Getting Away For A Few Days
With all our holiday plans being scuppered this year and with the bloody virus still hanging around, our chance to go abroad over half-term was dashed and so we decided at the very last minute to get away for a few days and escaped to Norfolk.
We headed up on Tuesday afternoon, driving through torrential rain at one point, arriving at our B&B, Lawson Cottage, in the village of Hickling in time to eat our picnic tea on the bed in the family room that we had booked. The next morning we tucked into a fabulous breakfast with cereal, fruit, toast, and full English before heading out for the day.
Our first stop was Horsey Gap, a long stretch of beach on the Norfolk coast that is famous for its grey seals which can usually be seen swimming just of the coast. At this time of year though, they are more likely to be up on the sand preparing to give birth to their pups. And there were plenty to see. They seemed to be very relaxed just dozing and chilling in the sunshine with the occasional flop down to the water for a swim.
One of them seemed to be in a seductive mood…
After spending a lot of time admiring these beautiful creatures we headed back to the car, walking along the sand dunes that shelter the beach from the broads. We went on a little tour of the local countryside, stopping off at Potter Heights for lunch, and a look around a Christmas decorations shop! We wanted to find a boat tour but were advised to head to Wroxham as most places had boats to hire for the day and not guided trips.
We eventually found Wroxham and Broads Tours who had trips every day, so we booked one for Friday morning before we were due to head home. We then drove back to Hickling in time for our dinner which was booked one of the two local pubs, the Pleasure Boat Inn. After some food we went back to the B&B and all went to bed!
As we’d had the foresight to look at the weather forecast and see that it was due to be raining on Thursday we had booked tickets to Sea Life Aquarium in Great Yarmouth, and so after yet another excellent breakfast we headed out in the rain.
The aquarium was quite small although it had a good range of fish and other aquatic animals and birds. The highlight for Little C was the large green turtle in the big tank. One of her favourite songs is about a turtle with bubbles in his throat and so she was really excited seeing a real one up close.
After lunch in he aquarium (we don’t eat THAT much!), we walked along the sea front in the wind and rain to Britannia Pier and then back along the promenade to play some arcade machines. This is something that The Wife enjoyed doing as a child with her family when they used to holiday in the same part of Norfolk and so we wanted our girls to have the same experience.
The 2p machines were the favourite and quite a few pounds were spent in the pursuit of winning some tacky toys and some prize tickets. The prize tickets were eventually cashed in for some sweets and a plasticky jewellery set for Little E.
With the rain still pelting down and darkness setting in we had to think about food (again!) and drove around trying to find some fish and chips, eventually settling on a place in Winterton-on-Sea. We headed back to Lawson Cottage to eat our food and then settled down for our last night there.
We packed the car the next morning (after a decent breakfast, obviousy!) and headed back to Wroxham for our boat trip along the broads. The trip took and hour and a half and was a gentle meander along the water, seeing the wildlife and the fancy houses that we could never afford. Both the girls enjoyed it and kept waving enthusiastically to all the other boats we passed.
After disembarking there was just time to get some lunch at a restaurant on the river (not literally, the side!) before getting back into the car for the long journey home. We’d had a good few days away, and the girls had enjoyed themselves. It’s always nice to give them new experiences. It’s a shame that now Evelyn is at school, we are limited in when we can next go away.
