50 things to do at Halcyon 33 - 41 Wheels of Industry and the Big City

Norfolk is a beautiful and diverse county, with a long coastline, the unique wetland environment of the Broads, market towns and the city of Norwich.  Halcyon sits surrounded by nature reserves, the River Thurne and the Broads, which gives you something new to see every time you visit.  We have spent much of our time watching the world go by on the river and seeing the seasons change.  That’s not to say that you can only find the quiet of that natural world - there are plenty of different and diverse attractions within reach and here is a list of our favourites!

 Wheels of Industry

33. Visit Horsey Windpump.  National Trust site with a restored windpump next to the Horsey nature reserve.  There’s a kiosk for drinks and ice creams, not a tea room though.  Horsey can be seen from Halcyon, it’s to the north east, and is the one with intact sails.

34. Thurne Windpump is a working example of the industrial architecture of the Broads.  Run by the same people as…

35. The Wind Museum at Repps.  This is the result of one man’s obsession with wind power.  There are several wind mills, wind pumps and wind things.  They offer events on key bank holidays or weekends through the year.  It’s an interesting look into one of the most important resources in the formation of the Broads.

36. The North Norfolk Railway from Holt to Sheringham.  A preserved railway at the north side of the county.  There are numerous steam railways in Norfolk but this had an excellent Christmas special with mince pies and mulled wine.  Sheringham town is at one end of the journey and the trains are timetabled to allow for lunch and a wander round.  

37. Bure Valley Railway is a narrower option and a smaller deal all round.  But it’s closer to Halcyon and a pleasant enough ride.

38. Now, there are people who would love this sort of thing but it’s not really us.  One cool summer’s day we needed to find a place to visit so headed to Caister Car Museum.  It is a collection of cars - no interaction and a bit too much detail.  But there were a few interesting exhibits, such as the first production fiesta, and the buildings were 1950s architecture.  The place is staffed by volunteers who are knowledgeable and friendly and talking to them was the high point as they knew their stuff!  The cafe is pretty poor but it’s a memorable part of the days out in the area.  

39. The Museum of the Broads at Stalham is a collection of items and stories that have made the Broads what they are.  From earliest settlements and use of the land through the industrialisation to the holiday and leisure industries supported now.  A wealth of history and recollection in a compact site on a staithe in Stalham.  An enjoyable little place, staffed again by volunteers.  Being a water-focussed museum, there are boat trips.  On one day a week the trips are provided by Victorian steam launch!  Booking advised.

Big City

40. Visit Norwich.  There is so much in the city to see and do.  The shopping is pretty good - there are the usual high street big hitters as well as a local department store; Jarrolds.  The Royal Arcade is an art nouveau deliciousness.  For history buffs there is the castle, walls and the cathedral.  The River Wensum circles the city and hints at the importance of the water traffic to the growth of trade.

41. Just outside the city is Whitlingham Broad.  This is a large, enclosed broad run as a country park by the County Council.  There is an adventure centre running day courses or taster sessions in a number of land and water based activities.  There’s also a good walk or cycle round the broad itself, with look outs and play areas.  Just up the road is the dry ski slope.  If you can get a tubing session from them then snap it up.  The children had a brilliant time there.

50 things to do at Halcyon 42 - 50 In, Out and Out Out

Norfolk is a beautiful and diverse county, with a long coastline, the unique wetland environment of the Broads, market towns and the city of Norwich.  Halcyon sits surrounded by nature reserves, the River Thurne and the Broads, which gives you something new to see every time you visit.  We have spent much of our time watching the world go by on the river and seeing the seasons change.  That’s not to say that you can only find the quiet of that natural world - there are plenty of different and diverse attractions within reach and here is a list of our favourites!

 

Days Out with the Kids

42. There is one standout day out near Halcyon for the kids and that’s BeWilderWood.  Based on a series of books by Tom Blofeld (local author related to Henry and the Bond villain), this is a wooden tree house, rope bridge and zip wire playground for children to lead their adults through.  It is pricey and can be busy but it’s an enchanting full day out.

