A trip to the blustery seaside

One of the things that attracted me to Norfolk when we were in South Africa planning a place to settle, was the fact that the sea is not that far away.  I have always missed the ocean, one of the things I used to look forward to everytime I went to Hermanus when I visited my mum - going down to Kwaaiwater or similar beaches and just sitting there watching the waves break against rocks - such a primordial feeling and always comforting, for me.

Today, despite the gloomy overcast skies and gail force winds, I managed to drag everybody out of the house for a drive to the closest seaside place to us, which is at California Beach (what a misnomer that is!) between Scratby and Caister.  If you Google this area, the photos are gorgeous (obviously taken in the heart of summer)  ....

Google search image of California Beach in summer

It's somewhat different in December ...

walking down to the beach

another view of the sandy beach  ... very windswept and icy today though

windfarms ... a common sight along the Norfolk coastline

Faye would have swam, given half a chance - note how Sparkles is cuddled up in her coat!

Holiday homes at California Beach

Very cold out here, freezing gail force winds, wasn't long before we went back to the car!

Kevin leads the charge back to the car.

To say the wind was freezing and full strength, is a bit of an understatement, it slammed me into the car whilst I was trying to sort out my camera just after we'd arrived.  Even though the weather is not for surfing at all, we think this will be a beautiful place to come to in the summer months with the kiddies and it's only 40 minutes drive away.

After suffering the freezing seaside for a couple of minutes, we went back to the car to thaw out and then took a trip up the coastline back to Gt. Yarmouth - I've never been to this place.  There is tons to do in this town for holiday makers, the beachfront is crammed with activity centres, themeparks etc. for kiddies and adults alike - very much like Blackpool but not as grimy.  Sadly, in winter almost all the places are shut up and closed ... but again, we are looking forward to coming back to Yarmouth in summer.

Roller coaster on the beachfront - actual view

Zoomed in view of the edge of the roller coaster and eerie wind turbine in the background

all that beach to herself!

actual view looking out towards a ship offshore

zoom view without tripod - not a bad factory fitted zoom on this Nikon - with a tripod I would have gotten a more detailed shot of the ship because it still isn't on full zoom.

A little lad at the beach, about to jump onto the sand

Faye couldn't stop rolling about in the sand - i'm sure she would have stripped off and gone for a swim if we'd let her!

Nelson's Monument

Brittania on top of Nelson's Monument

Close up of Brittania, who is facing inland - which is a bit odd

schematic of the Nelson Monument architecture

217 steps - no problem

Interesting - the works superintendent  (Thomas Sutton) died when he got to the top of the steps (people thought he'd committed suicide after he realised that Brittania was facing the wrong way - but in fact he had a heart attack)

On our way home, we stopped off at the Mill Inn, Saxlingham Thorpe for a late lunch/early supper

Again, another English 'restaurant/pub' that failed to live up to expectations.   I really thought that going to a pub type eatery would be the best bet but once more, I was proven wrong.  Whilst the place is cosy and warm, nicely furnished and decorated ... we waited ages to be served (and there was only us there) by a waif of a girl who seemed just barely 18 herself.    Hayzel and I decided to have coffee to start with ... the waitress asked us if we needed milk and sugar and then proceeded to pour filter coffee from the Urn in the corner of the room, then I kid you not, she brought the cups to us and plonked them down on the table, sans saucers!   I said to Hayzel and Kevin later, after we'd ordered food, that I hoped we got the food on plates.

I had scampi, salad and chips (jacket potatoes cut up and fried) - no sauce.   Kevin had a cheese burger, chips and salad - the cheese was just a blob melted on top of his burger, not a cheese sauce, so very dry.  The kiddies each had the mini-All Day Breakfast, which was very good value for money - eggs, beans, sausage, bacon, hashbrowns, toast, mushrooms plus an ice cream (£4.95 each)  ... Hayzel had the adult version of the All Day Breakfast.  Hayzel had a Spiced Gold and Coke (actually a Captain Morgan and Coke - they don't know what you are talking about here when you ask for Spiced Gold), I had a glass of Sauvignon Blanc white wine and Kevin had a couple of lagers (we think they were Fosters because they were served in Fosters glasses).  The entire bill came to about £54 and then Hayzel gave our illustrious waitress a 10% tip - which she really didn't deserve and probably more than she's ever gotten judging by her beaming smile.     We won't be going back.   

I wonder if anyone around here knows where a family can get a decent restaurant meal and not be ripped off in the process?