Breaking the habit of a lifetime we decided to holiday in the East of England for a change. We picked Norfolk as there were a few family activities that we were all interested in. Upon driving there the landscape became awfully flat and all you noticed was the vast expanse of sky, which we are not used to.
We were staying on a farm in Gayton Thorpe which gave us a good base to explore Norfolk. One thing I really loved about Norfolk driving here is that the grass verges are not mown but are full of wild flowers that the bess love, something Hampshire could do with following as it looks so beautiful.
Our first day trip we planned was seal watching in Blakeney Point. The weather was touch and go but we went with it prepared for a downpour. This was such a fantasitc activity, despite the weather (or maybe because of it) we saw hundreds of seals all playing around our boat. It was one of the most awesome wildlife experiences I have had, a lifetime dream of being David Attenborough for a moment fulfilled, my 2 year old and 6 year old were also enthralled.
Riding on the high of the day we were recommended a pub to visit so we decided to go there for dinner. The Pub is called The Dabbling Duck in Great Massingham, and the menu was great, also they had a street food bar attached to the rear so you can have bar snacks outside, which was packed and a good playground for the children. This ticked all our boxes so we frequented this more than once during our week's stay here.
The next day proved to be a slight disaster. We decided to visit Holkham Bay. But we only took one van key and upon getting our toddler out of the van we left the keys inside and the van door shut then deadlocked... we were locked out! A lesson we took from this is always have two van keys with you! We had to wait for a locksmith and £160 the worse for it. Trying not to be downhearted as we had a while to wait, we went for a walk on Holkam Bay. Our spirits were instantly lifted the walk through the woodland to reach the beach is dappled with sunlight and is fun in istelf for two small children, but when you reach the beach you are in awe of the vast expanse of sand that lay in front of you. My 2 year old took great delight in walking along the small river of water that takes you directly to the see, and my eldest was collecting razor clam shells. We even saw people riding horses along the beach, it felt like a film.
The next day we had a day trip dedicated to my 6 year old and that was BeWilderwood, the woodland theme park based upon a book series from local author Tom Blofield. This was heaven for my eldest who is a big bundle of energy but there were also smaller areas that my 2 year old also took delight in. It is a full day out with dressing up interactive plays as well as copious amounts of climbing.
Not to be deterred by the day before's hiccup we head back to Holkham but this time we go to Holkam Hall and take our bikes. There is lovely cycle paths around the estate were we say wild deer running across our path in big groups. We then leave the estate and cycle along the Norfolk coastal path to the seaside town of Wells-next-to-Sea.
On our last day we drove to Wroxham and hired a boat for 4 hours and sailed the Norfolk Broads. Both children getting a chance at the helm added extra delight to this activity. We sailed around the Norfolk Broads and moored at a pub for lunch before sailing back to Bolan, before heading home. I was really pleasantly surprised, Norfolk is a beautiful place with abundant activities for active children. We had so much fun this summer.
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