43. Thrigby Wildlife Park is somewhere that we sent the children with Granny when we were doing some serious work on the house.  They all had a good day!  Thrigby Hall has a fine selection of exotic animals, including the red panda that isn’t panda shaped or coloured and is really quite cute.

Local Commerce

44. Pubs!  So many great pubs in the area that offer a wide range of dining and drinking experiences.  The Fisherman’s Rest in Winterton has a newish extension to seat more people and also has its own ale on tap.  The Nelson’s Head in Horsey, The Lion at Thurne, or the Lion at Somerton have all provided great meals and surroundings.  There are also two pubs in Martham - the Victoria Inn and the King’s Arms.  As licenses change hands the offerings do too so have a look round.  But don’t cook - you’re on holiday!

45. If you do cook, then Chapman’s Butchers in Martham has great quality meat.  The butchery out the back is where the cuts are made and the sausages stuffed.  The smokehouse can be seen in the garden to give the smokiest bacon in existence.  The offcuts bag is a mix of smoked and unsmoked bacon pieces to give lovely flavour to dishes and are very reasonably priced.  They also sell a selection of seasonal, local vegetables; eggs and spicy pickled onions.

46. There is no place like Lathams - an emporium of everything.  Located in Potter Heigham and with ample parking, no broadland trip is complete without a wander through clothing, food, household, pet, soft furnishings, ironmongery and garden centre.  If you didn’t know you needed it then you’ll find it in Lathams!   The shop has two halves on either side of the road.  The larger multiverse on one side and opposite, the fishing shop, which seems to have a comprehensive and good quality stock including live bait.

On the doorstep

There’s no need to go far.  Halcyon comes with its own set of things to do, albeit at the slower pace a holiday deserves..

47. Go fishing in the Thurne.  Go and get some bait and tackle from Lathams then sit on the side to catch the enormous pike that sometimes flop above the surface.  Make sure you know how to humanely treat the fish caught and return them to the river for the next hook.  The largest we have caught might have been over 7cm long!  There are big fish in there but we have never troubled them.

48. We love games as a family and the reduced amount of technology means that we get to play board games and pub games with incredible competition.  Shove ha’penny and Bagatelle are both there to be enjoyed, as well as monopoly and others.  The shove ha’penny board was from an old pub and is solid slate.

49. Wave at the boats outside the sunroom.  Either sit on the deck and watch them while the weather is fine, or sit in the sunroom if it’s a bit more English Summer.  There are hired boats from the local boatyards either starting or finishing breaks, day boats from all around, and private boats moored at the parish staithe.  Everyone loves to exchange waves.

50. The very best and very last thing to do at Halcyon is to watch the sunset with a GnT.  It doesn’t need to be a GnT, but a moment with a drink and the sunset has undoubted restorative powers.  Cheers.

50 things to do at Halcyon 19 - 32 Watery Action and Walking on the Beaches

Norfolk is a beautiful and diverse county, with a long coastline, the unique wetland environment of the Broads, market towns and the city of Norwich.  Halcyon sits surrounded by nature reserves, the River Thurne and the Broads, which gives you something new to see every time you visit.  We have spent much of our time watching the world go by on the river and seeing the seasons change.  That’s not to say that you can only find the quiet of that natural world - there are plenty of different and diverse attractions within reach and here is a list of our favourites!

Watery Action

We first saw the bungalows on the Thurne from a sailing boat called Coriander and totally fell in love with them.  Having a house on the river gives the perfect opportunity to have fun on the water then hop into the house when the wind gets a bit high or the rain comes down.  Lots of options include water, try all of them!

19. Hire an electric day boat. Hickling Broad, Horsey Mere and Martham Broad are very close and beautiful nature reserves.  The silence of the water calms to the bone and the electric boats don’t startle the wildlife the way diesel engines do.

