Great Yarmouth Day 4 (1 August) - Climbing, Jumping and Dancing

Before I even start to talk about today, I must emphasise that I was only a supporter in each of these activities.

Andy and his boys on the climbing wall

Here they are on one of their attempts.  Everyone made it to the top eventually; some needed more tries than others.
 

Big Jump

There's also the One big jump.  It starts with a smaller jump, as practice, which most did without a thought.  A few of the children, not ours, struggled.  After the instructors have seen that they can do the low one, the group moves on to the high one.  Here there were several refusals in the group - it is a long way up.  A small boy jumped and didn't get his legs set right.  His landing was hard.  The instructors spent quite a while checking him over before returning him to his mother.  I bet he will be sore for a couple of days.  

Later, the girls had a go.  They are only allowed up to the top of the grips with smiley faces.  The older one could have, and would have, gone quite a bit further.  She had watched her brothers and that is enough.

There was more swimming today, and a visit to the "Cakery" for a snack.

In the evening, the pattern is the same, something for the children, some bingo, and something for the adults.  There was a prize for the happiest table.  For me, this entertainment and attempts to 'whip up the crowd' fall on deaf ears, or even make me go the other way.  That is only me, the rest are up and whooping and cheering and dancing.  In order not to ruin their chances, I did take a little part, and maybe it was that what got us one of the prizes.  That's my take on the result, and for this blog entry is the only one that matters!
 

Great Yarmouth Day 3 (31 July) - to see what we can sea

The land train from the camp site

The Havens holiday camp is some way from the town. There is a land train that will take us in and bring us back.  It runs every 15 minutes or every 30 minutes, depending on which side of the board you read.  We went to wait for it, but it was already there and empty.  The staff are really helpful, so the buggy was soon packed on board, our fee was paid (£2/person one way), the lollipops were given to the children, and we waited for more passengers. Here we all are sat on the train.  The picture is taken in 'selfie' mode through the front protective glass, which also introduces reflections.

It's only a few minutes along the seafront to the town. We are soon wandering about, looking at the attractions, and deciding we probably don't want to go on this or that.  We end up at an ice-cream shop near the Sea Life Centre - which we had come to visit.  Children and ice-cream does not always mix.  One is dropped and replaced, which causes another to complain.  This is normal family life, and holidays do not exempt us from it.

Havens have a voucher, but the pre-booked ticket offers are confusing and limit you to a 10-minute entry slot.  We could not book last night, because we could no guarantee being there near the slot time.  This is one of the ways businesses make life harder for us all.  It turns out that the Havens voucher is the best price, so I book it using my phone and credit card.  I'm surprised it worked so easily.  Then we are inside.

The Sea Life Centre contains more that just things that live in the sea

A ghostly child (one of ours)

Poison dart frog

a fish (I've forgotten its type already)

There are lots of displays, and we move slowly through, observing some penguins, lots of fish, a few (now dead) pirates and some other very strange creatures.  Everyone seemed to enjoy it.

Lunch is fish and chips from Harry Ramsden's takeaway.  It was nice enough, but not as good as I remember it.  We are warned about gulls by one of the locals as we sit, some on the grass and us on the benches.  We were not threatened by gulls, but were careful to avoid attracting them.

During lunch, we find that one of our party need new shoes, so next it's off to the High Street, where there is apparently a JD Sports.  It's a long walk on a hot day, but it also provides us the chance to find a hat for Leo's uncle.  The shopping area is initially filled with holiday souvenir shops (mostly rubbish); further up the road the 'real' shops begin, and eventually a pair of trainers and a hat are purchased.

Then it's candy floss, doughnuts and back on the land train to our caravans.  The diet is temporarily suspended.

