Gandalf the VW is parked up on what I think is the cheapest site he’s ever stayed on. We’re nestled a mile in land from the Sandy beaches of Norfolk coastline, not far from Hopton on Sea at a C&MC CL, willow end. We’re paying the grand total of £5 per night for our pitch! We have a water tap, a bin and an elson point and views across the Norfolk country side. We also have a lovely horse for a neighbour, but that’s it. Otherwise we’re completely on our own here, which I’m surprised at considering it’s glorious sunshine and we’re close to the seaside.

For us this was the ideal choice of quick escape for the weekend. We had some new gadgets to test on Gandalf this weekend, before a big tour later this week, and also we wanted to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary (which actually falls on our busiest work day so is basically a write off).

We arrived after work on Friday after a smooth journey and were soon set up, once we’d found the field that was! For those coming here, don’t go to the address on the club website, the site isn’t actually at North Lodge. Turn right out of their drive, and then left and the site is quickly on the right. What three words for the gate: meanings.snuck.fraction

Once set up, we enjoyed a couple of drinks and then a bbq, enjoyed the sun set before turning in for an early night. This has been a very hectic term so far and we are absolutely exhausted.

Saturday dawned a glorious day and we wasted no time with lay ins. We made a bacon muffin for breakfast and had a go with our new gadget…..A fantastic hot water system for Gandalf! We got this via Joolca and it’s called a hottap system. I’ll talk more about it on this blog post, but spoiler alert, it’s absolutely brilliant.

After breakfast and showers and a hot water dish wash- this was going to take some getting used too! – we walked the mile or so into Hoptpn on Sea. There isn’t a great amount there, other than holidays parks but the beach is nice (accessed through the holiday village). We walked along the beach to Gorleston, about a 2 mile walk, and enjoyed fish and chips overlooking the fabulous beach here. There are dog friendly sections of beach here and the sand is really beautiful. We got our inflatable chairs out and enjoyed a relax on the beach for an hour or so before both our mums turned up – they’d been visiting Keith’s Auntie who lives just down the road in Great Yarmouth.

We nipped for a drink together at the fig bar and grill which has a terrific roof terrace overlooking the beach which was well sheltered from the wind which was increasing. It’s also Dog friendly. Then we hired Pat’s cabs – aka my mum- to drive us back to Gandalf on their way home.

We had a nap which was lovely and then cooked up a fish bbq before another early night. The evenings were still a little chilly but we were fine inside, however we are considering our next upgrade to be a diesel heater. For now though we loved used our fire pit.

We’ve had a battery problem which I talked about on our last trip away. We’ve upgraded to a 130 leisure battery and this weekend it’s worked a treat alongside our solar panel. We’ve decided that actually our old battery wasn’t up for the job, in fact upon research it suggests it’s just for motor movers. How we ended up with this I’m still not sure, but we seem to be working at full capacity now so that’s a relief.

The campsite is gloriously quiet, and we had a great lay in on Sunday morning.

After a very leisurely time of it we packed up and made the short journey into Great Yarmouth. Yarmouth has a bit of a bad reputation for being a bit ‘kiss me quick’, but we enjoyed finding some hidden gems along the historic quayside. We visited the National trust Elizabethan museum which was interesting, and rumour has it played a part in Charles 1st execution. Apparently, the decision to execute him was made in a room now called the conspiracy room- folk lore or reality who knows? We enjoyed half an hour in there admiring the superb fireplaces and walnut panelling.

Across the road I was drawn to the Lydia Eva boat – wonder why? It could have been because it was the world’s last surviving steam-powered herring drifter. Or perhaps it was because of its very excellent name.

It’s also about to become a huge movie star as the new Timothée Chalamet film, Wonka, out in December was filmed aboard it and in its engine room! We enjoyed our visit on deck and found the volunteers very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about dear old Lydia Eva.

From here we walked a short way down the quay to the tollgate museum, which although shut today, allowed for great views of the external building. This is the oldest building in Yarmouth and used to be the gaol. I bet those walls held some stories, but what a dreadful shame about the horrendous 60s library attached to it. Questionable Town planning there for sure!

It was time to head homewards, but not before doing a food shop ready for our nextadventure which is due to depart very soon indeed. In fact, once home, we unpacked, keefy washed Gandalf and then we repacked- I’ve even packed my clothes ready for an our next road trip, which commences on Friday.

Until then

Lx