20. Hire canoes and paddle into the wind.  A number of the yards will hire open canoes for 2 to 4 people, along with buoyancy aids.   If you hire, it’s best to set off into the wind, if you can, because it is much harder on the way back!  

21. Stand Up Paddle boards are also available and a great option for beginners and experienced paddlers.  There is even a board big enough for 8!

22. Go on Ross’s Wildlife Boat Tours.  Ross pilots the Lady Ann across Horsey Mere and out toward Hickling Broad.   He has a huge knowledge of the history of the Broads, the maintenance of the reed beds and the work done to the area by the Broads Authority as well as the National Trust and the local landowners.  His main point of expertise is the wildlife though, and he will point out all the bird and insect species that show themselves.  Book ahead!

23. Take a sailing lesson with Martham Boats.  There are several places offering sailing tuition on the Broads and Hickling always has a great breeze across it.  Outside Halcyon, the bungalows impact the wind direction and make the Thurne a tricky sail.

Walking on the Beaches

24. The sort of place you want to keep secret but is too good to hide is Winterton beach.  This is probably the nearest beach to Halcyon and is a place where we can spend whole days playing.  The beach itself is a mix of shingle and sand so great for sandcastles, skimming stones, stone balancing, paddling, beach games and swimming.  

25. In the shed at Halcyon, there’s a shrimping net.  Just push the net along sand in the shallows to get a bucket load of shrimp for a seaside tea.  You cannot get fresher!

26. Not just Winterton, but Horsey beach too, there are thousands of seals to see.  Don’t go too close, they can be aggressive and stink; they can also leave their young if too agitated by human contact,  We often see a seal head bobbing in the water whatever time of year but in spring there are hundreds of babies on the beach too.  

27. Behind the beach and reaching from Great Yarmouth to Sea Palling and beyond are dunes.  In the Winterton dunes, you can find old look out stations from WWII and an array of plant and wildlife particular to the dune environment.  We like it for kite flying.  Look out, too, for the sweet, thatched cabins of Hermanus holiday resort.

28. Winterton has an excellent beachside cafe; Dunes.  It does a wonderful line of breakfast baguettes and has some great specials on the board usually.  Hearty soups when it’s cold and delicious locally caught crab salads for the warmer days.  Big cakes as well as drinks and ice creams.  Even the dogs are looked after with lots of water bowls.  Seating inside is limited but there’s a beach for take aways (take your rubbish, obviously).  The cafe and the car park at Winterton work together to keep the toilets open so make good use of all the facilities!

29. A little behind the beach, back towards Somerton, there are the ruins of a church.  Turn right along Manor Farm Road and the ruins are on the left.  This can also be found on the footpath back from Winterton.  It’s a derelict and deconsecrated stone chapel, probably owned by the manor so something of a curiosity.

30. It’s not all about Winterton!  Head round the coast to West Runton to find fossilised sea creatures, maybe even a mammoth!  There is a huge belemnite bed, rockpools and a beautiful beach.  We found lots of anemones and tiny beach crabs in the pools as well as some fantastic conch shells.  A soft cliff includes a seam of fossilised remains but the side is particularly unstable so looking but not touching is advised.  The village of West Runton must be raging at the tiny roads to the cliff side parking but once there, it is spacious and reasonably priced.  There is also a small cafe for beachside wares too.  

31. Another expanse of beach can be found in Gorleston, on the other side of the mouth of the River Yare from Great Yarmouth.  The beach is beautiful and monitored by the coastguards  so safe for swimming but the key attraction is the high harbour walls where families come with crab nets and chopped bacon to pull the pincered crustaceans from the sea.  There is a simpler bucket shaped crab net where the shelled carnivores just walk in but the skill lies in the bagged traps where you need to pull them up the wall while they cling on.  All too often they plop disappointingly back into the water. 

32. While there, the imposing Pier Hotel on the quayside is a top lunch spot.  It is also where Danny Boyle called upon the people of Gorleston to party to the music of Himesh Patel in the BritCom, Yesterday.

