As our regular followers know, we are enjoying spending time at our caravan in Hemsby, Norfolk this summer. Last weekend was Huw’s birthday and as it was such lovely weather we decided to take a coastal drive. You know, one of those ‘let’s see where we end up’ trips out! Turns out it was a really good idea, as we saw some lovely places along the route.
We turned right out of Hemsby, and headed north.
Stop 1: Winterton-on-Sea
Rather predictably (given how much we rave about them) we headed straight for the Dunes Café. We visit here every time we’re in Hemsby! This time we treated ourselves to their breakfast baps … a sausage one, a bacon one and two rather substantial ‘breakfast in a bun’ ones 🙂 Very nice indeed.
The Dunes Cafe, Winterton-on-Sea, Norfolk
Really should have walked it off, but instead we got back into the car to continue our journey.
Stop 2: Horsey Windpump
No more than a couple of miles further north you pass alongside Horsey Windpump. This National Trust property is so enticing you just find yourself pulling in to the car park! It’s a lovely spot to spend some time – but we decided to wait and investigate it later in the year, because there’s a chance the sails might be in place and the windpump working. Because it is undergoing major restoration it was closed to the public … so please do watch this space for a full review (later in the year!)
Stop 3: Waxham Great Barn
Waxham Great Barn was a lovely find during a previous drive along the coastal road. However, on that occasion we arrived around the same time as a wedding congregation and the barn was closed to the public (for obvious reasons). We didn’t want to gate crash so said we’d revisit next time we were in the area. We were not disappointed.
Exploring the barn was lovely, especially having read the history of it on the display boards outside. The café was really nice too with indoor and outdoor seating areas. I’m not sure if we were allowed, but we sat inside the barn to enjoy our cake and coffee!
Stop 4: Happisburgh Coastal Area
This was our first visit this far north along the coastal road. We turned towards the beach and couldn’t believe what we saw: a new, well-maintained carpark (good toilets too) along with a lovely children’s play area. All in the shadow of the red and white striped Happisburgh (apparently pronounced Haysbrough) lighthouse.
The lighthouse is the oldest working lighthouse in the UK – I want to try and time our next visit to coincide with an open day as I’d love to see more of it.
But the highlight of Happisburgh – apart from the lighthouse – is the amazing stretch of beach that extends way into the distance. The North Sea was being a little fierce on the lovely warm day we visited, but that added some additional atmosphere as the waves broke over the rocks! Coastal erosion is an ever-increasing worry in this part of Norfolk.
Flying around our heads were lots and lots of sand martins – not something you see all the time. We sat at some well-placed picnic tables and watched them flying around for a while 🙂
A special mention has to be given to the very fun ‘Burgers at the Beach’ burger van. Well, I say burger van (it was one), but this was really colourful, and the menu also stretched to cake and scones. The children bought ice lollies here, but next time we’ll definitely try the burgers because they looked REALLY good! It definitely looks a lovely little place to hangout. Again, watch this space as I’ll update this post post-burger …
Stop 6: The Nelson Head, Horsey
On our way back down the coastal road we stopped off at a pub that Huw had discovered on a long walk he did with the dogs some weeks before. Because it was his birthday it was only right to sit in the beer garden and enjoy the recommended Nelson Head fish and chips.
It was scrummy!
Stop 7: Long Beach Touring and Camping Site, Hemsby
Our final destination was Betsy, our touring caravan currently living at the Long Beach campsite. We’ve had a fabulous time at Long Beach (we SO SO SO love the beach and dunes), but we are equally looking forward to moving to a new site in the next week or so. We’ll be close to where we are now, but with a whole new campsite to explore 🙂