We had been planning a barbecue for dinner, but we would need to buy disposable ones and somehow get them off the ground, so instead, we opt to find a pub instead. We found the Smokehouse (https://www.thesmokehouseormesby.co.uk/) and booked an outside table for 6pm. There is plenty of space for the children to run around, and we very much enjoyed the food, although delivery was quite slow.  There was a lot of food over - our eyes are still bigger than our stomachs. It was taken in boxes and eaten the next day.  The place seemed very busy, so I asked our server, and was told it was fairly quiet!

Great Yarmouth Day 2 (30 July) - Getting the point

 

Yesterday's activity had the middle two strapped to wires and jumping on a big trampoline.  Today's activities start with the oldest, his father and uncle at the archery hut.

We have had a poor night, the bed is too hot and too small.  Some of our group are early risers, or were just unable to sleep, and report the amazing sunrise. Breakfast is an experience, as always in a new place.  I'm told that spectators are allowed at the archery, so quickly get ready and watch the competition.  It's not supposed to be competitive all the time, but with these two involved it always will be.  There were 6 'games', the score was 3-3.  They are all very good for non-archers.

Next, we are booked in the splash centre.  There are various water slides of differing sizes and a dedicated pool with warmer water for the very young.  The main pool is about 1.5 metres deep across its entire length.  Just enough water for adults to swim in.  It is warm, but not hot.  The main pool is overcrowded, and is closed to new entrants at some point.  It would work better with about a third less people.  Still, the children all enjoy themselves.

In the afternoon we are at the beach.  It is hot.  We are covered in sun cream, and I still burnt a little.  Here there is plenty of room.  An ice cream van drives along the beach, but we do not buy anything, having had one last night.  The water is calm but flowing quite fast from north to south. Our time is spent sitting, watching children and helping them, and later trying to catch and photograph jelly fish.   The tide had other ideas.

For dinner, we ordered pizza - rather a lot of it, thanks to my two boys.  There is a Papa Johns on site.  Then it is off to the evening 'disco' for the children, which they seemed to enjoy.  This is followed by bingo, and an entertainer - "Frostie".  The bingo has very low value prizes (because there are children present) and is more about getting the crowd shouting.  As a result, it uses up a lot of time.

The day has gone entirely to plan. 

Great Yarmouth Day 1 (29 July) - A good plan

We are all off to "Seashore" Haven's Holiday Park, near Great Yarmouth, to stay in two caravans for five days. My memory of caravans is pokey little spaces, with chemical toilets, and no running water.  As a child, I spent many holidays collecting water in various caravan parks.  It is nothing like that today.  The caravans are still small, but quite a bit wider than they were, with hot and cold water, mains electricity and gas.  In our four birth, there were two showers and two toilets.  Not exactly all the comforts of home, but certainly nothing like roughing it.

For us, there is an early start, but we have miscalculated and are ready with too much time to spare. We arrive at our son's house, where packing is well under way and exited grandchildren are being less than helpful.  Spot on time, our convoy moves off.  We have planned somewhere to stop, we should only need one break because the journey is about 2:30.  The place we have planned will not be open in time.  So an alternative is found.  It has a McDonald's, so the children are happy.  

We arrive around 14:30, which is an ideal time.  Our documents are briefly checked and we are handed a key.  We then drive round to the caravan and park next to it.  The door lock is a bit tricky, but we get inside.  It is clean and has everything we will need.  We are facing the sea, and can sit on the balcony and enjoy watching the wind farm.  The sun will rise somewhere over that horizon tomorrow morning, and those who are awake will enjoy the view - that is not me.

Jess has a detailed plan for the week, and as a spoiler, I will say it worked very well.  Next on the plan is to explore the site and then eat in the restaurant.  Our table, and many of our activities, have already been booked.  We have Dinner at the "Coast House". The main courses are good enough, but the sweet "shared platter" is very good and also good value.

We walk back along the beach, playing with toy aeroplanes and enjoying the evening warmth.  We stay with them until they are in bed, then walk the short distance (from no. 27 to no. 19) to our caravan. Inside it is very warm, and sleeping will be uncomfortable.