Another Summer, another holiday with the family, though this time in a slightly different part of the UK; hopefully next time we can travel to more exciting places, but still, for kids, a week in East Anglia is an easy option, especially when the weather is hot and you can go to the beach. Although from my run along the beach, from what i saw much of it was not that great apart from the tiny stretch in front of where we were staying at Pontins Pakefield. There the beach is wonderful (the sea is still quite cold though). On my morning run i saw a machine in Pakefield churning over the stones on the beach there, and I saw the little beach huts that seem to be all over the country, and the pier with a couple of shops and a statue (and a lifeboat station).
Aside from the beach, as it common across the country, there are always things you can do of varying degress of interest to different people. In this case we had a trip to the Southwold Maize Maze (i.e. a maze made out of maize, aka. corn) which was made more fun by having a sort of treasure hunt of information boards/colors to find throughout the maze, and that also had a nice playground with some jumping pillows, zip lines, sand pits, small vehicles to ride around on and of course the obligatory ice cream shop and cafe. Wonderful really, though funnily enough there seems to be a lot of maize mazes around the area, I wonder which was the first!
There was also the boat trip on the Norfolk Broads, a lowland area of rivers and canals that are a haven for wildlife. We chose to take a steam powered boat (the Falcon) from the Museum of the Broads which also included a trip around the museum, which had some activity sheets for the kids too. An hour was anough for the kids as there was not that much to see on the boat, but we did see some birds and some other boards! Nearby we also stopped off at the Barton Broads Boardwalk, which is a short 5-10 minute walk on a raised boardwalk that is quite nice for the kids.
Pontins is a sort of holiday village with fairly basic accommodation, an indoor pool, buffet/canteen style breakfast and dinner, daytime and evening entertainment for the kids, evening entertainment for the adults, crazy golf, a playground and other indoor and outdoor activities. It worked out alright, and is decent value since it is not so expensive. They do make an effort with the entertainment which is nice and the kids quite enjoyed it. It is easier for families than hotels or airbnbs with all the facilities on site and no need to cook, I suppose.
Back in North-West London we got to see our cousins for an afternoon, attend one of their birthday parties for another afternoon, go into London to see another spectacular show (101 Dalmatians) at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre which i can't recommend highly enough, go on some walks in the woods, play and scoot at some playgrounds, and also splash around in the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain.
Throughout the trip Hannah and Leah spent a lot of time with their cousin Jake (and some time with baby Zach when he was awake), which was great whether it was on the beach, painting, baking, on scooters, at the playground or playing with toys. Though Leah had some issues when Jake and her had differing ideas of games to play with toys! We also ate way too much, especially deserts, but such are vacations....
I managed to meet up with some old friends in London, whilst Andrea and I went on a road trip up North to meet some old University friends (and some of their kids) and hike a bit in the Peak District (and have a Sunday Roast of course). One day we'll go to the Lake District, but it's just a bit far. I have such incredible memories of a trip there 20 years ago. Maybe it will be easier for the kids to come too as they get older and hopefully more willing to hike? If not we will have to be greateful to our parents for taking the kids for a weekend every now and again.
We did experience 40 degree heat in the UK whilst we were there, the highest temperatures ever recorded, and the greatest hysteria in the media about hot weather. Unfortunately it didn't work out to see any of the England Women play (and win) the European Championships live, but watching them on TV was great, and hugely impressed with the quality. And the fact they don't seem to dive or complain to the referees about every decision. Makes football much better to watch. So, until the next trip!
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