50 things to do at Halcyon. 1 - 7 Walking and Wildlife

Norfolk is a beautiful and diverse county, with a long coastline, the unique wetland environment of the Broads, market towns and the city of Norwich.  Halcyon sits surrounded by nature reserves, the River Thurne and the Broads, which gives you something new to see every time you visit.  We have spent much of our time watching the world go by on the river and seeing the seasons change.  That’s not to say that you can only find the quiet of that natural world - there are plenty of different and diverse attractions within reach and here is a list of our favourites!

Wildlife

1. Watch the birds: from the sunroom in Halcyon, or the deck, there is a nature reserve opening up in front of you.  We have seen and heard waterfowl such as geese, terns, cormorants and oyster catchers; raptors including marsh harriers and kestrels; owls; small birds such as sparrows, finches and those little birds dependent of the Broads plant life - reed warblers and marsh martins.  You might even see the little kingfisher.  Sit and watch and you won’t be disappointed.

2. Feed the ducks: if the birds on Heigham Holmes won’t show themselves, a little bit of bread will bring the ducks and swans rushing.  Punting cubes of bread in the air on a breezy day will attract the gulls.

3. Watch the swallows picking the insects from the top of the water.  Swallows are the ultimate circus birds; swooping and turning over the water on a still summer’s evening.  Then at night, the bats might take their turn.

4. Norfolk Wildlife Trust has a number of sites and our nearest is Hickling Broad, although they also monitor and maintain Martham Broad.  The site at Hickling has a little visitor centre and a few hides to watch the birds.  We went on a walk to see the raptors coming into roost at the lookout point near Stubb’s Mill.  A knowledgeable guide took us through what we were likely to see then took us to point out the birds as they came down.  Binoculars essential!  There are also boat trips and circular walks around the reserve and a shop and coffee machine to warm you up..

Walking

5. There is no vehicular access to the door of Halcyon.  Take the path to the right as you leave and you can walk to Potter Heigham.  You’ll see the Martham Boats yard where you could enquire about hiring canoes or sailboats for the day, or organise some sailing lessons.  After that you continue along the Repps bank, past some fishing plots and bungalows.  Then through a little sculpture park until you approach the medieval bridge.

6. Similarly, turn left as you leave and follow the riverbank to walk to West Somerton, via Martham Broad.  See what you can spot on the broad before ending up at the Somerton moorings.  We have never seen these full - a perfect mooring spot.

7. One source of walks is The National Trust, who own several places in the area.  In Great Yarmouth there is an interesting walk showing some of the historic town story along the way.  It should be noted that there is some poverty in Great Yarmouth and that is exposed by some of the route.  The walk starts at The Elizabethan House museum, takes in the Time and Tide Museum and finishes at the imposing St Nicholas Church.

Many other walking routes are nearby, including the Norfolk Coast Path and the Weaver’s Way.  Being map lovers means that we keep local OS explorer maps for guests to pour over.

50 things to do at Halcyon. 8 - 18 Great Yarmouth

Norfolk is a beautiful and diverse county, with a long coastline, the unique wetland environment of the Broads, market towns and the city of Norwich.  Halcyon sits surrounded by nature reserves, the River Thurne and the Broads, which gives you something new to see every time you visit.  We have spent much of our time watching the world go by on the river and seeing the seasons change.  That’s not to say that you can only find the quiet of that natural world - there are plenty of different and diverse attractions within reach and here is a list of our favourites!

Great Yarmouth

The nearest significant town is Great Yarmouth.  There is plenty for all the family here and we have

had many sunny days here, many cold days here and many in-between days here.  

The beachfront is 5 miles long and sandy, with dunes at the northern end.

8. The Elizabethan House Museum, mentioned as the starting point for the walk round the town,  is a preserved merchant’s house belonging to The National Trust.  It shows elements of the social and industrial history of Great Yarmouth and also has the most extraordinary stuffed squirrel tea party.
   
