Norfolk1

Last revised: September 21, 2006

Welcome to all my readers, I hope you enjoy your visit

Counter Data.com

website traffic company Counter

Have a Cuppa! with Mike

My Trip To Norfolk
By
Mike Coatesworth

I was looking forward to my two-week break in the Norfolk Broads on the East coast for two reasons. First, I had never been to that part of the UK before, and second, from what I read in the brochures, it appeared that there was plenty to do and see.

There family went on holiday, my wife Betty, my daughter Lesley, and of course me. Well, everything was packed and loaded up on the car. Neal was driving and from my home in Bradford Yorkshire, it was going to be a five-hour steady drive to our destination, Hemsby beach holiday village, near Great Yarmouth. The normal time to undertake such a journey is usually around three and a half hours, but we were in no rush and wanted to enjoy the sights on our way down south.

The sun was shining and the sky was blue, and the birds were singing on the branches of the trees surrounding my garden, with their new buds ready to burst into flower. As we set off up Fagley road, my feathered friends followed for a short while, then gave a quick fly past and soared up and finally disappeared into the clear blue horizon. At the junction of Fagley road and Killinghall road we turned left towards the motorway, and it took us approximately twenty minutes to reach the M606, and we drove to the M62 and then to the A1 which we joined at Ferrybridge. From there it was a straight run to Lincolnshire where we joined the A17 to Lings Lynn, and then on to the A47 to Great Yarmouth, and then it was only a matter of following the coast roast to Caister, and finally Hemsby beach holiday village. We took this route as we thought and found it to be not only the most direct route, but also one where we could stop wherever we wished on the way down the country, for something to eat or drink and the bathroom.

We made three stops at transport café's on the way down, and we favoured these rather than the commercialised fast food restaurants, as we knew that the meals would be home cooked and freshly made that day. Finally we arrived at Great Yarmouth, and my first impression as we passed a couple of large trawlers and merchant ships, was that it was an oversized commercial fishing area. It was still another ten minute or so drive to our holiday leisure park, and the sight of a funfair and arcades with loud music blaring from them, led me to think that Great Yarmouth might not be so bad after all?

Whilst Neal was picking up the keys from reception, I looked around me and was mildly impressed with the cleanliness of the area, and the way the chalets were lined up, you could be forgiven in thinking it to be a huge military base, although on first inspection it certainly appeared that way. When we arrived at our chalet, we were very surprised and impressed, as the chalet that we were to occupy for a two-week period had been completely modernised and enlarged to take disabled tourists and except for a seat or shower chair being required in the bathroom, (added later) it was completely wheelchair friendly. It was the largest chalet on the site, and had only been completed two-hours before our arrival. We unpacked and had a cuppa, and then set off for a quick look around to see what was on offer.

We first stopped at the Coppacabana club and I was immediately disappointed to find that because of a large lip on the bottom of the doorway and the angle of the slope that had been erected, I would not be able to enter the building without assistance, and we also found that the Rio bar had the same problem. The owners need to modernise the entranceways for wheelchairs, as they had done so in the rebuilding of the new chalets, where they had placed a lot of thought and effort into wheelchair user problems.

There are a few shops and café's and a couple of pubs in the area, and three or four amusement arcades, and the majority of them are wheelchair friendly, and the ones that weren't, I was able to enter them with assistance.

Over the two-week period we visited several local sights including an animal adventure park and except for a candle making shop and a windmill, each place that we visited was wheelchair friendly.

Would I return to Great Yarmouth? Possibly yes, but maybe in a few years time, as in my opinion there's nothing to hold a tourist's interest, and it is one of those places that doesn't shout out at you to come back for another visit, there's something missing?

We travelled to and visited Oulton Broads, and this was a very beautiful area, with boats of all kinds moored on the river and a few setting off for a tour of the broads. I found many attractions and facilities around the riverside areas and we followed it for a long way stopping at the riverside villages for a Cuppa! The Broads themselves need a lot more exploring and I thoroughly enjoyed myself and would recommend visitors to hire a boat and take a trip up / down river and take in not only the villages and towns, but the wildlife that surround this beautiful countryside area. I will definitely return for a further visit to the Norfolk Broads.

Time for a Cuppa!

Mike Coatesworth

Note: No part of any material on this and other pages can be reproduced in any way without any of the author's written permission. All rights remain with the author.

My novels can be seen at

http://www.btinternet.com/~mikeco158/onetear1.htm

http://www.btinternet.com/~mikeco158/cuppa1.htm

*****

Sign my GuestBook - Read my GuestBook