to climb down the stairs for a closer inspection. I happily spend some time in an amusement arcade just to defrost and later we enjoyed a nice hot chocolate and delicious cakes in a local tea room.
Will the Norfolk beaches disappear ?
There is a huge problem with erosion in this part of the world and many beaches, especially Hemsby and Caister from the ones in this article, are losing land to the sea in an alarming rate.
Erosion has always been a problem in this area and there are documents more than 1000 years old mentioning this and it is known that entire villages have disappeared. The rate is up to 3 metres per year and climate change might just speed the process up even more.
Environmental agencies are working on this to slow the process down but in the long run nature will claim more and more land here. In many villages along the Norfolk coast this is a very visible and I am glad that we were privileged to be amongst the people who have been able to visit this beautiful spots while they were existing.
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