   Also on the quayside, close to the Elizabethan House museum is the Lydia Eva, the last surviving steam powered drifter of the herring fishing fleet.  It doesn’t make the list because we have never visited, although it is rising up the places to go to now the museum sector is struggling more.

9. The walk will take you to the Time and Tide Museum.  This is the Norfolk County museum of life in Great Yarmouth, located in an old herring smokehouse.  It’s a well laid out and interesting presentation of the herring trade that brought wealth to the town before the tourist trade brought holidaymakers.  The onsite cafe served a delicious lunch when we went.

10. Passing the Britannia Monument, dedicated to Nelson and sited in an industrial estate, head towards the east side of Great Yarmouth to find the Pleasure Beach where there are funfair rides, stalls and arcades. Dominating the place is the steel-clad, wooden roller coaster, or scenic railway, as it should be known.  It’s quite rare in the world of coasters so get on board.

We have never spent long in the Pleasure Beach but day tickets are often available on GroupOn.  If we did spend longer, bankruptcy from the Grand National game where you roll balls into slots to race horses along the track would be certain.   If we do nothing else in Great Yarmouth, we need to beat each other in a horse race.

11. Family based competition continues in the bowling alley on Wellington Pier.  Numerous savings and deals are on offer and it’s a fun afternoon if the weather isn’t fabulous.  Bar, cafe and snacks are on sale too.

12. Following the front up from the Wellington Pier is the Winter Garden, worth looking at externally, and onwards to the Sealife Centre.  Often a deal to be found by pre-booking, it’s an interesting encounter with the underwater world.  The jellyfish are mesmerising and the giant turtle swims round the tropical ocean display where you can walk through the tunnel as the animals swim around.

13. If the weather is favourable, the crazy golf course featuring piratical scenes is fun.  Luckily, you can choose 9 or 18 holes, depending on your tenacity and the strength of the breeze.

14. On the other side of the road are the golden lights of the amusement arcades.  This isn’t Yar-Vegas by any means but the penny falls are tantalisingly close to paying out whenever you arrive.  Little hint, hang around because sometimes the right floorboard will deliver 50p in coppers.  

15. Look behind the cheap facades to see what a Victorian resort town was like.  Ornate brick built theatres and show palaces hint at the early wealth of the holiday industry.  Yarmouth as a whole has architecture to match its varied history; as a fishing and commercial port, a naval hospital and later psychiatric facility, a holiday destination and now a centre for offshore wind power.  

16. As you keep heading north along the seafront, there is a visitor centre for the Scroby Sands Wind Farm.  Eon has opened an information booth about the wind farm off the coast and its investment in renewables.  An impressive array of 30 turbines are kept in view of the interactive displays that aim to educate about renewable energy.  

17. Going north again, there are the recently refurbished Venetian Waterways and gardens.  Owned by the borough council, these grade II listed canals were dug by the unemployed in the 1920s to fill the space created after the construction of the new sea walls.  The channels were dug out of sand then developed into an attraction including gondolas, illuminations and even ice skating in the winter.  Only once has it been cold enough for the waters to freeze while we have been here and the risk assessment said no skating then!  The gardens and waterways are free to roam around, there is a cafe and a coffee hut, and boats can be hired on the boating lake.

18. That’s the end of the seafront highlights but continue back towards Caister and you pass the racecourse, with it’s stabling and gates.  All very exciting no doubt, but carry on to the Greyhound and Stock Car Race course.  Banger racing is seriously exciting and a fantastic evening out.  We particularly favour the caravan demolition derby nights, held regularly through the summer.  Who knew that there were so many caravans that needed destroying!  Get there early, pay the parking charge for the field next door and grab an indoor space near the long bar and the food kiosk. A proper family entertainment.  We haven’t been to the greyhound racing but it seems equally popular.

Rare Visitor

 

Yes it is a seal and no I do not know what it was doing on our lawn. I'm guessing it was lost and asking for directions.